How to Make an Instant Bonsai Tree

Bonsai is the ancient Japanese garden art of training miniature trees. Here's a quick and easy way to create miniatures that have some of the character of true bonsai without the painstaking demands.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1-gallon Shrubs
• Aquarium Gravel
• Bypass Pruners
• Cottonseed Meal
• Fish Emulsions
• Potting Soil
• Shallow Planting Containers
• Window Screens

1. Select a tree. Start with common garden plants such as azalea, boxwood, camellia, cotoneaster, gardenia, hibiscus, holly, juniper, pyracantha and rhaphiolepis. Look for 1-gallon-sized shrubs with branches that either grow upward or hang facing down - whichever you prefer.

2. 

   Using bypass pruners, make an initial pruning of the plant while it's in the original nursery container. Find its central trunk and remove enough growth until you plainly see the structure of the front - the side that will be displayed.

3. 

   Remove the plant from its container and place the root ball in a bucket of water. This will make it easier to reduce the soil around the roots for fitting into a bonsai container.

4. 

   Remove as much of the soil around the root ball as possible to fit the plant into a shallow decorative container.

5. 

   Trim the roots until they are reduced to 2/3 of their original size. You will have a shallow root ball when you are finished pruning.

6. 

   Place a piece of plastic window screen over the container's drain holes to prevent the soil mix from washing out as you water. The screen will also prevent insects from entering through the holes.

7. 

   Add a 1-inch layer of potting soil mix to the bottom of the container.

8. Place the plant in the container, spread the roots out over the layer of soil, and cover them with more soil. Make sure you leave at least 1 inch of space below the rim of the container so you can water.

9. 

   Finish pruning the remaining foliage. Trim away stems and branches in such a way that the remaining growth has the branch structure of a tree. Keep in mind that once you cut something off, you can't put it back.

10. Water the tree well to soak the soil thoroughly.

11. 

    Cover the surface of the soil with aquarium gravel for a finished appearance.

12. Feed with small amounts of fertilizer at frequent intervals, or choose a slow-release fertilizer. Fish emulsion or cottonseed meal are recommended sources of nutrients.

Tips & Warnings

• Display your bonsai tree in a protected outdoor location that receives morning sun.
• Remove about the same proportion of foliage as roots to keep the plant in balance.

[Fastedge]

on 10/15/2008 While the earlier negative comment was rude, it was not completely wrong.

This is not a bonsai. It's a stick in a pot. Sorry.

There is no such thing as "instant bonsai". That's an oxymoron if ever there was one.

Also, while the screen should not in any way cause water retention the potting soil suggested here would and thus eventual root rot.

Following these steps would, at best, result in a sickly plant that will not grow much beyond where it is at the time. At worst it will die within the week.

Some things are just not meant to be instant, and that's okay.

[Suraj0209]

on 9/10/2008 If any one can tell me about bonsai in HINDI then please send me mail - [e-mail]

[Suraj0209]

on 9/10/2008 if anybody can give me detail in HINDI of how to make bonsai tree so please send me mail [e-mail]

[tlwilley]

on 7/15/2008 Let's try this again without the typo...
Thank you for the clear instructions! Most Bonsai books are long on philosophy and short on the steps needed. Your procedure fills this gap well! Thanks!

[tlwilley]

on 7/15/2008 Thank you for the clear instructions! Most Bonsai books are long on philosophy and sort on the steps needed. Your procedure fills this gap well! Thanks!