Even if you already own one bonsai tree, you might want to add a few more to create a bonsai garden in a few easy steps. This is the way to quickly start a garden created especially with your plants and personal style in mind.
One of the most visually appealing bonsai garden types is the rock garden. The plants are secured underneath beautiful rocks, and the amount of water and care you give your trees will determine how long the garden will last. For this type of setting you should choose plants that have strong roots and small leaves. To start off a rock bonsai garden, many folks pick a Ficus or an Oriental Bittersweet plant, which are available at many plant stores.
After choosing your desired botanical specimen, begin incorporating rocks into the dirt. The best place to look for rocks would be construction sites, or you can purchase a bag from the hardware store. The rocks you choose should be hard and strong, to ensure your tree gets the proper shape. You will also need to choose rocks that are somewhat damaged because you will want to put dirt and water in between the ridges. With this method you are giving the impression that the tree has grown right out of the rock, an interesting method of growth for the average garden or living space.
You may choose to start a bonsai garden with container plants you already own. Rock fountains or other decorative items like pillars will help show off the bonsai garden. Depending on the amount of space you have, you may also opt to create a man-made pond in the middle of your garden.
It is also ideal to have several types of trees in the garden. You can choose a tiny pine tree to be a part of the decorations, along with a cherry tree that has blossomed and grown cherries. When decorating, utilize the fact that different bonsai trees can be paired together, even if they don’t normally coexist in the same environments.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
How to Grow a Bonsai Tree That Will Flourish
Once you purchase a bonsai tree, or the seeds to plant it, you’ll definitely want all the information you can get when it comes to growing bonsai. You’ll need to know how often to water your plant, which fertilizer is best, and how to prune your plant regularly in order to make sure your tree grows to be extremely healthy. Here are some tips that will help you to get started.
If you are growing your bonsai tree indoors, you’ll need to make sure that it is getting enough sunlight, since dark areas in your home could shorten the life of your plant. Keep your plant near the window so that it can get direct sunlight, and make sure that you keep your house at about 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, since your tree will need to be in a warm climate. Humidity is also ideal, since this type of air is part of the environment that these plants naturally flourish in.
In order for a bonsai tree to maintain its appearance, you’ll have to give it regular trimmings and spray the leaves to maintain the color. However, be careful not to spray the leaves in spring and summer months since the leaves can be damaged from the humidity. As well, you need to carefully monitor the water levels of your plant. Both under watering and over watering can be harmful to your delicate tree.
In order to maintain the look and health of the tree when you’re growing bonsai, you’ll need to make sure that the tree is groomed or clipped, as well as fed the best nutrients. You can use a potent multivitamin to accomplish this; every few weeks you can place two pills in the soil so that the nutrients can dissolve into the fertilizer. Each season, you will have to inspect the roots of the tree and trim them if necessary.
It’s also very important to re-pot your tree every couple of years. The ideal season for re-potting is spring, since the weather will be fairly neutral (not too hot, not too cold) and it is more likely that your plant will develop faster in the new soil. This is also a good time to prune the roots, but be sure not to cut too much–only about one third from the tip of the root should be sufficient. If you want your plant to grow in the same shape or at the same pace, you should re-pot in a pot with a similar shape.
If you are growing your bonsai tree indoors, you’ll need to make sure that it is getting enough sunlight, since dark areas in your home could shorten the life of your plant. Keep your plant near the window so that it can get direct sunlight, and make sure that you keep your house at about 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, since your tree will need to be in a warm climate. Humidity is also ideal, since this type of air is part of the environment that these plants naturally flourish in.
In order for a bonsai tree to maintain its appearance, you’ll have to give it regular trimmings and spray the leaves to maintain the color. However, be careful not to spray the leaves in spring and summer months since the leaves can be damaged from the humidity. As well, you need to carefully monitor the water levels of your plant. Both under watering and over watering can be harmful to your delicate tree.
In order to maintain the look and health of the tree when you’re growing bonsai, you’ll need to make sure that the tree is groomed or clipped, as well as fed the best nutrients. You can use a potent multivitamin to accomplish this; every few weeks you can place two pills in the soil so that the nutrients can dissolve into the fertilizer. Each season, you will have to inspect the roots of the tree and trim them if necessary.
It’s also very important to re-pot your tree every couple of years. The ideal season for re-potting is spring, since the weather will be fairly neutral (not too hot, not too cold) and it is more likely that your plant will develop faster in the new soil. This is also a good time to prune the roots, but be sure not to cut too much–only about one third from the tip of the root should be sufficient. If you want your plant to grow in the same shape or at the same pace, you should re-pot in a pot with a similar shape.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Helpful Hints For Bonsai Care
Lots of people wonder what all the fuss is about when it comes to growing a bonsai plant. They simply don’t understand exactly why it necessitates such a lot of watchful attention. However, the fact is, bonsai care is a skill requiring dedication and commitment. These tiny trees need loads of care and will soon die if they don’t receive it.
You need to keep in mind that you are dealing with a plant that is alive and growing, and that has to be painstakingly tended. Your tree requires environmental factors which are just right so it can grow healthily. Room temperature and lighting will have to be carefully watched, plus it’s essential that you give it the precise quantities of fertilizer and water. Here’s a look at several guidelines which will get you started on the road to a beautiful, flourishing bonsai tree.
1. Watering will have to be done cautiously so as to provide the roots precisely the quantity of moisture they need. The amount will depend on the variety you’re raising. You should also check to see that that your bonsai pot has good drainage, since water accumulating at the roots can destroy your plant.
2. Make sure that your indoor bonsai gets a suitable amount of light. Once again, this will differ by species. You will want to protect it from the direct sun when it’s at its brightest, typically between 11 am and 2 pm.
3. For a thriving tree, make certain it gets the vitamins and minerals it requires. Look for a fertilizer product that has been especially intended for indoor bonsai trees. It needs to be fed over the active growing stage only, not when it’s resting.
4. In order for your plant to remain healthy, you will need to transplant it to a new pot from time to time. Check the recommendations for the species you have to make sure you know how often to transplant it.
5. Tropical or subtropical bonsai plants have special requirements. Throughout the winter, you’ll need to keep them protected from freezing air. Make sure they’re located far away from exterior windows and doors that let in drafts.
6. Avoid the urge to over tend your bonsai tree when it’s becoming used to its new home. Otherwise stated, don’t take out the pruning shears and shaping wire too soon. During the first year, your focus must be on preventing the plant from dying and helping it to grow. All you need to do is make sure it receives enough fertilizer, water and light. Once you are able to handle its daily care, then you can start to teach yourself how to prune and shape it.
These plants are delicate and it’s not hard to kill them. But once you develop your bonsai care abilities, you will be able to enjoy your magnificent plant with satisfaction.
You need to keep in mind that you are dealing with a plant that is alive and growing, and that has to be painstakingly tended. Your tree requires environmental factors which are just right so it can grow healthily. Room temperature and lighting will have to be carefully watched, plus it’s essential that you give it the precise quantities of fertilizer and water. Here’s a look at several guidelines which will get you started on the road to a beautiful, flourishing bonsai tree.
1. Watering will have to be done cautiously so as to provide the roots precisely the quantity of moisture they need. The amount will depend on the variety you’re raising. You should also check to see that that your bonsai pot has good drainage, since water accumulating at the roots can destroy your plant.
2. Make sure that your indoor bonsai gets a suitable amount of light. Once again, this will differ by species. You will want to protect it from the direct sun when it’s at its brightest, typically between 11 am and 2 pm.
3. For a thriving tree, make certain it gets the vitamins and minerals it requires. Look for a fertilizer product that has been especially intended for indoor bonsai trees. It needs to be fed over the active growing stage only, not when it’s resting.
4. In order for your plant to remain healthy, you will need to transplant it to a new pot from time to time. Check the recommendations for the species you have to make sure you know how often to transplant it.
5. Tropical or subtropical bonsai plants have special requirements. Throughout the winter, you’ll need to keep them protected from freezing air. Make sure they’re located far away from exterior windows and doors that let in drafts.
6. Avoid the urge to over tend your bonsai tree when it’s becoming used to its new home. Otherwise stated, don’t take out the pruning shears and shaping wire too soon. During the first year, your focus must be on preventing the plant from dying and helping it to grow. All you need to do is make sure it receives enough fertilizer, water and light. Once you are able to handle its daily care, then you can start to teach yourself how to prune and shape it.
These plants are delicate and it’s not hard to kill them. But once you develop your bonsai care abilities, you will be able to enjoy your magnificent plant with satisfaction.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Common styles of Bongsai
The most common styles include formal upright, informal upright, slanting, semi-cascade, cascade, raft, literati, and group/forest. Less common forms include windswept, weeping, split-trunk, and driftwood styles.[1]
The formal upright style, or Chokkan, is characterized by a straight, upright, tapering trunk. Branches progress regularly from the thickest and broadest at the bottom to the finest and shortest at the top.
The trunk and branches of the informal upright style, or Moyogi incorporate visible curves, but the apex of the informal upright is always located directly above the trunk's entry into the soil line. Similar to the formal upright style, branches generally progress regularly from largest at the bottom to smallest at the top, although this progression may be broken where the irregular shape of the trunk would make a branch abnormally prominent or obscure.
Slant-style, or Shakan, bonsai possess straight trunks like those of bonsai grown in the formal upright style. However, the slant style trunk emerges from the soil at an angle, and the apex of the bonsai will be located to the left or right of the root base.
Cascade-style, or Kengai, bonsai are modeled after trees which grow over water or on the sides of mountains. The apex, or tip of the tree in the Semi-cascade-style, or Han Kengai, bonsai extend just at or beneath the lip of the bonsai pot; the apex of a (full) cascade style falls below the base of the pot.
Raft-style, or Netsuranari, bonsai mimic a natural phenomenon that occurs when a tree topples onto its side, for example, from erosion or another natural force. Branches along the top side of the trunk continue to grow as a group of new trunks. Sometimes, roots will develop from buried portions of the trunk. Raft-style bonsai can have sinuous, straight-line, or slanting trunks, all giving the illusion that they are a group of separate trees—while actually being the branches of a tree planted on its side.
The literati style, or Bunjin-gi, bonsai is characterized by a generally bare trunk line, with branches reduced to a minimum, and typically placed the top of a long, often contorted trunk. This style derives its name from the Chinese literati who created Chinese brush paintings like those found in the ancient text, The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting. Their minimalist landscapes often depicted trees growing in harsh conditions, with contorted trunks and reduced foliage. In Japan, the literati style is known as bunjin-gi (文人木[21]?). (Bunjin is a translation of the Chinese phrase wenren meaning "scholars practiced in the arts" and gi is a derivative of the Japanese word, ki, for "tree").
The group or forest style, or Yose Ue, comprises a planting of several or many trees, and typically an odd number, in a bonsai pot. The trees are usually the same species, with a variety of heights employed to add visual interest and to reflect the age differences encountered in mature forests.
The broom style, or Hokidachi, is employed for trees with extensive, fine branching, often with species like elms. The trunk is straight and upright. It branches out in all directions about 1/3 of the way up the entire height of the tree. The branches and leaves form a ball-shaped crown which can also be very beautiful during the winter months.
The multi-trunk style, or Ikadabuki, has all the trunks growing out of one spot with one root system, and it actually is one single tree. Its counterpart in nature is the tree clump formed, for example, where a single pine cone has sprouted a number of seedlings in one spot. All the trunks combine to support one crown of leaves, in which the thickest and most developed trunk forms the top.
The Shari style, or Sharimiki, style involves portraying a tree in its struggle to live while a significant part of its trunk is bare of bark. In nature, trees in the Sharimiki style are created by lightning or animals eating the bark[22].
The root-over-rock style, or Sekijoju, is a style in which the roots of the tree are wrapped around a rock. The rock is at the base of the trunk, with the roots exposed to varying degrees as they traverse the rock and then descend into the soil below.
The growing-in-a-rock, or Ishizuke, style means the roots of the tree are growing in soil contained within the cracks and holes of the rock. The rock may serve as a simple container, with the tree escaping the container and forming its own shape. Alternatively, the tree may show a definite relationship to the rock's shape, growing close to the rock and following its contours.
The formal upright style, or Chokkan, is characterized by a straight, upright, tapering trunk. Branches progress regularly from the thickest and broadest at the bottom to the finest and shortest at the top.
The trunk and branches of the informal upright style, or Moyogi incorporate visible curves, but the apex of the informal upright is always located directly above the trunk's entry into the soil line. Similar to the formal upright style, branches generally progress regularly from largest at the bottom to smallest at the top, although this progression may be broken where the irregular shape of the trunk would make a branch abnormally prominent or obscure.
Slant-style, or Shakan, bonsai possess straight trunks like those of bonsai grown in the formal upright style. However, the slant style trunk emerges from the soil at an angle, and the apex of the bonsai will be located to the left or right of the root base.
Cascade-style, or Kengai, bonsai are modeled after trees which grow over water or on the sides of mountains. The apex, or tip of the tree in the Semi-cascade-style, or Han Kengai, bonsai extend just at or beneath the lip of the bonsai pot; the apex of a (full) cascade style falls below the base of the pot.
Raft-style, or Netsuranari, bonsai mimic a natural phenomenon that occurs when a tree topples onto its side, for example, from erosion or another natural force. Branches along the top side of the trunk continue to grow as a group of new trunks. Sometimes, roots will develop from buried portions of the trunk. Raft-style bonsai can have sinuous, straight-line, or slanting trunks, all giving the illusion that they are a group of separate trees—while actually being the branches of a tree planted on its side.
The literati style, or Bunjin-gi, bonsai is characterized by a generally bare trunk line, with branches reduced to a minimum, and typically placed the top of a long, often contorted trunk. This style derives its name from the Chinese literati who created Chinese brush paintings like those found in the ancient text, The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting. Their minimalist landscapes often depicted trees growing in harsh conditions, with contorted trunks and reduced foliage. In Japan, the literati style is known as bunjin-gi (文人木[21]?). (Bunjin is a translation of the Chinese phrase wenren meaning "scholars practiced in the arts" and gi is a derivative of the Japanese word, ki, for "tree").
The group or forest style, or Yose Ue, comprises a planting of several or many trees, and typically an odd number, in a bonsai pot. The trees are usually the same species, with a variety of heights employed to add visual interest and to reflect the age differences encountered in mature forests.
The broom style, or Hokidachi, is employed for trees with extensive, fine branching, often with species like elms. The trunk is straight and upright. It branches out in all directions about 1/3 of the way up the entire height of the tree. The branches and leaves form a ball-shaped crown which can also be very beautiful during the winter months.
The multi-trunk style, or Ikadabuki, has all the trunks growing out of one spot with one root system, and it actually is one single tree. Its counterpart in nature is the tree clump formed, for example, where a single pine cone has sprouted a number of seedlings in one spot. All the trunks combine to support one crown of leaves, in which the thickest and most developed trunk forms the top.
The Shari style, or Sharimiki, style involves portraying a tree in its struggle to live while a significant part of its trunk is bare of bark. In nature, trees in the Sharimiki style are created by lightning or animals eating the bark[22].
The root-over-rock style, or Sekijoju, is a style in which the roots of the tree are wrapped around a rock. The rock is at the base of the trunk, with the roots exposed to varying degrees as they traverse the rock and then descend into the soil below.
The growing-in-a-rock, or Ishizuke, style means the roots of the tree are growing in soil contained within the cracks and holes of the rock. The rock may serve as a simple container, with the tree escaping the container and forming its own shape. Alternatively, the tree may show a definite relationship to the rock's shape, growing close to the rock and following its contours.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Friday, November 6, 2009
Management Tips
Lead by example. If you ask your employees to work overtime, be there too. Just because company policy allows it, don't fly first-class if your associates are in coach on the same plane. Be a leader - it's tougher than being a manager, but it's worth it.
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