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11/26/2015 11:00 PMWinter is upon us; the season of brown and gray with occasional blankets of thick white snow. The trees are bare; no leaves in sight. The flowers and blossoms of spring are still a ways off, yet for bonsai enthusiasts they have a secret: a tree in full bloom near an east-facing window, and it's only 12 inches tall.
Of course, most traditional bonsai are still grown outside - even during winter. Like most trees, bonsai benefit from the winter months for dormancy to allow the tree to grow stronger and healthier. However, banyan ficus, tea trees, and snow roses join a dozen other major varieties of tropical-origin plants flourishing and even blooming indoors year-round.
Bonsai, cultivated both indoors and out, can provide a lifetime of aesthetic happiness – literally. A ficus bonsai in Crespi, Italy is reported to be over a 1,000 years old. A 400-year-old bonsai that was in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb fell in 1945 can now be found at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington, D.C. where it was donated.
The word bonsai literally means "tree in a pot." It sounds simple enough the art of cultivating bonsai has been studied and practiced since sometime around 200 A.D. And when you hear a phrase like "bonsai master" the hobby can seem quite intimidating.
A Brief History
The history of bonsai is shrouded in myths and legends but has become widely accepted that it was the Chinese who first created the miniature trees even though the Japanese receive most of the credit. Early Chinese legend contends that an emperor in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to 220 A.D.) created a landscape in his courtyard complete with hills, valleys, rivers, lakes, and trees to represent his entire empire. This landscape art form was his alone to possess. According to legend, anyone else found of possession of a miniature landscape was seen as a threat to the empire and put to death.
Bonsai didn't come to Japan until the Heian period (794 to 1191 A.D.) when Buddhist monks brought the miniature trees to the island. And it wasn't until the showing of bonsai at the Third Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1878 that the bonsai began to move west. It wasn't until the end of World War II, however, that bonsai began to gain popularity in the United States. American soldiers returning from Japan did so with bonsai in tow.
Bonsai For Every One
Many bonsai beginners receive little junipers for Christmas only to see them die an ugly death. Don't be dissuaded: conifers (pines, junipers, cedars, etc.) can only be grown out of doors. Being evergreen, however, these plants are beautiful even in the dregs of winter. Bonsai suitable for indoors, though, are tropical and semitropical specimens like pomegranates, tiny-leafed Chinese elms, flowering tea trees and snow roses, and any of the thousand varieties of ficus/banyan.
Bonsai can be purchased in a number of ways - already grown from seed, shaped, and potted in special bosai bowls or dishes; as plants uprooted as nursery stock and potted, or as nursery stock that you plant and pot yourself. Whichever route you choose, look for trees that have a pleasing asymmetrical form and seem hardy with little to no dead wood, leaves, or branches.
Once you've selected a bonsai, it's important to pay attention to watering: too much will result in fungus and root rot, while too little creates a desert in the pot. Your best bet is the digit test: Stick a finger in the soil to the first knuckle and test. Dry? Immerse the pot in a pan of water to the base of the tree trunk and let it absorb. Not dry? Don't water! For outdoor bonsai like a juniper, a flowering azalea, or a maple, the same watering rules apply. Choosing the right soil mixture and re-potting regularly (on average every two years, to make sure the trees don't become pot-bound, making it hard to soak up and store water) is crucial to keep your tree healthy. And finally, bring tender plants and shallow pots in before a hard freeze.
The Right Tools for the Job
Before you whip out your pruners and start whittling away, make sure you have the proper equipment. Bonsai aficionados agree that the highest-quality tools are the expensive Masakuni tools from Japan, but if you're just getting started, you'll only need pruning scissors (not pruners), concave branch-cutters, bonsai wire-cutters, aluminum bonsai wire, and bamboo chopsticks. Wire-cutters must be made strictly for bonsai - regular cutters can't cut wire off branches without damaging the bark. And those chopsticks? They are for stirring and aerating the soil.