bonsaial1

Bonsai 101
I have been collecting and making plans for all the projects I want to start in the winter. While I have most of the stuff together and have outlined everything that I will need to pull it all together, I long for a meaningful dialog here on bonsaiTALK. I have decided to share a handful of tips that make bonsai easier and better to look at in general. This comes from my years in the craft, and I hope that others with tips to add will put them here.

On finding stock


· Look for plants that have a large trunk.
Do not be confused on buying large trunks for the sake of a large trunk. It should be well proportioned and have some taper.

· Trunk should have some movement
Subtle curves will enhance any design. Stay away from the ugly Chinese S curves prevalent in much of the beginner stock out there.

· Look for the branches
Do the branches start out low on the trunk? Low branches can be cut off later, but give endless possibilities when making the initial design.

· Are there roots there?
Look for plants that have a decent root system. This is not always possible, but stay away from over pot bound stuff with knarly roots and work that will take many years to correct, if even then.

· Healthy or...
Make sure the plant is healthy. Does the plant have good color in the foliage? Are there brown patches that will make it hard to start a foliage pad. Foliage can be grown, but it takes longer and does not always grow where you want it.

· Go with a winner
Pick a plant with easy attributes. There are some plants that are a natural for bonsai. Junipers, elms, and maples are tried and true and are plants that will make the beginning artist have success much faster.

Styling Primer

· Don't cut it all off
Leave the foliage on the branch all the way to the trunk. The part between the branch and the trunk can be removed, but keep the valuable part along the entire length of the branch. This can be removed later, but always remember that " it can be removed later, but you can't add it back".

· Have a plan before you start
The plan should have been devised at the nursery during the pick out stage. It should be an easy matter now of pruning out unnecessary branches and start to wire.

· Pick the branches carefully
Branches too should have been picked out at the nursery. The plan should always include a look at the branch structure to see if the plan you have includes the branches in the correct position.

· Cut it all the way off?
Branches should be left long and left for Jin. The Jins can be cut off later but grafting Jins is more tedious. The Jins can also be used as anchoring points for the wiring process.

· There are no branches where I need them
Branches can be “twisted “ into position during the wiring process. Look for branches that are suitable for movement into their future positions. By twisting the trunk after wiring, the branches will move into the place where you want them. (Caution: this should be done with care in spring when the sap is in a layer under the cambium, girdling of the tree is possible).

· Windswept of cascade?
These two designs pop up much to often in the beginning stages of bonsai design. While junipers are the most likely culprit, making a cascade or windswept is the worst possible idea. Not only are they hard designs to pull off for the experienced, they are even more difficult for the beginner. These are two designs that have much artistry envolved to look convincing, and that is better left for a couple of years down the road.

Wiring basics

· Copper or aluminum?
I like to use a combination of both. Copper has superior holding power and will not look so obtrusive on the plant, since a smaller diameter can be used. Aluminum is great for small twigs where buds are delicate and copper may knock them of due to harder bending pressure.

· My wire slips off the branch
Wire should be anchored to a trunk or branch with no less then two wraps of wire. Wire will sometimes slip off the end of small branchlets. Form a small loop in the wire to anchor it to the end of the branch.

· My wire won’t hold the branch into shape
Make sure the wire is the correct gauge for the branch. Hold a piece of wire about 3 inches from the end. Lay it across the branch to be bent and push down on the wire. If the wire pushes the branch down without bending, it is the correct gauge. If the wire just bends, then move up one or two wire sizes until it does not bend. Make sure the coils of wire are at a 45-degree angle to the branch. Wire at less or more angle will not hold sufficiently.

· What does a guy wire do?
Guy wires are a cool way of holding down a branch. Just remember that it may take up to five times as long to get a guy wired branch to hold its shape as a branch bent with wire. Wire puts more pressure on a smaller part of the branch, while guy wires tend to put their pressure more spread out and utilized along the entire branch. Use guy wires to ease a large branch down or to pull a branch down already bent with wire. Remember too that a guy wired branch will not look the same if the rest of the tree is bent using wire.

· Why do I have to wire all these branches?
Get into the habit of wiring all the branches down to every last tertiary branch. Beginners never wire branches enough and this is the first detail that shows after the initial design.

There are many more aspects to the beginning bonsai artist. Potting, soil, stands and photography are just the tip of the iceberg. I feel the the points I have touched on when followed to the tee, will go along way towards producing better results. Learn to pick good stock from the beginning, read the branches of the stock and let the trunk and branching dictate the style, and wire it to the last shoot.

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III Bonsai-al

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