cuttings, kept small in small containers. They are patterned after
true bonsai, with interesting character, artistic lines, and perfect
proportion. The mechanics of pruning and training are very much the
same. But because they are not hardy outdoor growers that resent the
hot dry air of a house, and because they don’t need annual dormancy,
they are fascinating indoor ornaments to be lived with and enjoyed the
year round.
[Illustration:
Different types of bonsai trees and containers]
[Illustration:
Bonsai in citrus]
Once we became intrigued with the concept of “indoor bonsai” we found
so many house and greenhouse plants with picturesque prospects that I
fear we will never get to try them all. I have seedlings and cuttings
of all sorts, even including those from a breakfast orange and a
pomegranate out of the fruit bowl. And, of course, small plants sold by
mail-order suppliers are just the right size to begin the process of
dwarfing and shaping.
(_In the list at the end of Chapter 6, plants suitable for indoor
bonsai use are indicated._)
OUTDOOR PLANTS FOR DWARFING, BONSAI-STYLE
With proper care, any woody plant--any tree, shrub, or vine with
persisting trunk or stems--can be grown indefinitely in a pot. With
some skill in pruning branches and roots, it can be permanently
dwarfed. And with imagination and artistry, it can be trained to
re-create in miniature one of the majestic pictures of nature. However,
some plants are more amenable to rigorous dwarfing than others; some
adapt more willingly to growing in containers; and some are by nature
more suitable in habit and appearance.
The easiest plants to dwarf are those that are naturally small, or slow
growing, and those with small leaves or needles, flowers or fruit.
Proportion is the most important factor. Every element--leaf, twig,
branch, trunk, root, container--must be in harmony and balance with all
others.
It’s not impossible to use larger-leaved plants. It’s just a little
more difficult. Long needles can be cut shorter, for example, but they
must be kept the proper length. Large leaves can be thinned to relieve
any feeling of heaviness, and each leaf can be used to represent a
branch. With some types of deciduous trees--say, maples--the leaves
that come out first in the spring can be pinched off. The leaves that
come out to replace them will be smaller.
Almost equally important is the “character” of a dwarfed plant--its
irregular or fluid lines, illusion of age, unusual aspect of bark
or twig that make it dramatic and vibrant. Any form of art can be
dull if it has nothing except perfect proportion to offer. With good
proportion, plus intriguing line and design, it becomes interesting.
In the original bonsai the artist transplanted a tree he found growing
in the wild and carefully conserved the misshapen lines made by
buffeting weather, or he very carefully copied, or re-created, a tree
he had seen holding a precarious footing high on a rocky ridge and
perhaps dipping down into a windy gorge. These shapes and forms are now
the basis for specific classes of bonsai which we can borrow or adapt.
So the “character” of a plant may suggest that it be trained as if it
were growing out at a right angle from a rocky slope with its roots
covering a stone; as a grove, to weep or cascade; or as a gigantic,
single-trunked forest monarch with pitted, weather-worn bark.
Or perhaps, lightning might have split the trunk, leaving part of it
jagged and dead. The two trunks may have become entangled with each
other. Branches may have been blown in one direction so long that they
bend that way permanently.
_Types of Plants_
Any woody plant whose parts are in proper proportion for dwarfing--and
particularly, any that shows promise of interesting lines or
“character”--is a good prospect for bonsai. The coniferous evergreens
are most popular, because they hold their foliage all year, and because
small-needled types are comparatively plentiful. Small-leaved deciduous
trees can be at their most attractive best with spring’s budding new
growth, summer’s airy foliage, fall’s brilliant color, or with the
silhouette of a naked trunk in winter.
With flowering trees and shrubs the choice of varieties narrows even
more. Large flowers with brilliant color and overpowering fragrance
may destroy balance and proportion, and detract from the beauty of
the plant itself. More delicate plants are more likely to enhance the
picture. For obvious reasons, plants that bear fruits and berries in
the proper scale are the hardest to find, and culturally the most
difficult.
(_For plants that are suitable for outdoor bonsai, see list at the
end of Chapter 14._)
_Sources_
Bonsai becomes a reality faster, of course, when you start with a
fairly mature plant. The most fruitful source is the selection of
three-year-old trees and shrubs at your local nursery. Those growing in
gallon-sized cans, or other containers, naturally accept pruning and
transplanting with the least setback. They should be healthy plants,
not overgrown or neglected, that have been regularly root-pruned and
transplanted through their infancy. It is perfectly safe to buy them
pot-bound if that condition has not persisted for several seasons, with
the outer roots all dead as a result.
In selecting a specimen, first examine varieties that are by nature
slow-growing and have leaves, or needles, in perfect scale. Be
selective, pass up the symmetrical specimens that are best for ordinary
landscaping purposes, and look for that one plant in a thousand, the
one with interesting “character”--peculiarity of shape, irregular
branches, low horizontal growth, stocky or twisted trunk. The most
ideal plant has its largest branch near the base, and has no regular or
opposite branches to be pruned away. Next to above-ground development
in importance, is the below-ground root system. To be ideal, the root
system should be a compact, shallow mass rather than one long taproot
with a few offshoots. To make it even more ideal, the stoutest roots
should be growing near the surface.
Younger, smaller bonsai plants are readily available from mail-order
suppliers who specialize in them. Here, make your selection according
to variety, and then train your plants as you grow them. But beware
of cheap “bargain offers.” I speak with this advice because of
the experience of some of my friends. They were too intrigued by
Sunday-newspaper ads. Buy only from reliable growers who have invested
time and care in developing healthy plants and, better yet, have
labeled them true to name. For those who are more interested in the
finished work of art than in the growing and creating of it, some
florists and nurseries advertise mature, or nearly mature, bonsai.
Again may I say, “Beware.” The supplier’s reliability is even more
important.
Sometimes you can find precious bonsai-type shrubs or trees growing
in the wild. Small seedlings of hemlock, ash, birch, maple, and some
elms, if they are dug very carefully--and at just about any time of
the year--can be used as miniature bonsai, or they can be planted in
the garden for a few years until they are larger. Usually, the taproot
has to be cut back rather severely to encourage the development of a
spreading mass of smaller roots. Start your regular pruning as soon as
the plant recovers from transplanting shock.
The larger native plants should be taken when they are dormant, in late
fall or the earliest spring. In searching, look for those that have
been naturally dwarfed and misshapen by misfortune. In digging, make
sure the soil is so moist that much of it will cling to the roots. Keep
the roots moist and well covered against drying sun and winds until the
transplant is safely in the soil again. For any such wildlings, take
along enough of the surrounding soil to fill the container into which
they are going. This will make them feel at home in their new place in
the garden bed.
Many growers now propagate their own bonsai plants; thus they can
control shape, root-spread, line, and design from the very beginning.
Almost all of the propagating methods outlined in Chapter 10 are
useful here, some especially so. Cuttings of all kinds will produce
stout-trunked plants much faster than seeds. Plants such as willow,
holly, ginkgo, and ivy can be started from stems as thick as an
inch or so in diameter. With cuttings you can have quantities of
new plants from one parent, all with the same variegations or other
characteristics.
Either ground or air layering can give you plants that are larger than
those obtained from cuttings. By selecting a certain branch you can be
surer of getting the characteristics and shape you want. If your bonsai
is to be well balanced, select a well-proportioned branch with close
twiggy growth. By layering you can also correct an unattractive bonsai,
growing a new one from a plant that has become too tall and gangly, or
one that has badly formed roots.
Grafting for bonsai plants is not widely practiced because too often
it leaves a visible scar or some other sign of artificiality, and also
because there is the danger of undesirable sprouts shooting up from the
roots. Plants from a graft are generally weaker than cuttings or layers
which have their own roots. If your plant happens to be a valuable
one, you can often improve its shape by grafting on new branches where
they will do the most good; or good branches can be grafted onto
picturesque, gnarled roots. I have never made a serious effort to graft
in such cases, but I have seen some good results from the work of other
growers.
Growing bonsai plants from seed requires infinite patience--as a
warning, the process takes years. But seedlings, once you have them
going, and with the healthiest of root systems, will live indefinitely.
Seeds of bonsai-type plants are available from several growers. Should
they need special preparation, such as nicking or stratifying, the seed
packets should say so.
When seedlings have several true leaves and are ready for
transplanting, cut back the strong taproot (should there be one) by
at least one-third. This will encourage root-branching. When potting
seedlings, spread the side roots so they will develop evenly near the
soil surface. Pruning and training can begin while the plants are
still quite young. Plant the stem on a slant. Pinch new tip growth for
development of side branches. Tie straight trunk stems to a bamboo
cane, or perhaps just a sliver; or otherwise guide the young shrub, or
tree, toward the lines you have in mind for its mature effect.
BONSAI CONTAINERS
In no other art form is it more obvious that a subordinate element
such as a container can make or mar the perfection of a picture. For
instance, with a painting the frame can have small faults without
lessening the impression of a masterpiece. But bonsai is so stark that
a slight imperfection can become a glaring error. So, although the
container is merely a supporting feature, it becomes only a little less
important than the center of interest, the plant. It must harmonize
with the plant, reflect and supplement its beauty, and not detract from
its leading role.
Imported Japanese bonsai containers of the traditional type, now
readily available, are usually shallow bowls or dishes of glazed (or
unglazed) ceramic. They are never glazed on the inside and are usually
sold in sets of three matched units of graduated size. Contemporary
American artists and manufacturers are also turning out pans and trays
made of dull metals, tile, and wood. The wood may be either of a
natural finish or artistically weathered. For outdoor bonsai, wood must
necessarily be treated for durability and weather resistance.
For indoor plantings, containers can very often be improvised. I’ve
used bronze ash trays, wooden salad bowls, shapely plastic dishes
(shallow), and odds and ends of pottery--anything of the right motif
in which it is possible to bore, drill, or chip drainage holes on
the bottom. Many of our modern ceramics are in complete harmony with
bonsai. But you must have those drainage holes, otherwise your watering
problems are compounded.
The ideal bonsai containers are seldom ornate; really they shouldn’t
be. They should have the grace and elegance of “expensive simplicity,”
which doesn’t mean they are expensive. They just look as though they
were. Colors are subdued, not bright or showy. As a rule to follow,
darker and somber shades are used for evergreens, lighter shades for
flowering plants, the specific choice depending on the color of the
bloom. In shape and form, bonsai containers are simple and graceful and
are selected to set off the shape or lines of the plants. Erect trunks
often take shallow, rectangular containers. Hanging or weeping lines
call for round containers with more depth. Square or oval containers
are used for extremely delicate, graceful subjects.
Container size, of course, depends on the plants themselves. As
a general rule, the smallest and most shallow container that is
culturally practical, and in good proportion, is the best. In true
bonsai containers, diameters range from two to twenty-five inches;
depths, from one to ten inches. The accepted rule for good proportions
allows the plant to occupy 80 per cent of the picture, the container
20 per cent. Should you have very small plants the ratio is slightly
changed--60 per cent for plant, 40 per cent for the container. However,
these figures should not be considered as hard and fast, but as a guide
when purchasing containers. Your eye may tell you what is better suited
for your particular plant or shrub.
PLANTING AND CARE
Rather specific cultural practices have evolved for dwarfing hardy
garden plants, trees, and shrubs, and growing them in small containers.
Tender house and greenhouse plants, dwarfed and grown as indoor bonsai,
are also potted, pruned, trained, and watered as outlined in this
chapter. Otherwise, they are grown like the window-garden plants in
Chapter 1.
_Root-pruning_
This is often the first thing you do for a plant that is to be grown
bonsai-style. It is a procedure that is repeated regularly if your
plant is to have a long life. Dwarf trees and shrubs are root-pruned so
they will fit their small containers, or to make room for fresh soil
when they are repotted, or to keep the root system in balance with the
growth above soil that is being restricted. Pruning also keeps the
roots compact, near the surface of the soil, and vigorously young.
Removing old, woody roots encourages the growth of fine new ones.
When seedlings, rooted cuttings, and small newly purchased or collected
plants are made ready for their first bonsai containers, they are not
immediately root-pruned in a severe sense. Any roots that are dead
should be trimmed off and long taproots should be cut back at least
one-third. Otherwise, it’s a matter of trimming off the root ball with
as little disturbance as possible, just enough to fit the container.
After they have been established, plants are root-pruned when they are
repotted. When roots are crowded and completely cover the soil in a
close mesh, it’s time to repot and root-prune. For some plants this may
come once in a year, for others once in five years.
Hold the base of the trunk in one hand--your left hand if you are a
right-hander. Use a dull-pointed pencil (the Japanese use a chopstick)
and loosen the soil around the outside. Pick away about one-third of it
if the plant is established, somewhat more on younger plants. When you
have finished, the soil ball should be, roughly speaking, one-fourth
smaller than its container. Then, with sharp scissors, cut away all
the loose root ends which you have removed from the soil. This is
rather drastic surgery, although not like removing an arm and a leg
of a gardener, because the plant or shrub has the happy faculty of
growing new roots. However, it will need special care and protection
until it is back on its feet again. Bonsai plants are root-pruned and
returned to the same container year after year. None of this making
each container one size larger each time the plant is moved into a new
house. That’s for house plants per se.
_Soil_
Potting soil for dwarfed trees and shrubs is particularly important.
There is so little of it in small containers. In general, it should
provide good drainage and aeration while also holding a certain amount
of moisture. On the specific side, soil contents and textures should
vary to meet the individual plant’s needs.
If your plant happens to have been dug locally, take along a supply of
local soil. If you happen to have purloined the plant from a neighbor’s
woods, purloin a little soil. It’s no more of a sin to have stolen a
sheep than half a sheep. In our neighborhood it is a standing joke
about how many plants, flat paving stones, etc., we swipe from each
other. If you have been honest enough to have bought your plant from a
nursery, ask their advice on the soil. If they are not smart, although
most of them are, get the reference book down off the shelf and find
out whether the plant craves a mixture that is sandy, rich in humus,
acid or alkaline, fine or coarse. You have a baby on your hands. Treat
it right and it will award you with adulthood in bonsai. Neglect it and
it will curl up and die. Mix your soil as you would a baby’s formula.
Remember, babies cry when the formula is faulty; plants can’t. They
silently pass away.
_Potting and Repotting_
I am frequently asked how often an established tree or shrub should be
repotted. It depends, first, on how fast it grows. A willow may need
this attention twice a year, a conifer once in five years. A general
rule is to repot flowering and fruiting plants about once a year,
most deciduous varieties every other year, evergreens every three to
five years. But don’t follow that schedule too literally. If a tree
begins to wither or look weak, if its color turns sickly and it shows
no sign of growth, if its roots are so packed they hump up the soil,
root-pruning and repotting are often the “shot in the arm” that can
save it.
The most favorable repotting seasons vary with types of plants and the
climate. Again, it’s a good idea to consult some authority or reference
book. In general, and in most areas, it is safe to repot evergreens,
deciduous foliage varieties, and summer-or fall-flowering types in
early spring before new growth begins. As for spring-flowering plants,
repot immediately after flowering; for fruiting types, in early autumn
before cold weather sets in.
As a side light, it is possible to use watertight containers minus
drainage holes. That is rather desirable when a plant is to be
displayed on finely finished furniture in the house. The container
should be a shade larger than usual so that, in potting, a corner area
or space along the side can be left empty and the soil sloped down
toward it. If there is any standing water it will show up in this
section. Just up-end the container and drain off the excess water.
In the process make sure that the plant is not also drained off or
disturbed. But that you will know from plain common sense.
If a pot has drainage holes, I always make sure they are partially
covered with crockery or aluminum window screen so the soil will not
sift down and clog the holes. To insure even better drainage, I screen
the first layer so that it is coarse and granular, put a little soil
on top, and then set the plant in place. In oblong or oval containers,
the trunk is usually one-third of the distance from the end and a
little behind the center line. Of course, that depends on the shape of
the containers. In round or square containers, the plant is usually
centered.
When planting, fill in the soil gradually. Use a pencil, or if you have
the true Oriental feeling, a chopstick, to tuck the soil in tightly
around the roots. Whatever you use, be sure to eliminate any pockets of
air. Roots don’t like it. As to how tightly you pack it, that depends
on the type of plant and the texture of the soil. If your soil is
built up around the edges and sloped toward the center, you will have
a depression that will hold water until it can seep down to the roots
below. Unless you have some particular plan or design, finish off the
surface with a ground cover of moss, or perhaps a layer of gravel. Moss
is not only an added attraction but functions as a mulch and delays the
evaporation of moisture from the soil underneath.
After repotting, soak the soil thoroughly, and soak the container,
which is probably dried out. Mist the foliage and remove any debris
such as fallen leaves and petals. Then keep the plant sheltered for
several weeks until it is re-established. Remember, it has had what a
human being would regard as a major operation.
Some of the most appealing bonsai plants are grown with their roots
around a rock of interesting and harmonious size, shape, color, and
texture. Soft, porous tufa is especially good for this purpose because
you can cut and shape it easily. You can hollow out cavities and
crevices, just the place for roots to grow. Any rock should have a
stable base. Please don’t let it tip or wobble.
For this sort of planting, select a healthy plant in vigorous growth
with roots long enough to reach down the side of the stone. Prune
away any roots that are too short or dead, and remove the soil from
the others. Set the base of the trunk in place on top of the rock and
arrange the roots so that the tips reach down and can be buried in the
soil in the container. Both roots and plant may need to be anchored in
place for a while; that is, until they can stand on their own.
Such plants naturally need special watering and protection for the
first few months, perhaps even for a year or so. You can help them
along by rubbing soil into the roots after they are fastened in place,
or covering them temporarily with a thin layer of moist moss. Should
you do any repotting, be careful not to loosen the roots on the rock.
Recently, in the home of one of my Redding neighbors, I saw a bonsai
arrangement that pretty much follows what I have been describing above,
except that it goes it one better. This gardener, in the search for
the “right” rock, had walked miles along the stone fences that divide
fields, woods, and properties in our area. Eventually she found a
beautifully weathered specimen with a large pocket in the top. This
she filled with a rich, moisture-holding soil mixture, encasing some
of the roots of her bonsai in it. Then she set the rock in water in a
shallow container to help keep it moist. Someday I am going to defy the
snakes that are said to lurk in the cracks and crevices of our rock
walls and see if I can’t find something to approximate what my neighbor
discovered. I hope it will have a few lichens on it. That would be a
crowning touch of age and antiquity.
_Shaping and Pruning_
These are the techniques, says one author, that “make bonsai culture
an art.” That statement alone is sufficient reason to invalidate
just about all of the specific rules. But there are others--the wide
variations among plants and types of plants, plus the personal element,
the variances in personal tastes and degrees of artistry.
Instead of trying to cover bonsai pruning and wiring in complete detail
(there are many excellent books on the subject), I’d rather speak from
personal experience and set down the basic principles as I see them and
have used them. By following these principles--not word for word, or
too literally, but with your own creative ingenuity and imagination--I
feel you can shape a true bonsai plant, or adaptations in the bonsai
manner.
First, let’s define the objective--a miniature tree or shrub with
every part in perfect scale, the line and design of trunk and branches
clearly outlined and not forced or distorted but naturally picturesque.
If you start with a very small plant, a seedling, or a rooted cutting,
the choice of shape and design is mostly up to you. But more mature
plants almost always suggest their own form. A trunk may be slightly
twisted, a branch slightly bent, the leaves or needles heavier in one
area than another. You simply carry on the illusion in as natural a
manner as possible.