How to Grow a Bonsai
For many bonsai enthusiasts, one of the most satisfying parts of creating a bonsai is propagating, or starting your own creation from scratch. The most common bonsai propagation techniques are: growing from seed, growing from cuttings, air layering, and grafting. The last two, layering and grafting, are the most advanced and not usually recommended for beginning bonsai growers.
Growing From Seed
While there are “special” bonsai seeds available commercially you don’t need to buy them, as bonsai are simply regular trees that have been trimmed and shaped to grow in a specific way. You can either look for wild seeds in fields or woods in your area in the fall, or you can purchase seeds of a species you like from the nursery or garden center. The advantage of purchasing seeds is that they are more likely to be healthy and parasite-free.
Some species that are easily grown from seeds include maple, black pine, beech, and larch. Growing a bonsai from seed is a lengthy process; some seeds take months to germinate, and then it can take several years for the plant to develop a trunk thick enough to train. Seeds will also develop in harmony with their native habitat, so some will lie dormant in the winter and grow into seedlings in the spring.
Bonsai seeds should be planted in a seed tray or pot filled with a potting compost of peat and sand where they can be easily watered. Fill the container about half full of compost, pat down the surface and distribute the seeds evenly. Large seeds can be planted individually. Cover the seeds with another layer of soil and then top with a thin layer of sand or grit. Depending on the species, the seed tray can be placed outside to germinate or kept indoors. Many bonsai growers use a heated propagator with warming cables that keeps the pots at an even temperature. In most cases seedlings start to appear in two-to-four weeks. Keep the soil moist, but do not overwater. When the seedlings are bigger, you can fertilize and eventually transfer to bonsai pots.
Growing from Cuttings
Growing a bonsai from a cutting, or a small piece of living plant, is faster than growing from seed. There are two kinds of cuttings, softwood and hardwood. Softwood cuttings are taken in the spring using new shoots; trees including Japanese maple, maple, and willow are easily grown from softwood cuttings. Hardwood cuttings are taken in the fall or early winter from shoots that have already hardened. There are specific techniques for taking cuttings; cuttings are usually about three-to-four inches long with no leaves and are taken just below a node or leaf joint of a mature tree.
Softwood cuttings should be placed in a covered propagator or seed tray into a mix of moss and peat. Hardwood cuttings can be placed outside in the open ground and will grow buds in the spring. While all cuttings need plenty of light, they should not be exposed to direct sunlight. When a cutting has “struck,” young shoots will grow from the leaf joints; a light tug on the cutting will tell you if roots have formed. When there are roots, you can place the cutting into a pot and let it develop for a year before training into a bonsai.
Layering
Layering has been used to create bonsai for centuries in Japan and China. It involves injuring, or cutting, the wood of the parent tree so that nutrients from its roots flow to the leaves, but the flow from the leaves to the roots is interrupted. The injured area of bark grows into a callus where a bud can form and grow new roots. When this layering bud has strong roots, it can be separated from the parent tree and potted. Ground layering involves taking buds and roots that have grown into the ground from low-hanging branches, and air layering uses branches growing off the ground. With air layering, the injured area must be encased in polythene or similar material until roots are formed. Layering takes skill and patience and can only be done in the spring when the parent tree is growing new roots.
Grafting
Seasoned bonsai artists use grafting, or adding a new branch or root to an existing bonsai, to create visual changes or shape corrections. Two different plants, or two parts of the same bonsai can be used; the two parts are joined where the cambium—or layer of tissue in plants comprised of cells that divide to form new layers of tissue— is exposed, allowing the parts to heal together. Bonsai grafting includes branch grafting, bud grafting, trunk grafting, and root grafting.
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