Bonsai for Beginners

If you’re interested in learning about bonsai, you’re embarking on a journey to learn about a horticultural art form that is both emotionally stimulating and relaxing.  Bonsai isn’t a type of tree, but a type of garden art that is characterized by the artist’s, gardener’s, manipulation, cultivation and training of miniature trees in order to make a beautiful horticultural presentation that stimulates both the mind and soul.  There’s no "right" bonsai, or "wrong" bonsai because the final result is based on the artist's whim, but there are techniques that are generally followed by most practitioners.

With bonsai, you are creating something really beautiful that caters to your spiritual and emotional self.  You’re not walking into bonsai with a casual knowledge of gardening. Bonsai artist are very well-versed in the art of growing and caring for plants, in general, as well as the specific skill required for bonsai, like wiring and pruning.  Bonsai artists report feeling incredibly spiritual and at one with nature as they create their work.  The ability to bend and cultivate a tree to grow according to his or her own whim is what makes this a particularly meditative art form to the bonsai artist.  Generally speaking, it takes about two years to learn basic bonsai skills in order to do them well.  As with all art, your technique and skill level will increase and continue to develop for the rest of your life.

Choosing a Species of Tree

The beginning bonsai artist has quite a few species of tree to choose from.  You can grow anything from maple, beech, elm and pomegranate to apple, birch and cedar.  The tree that you choose will be the determining factor regarding which style of bonsai that you decide to pursue.  The styles that you choose reflect how the tree would grow were it growing in its natural environment.  For instance, if you were to grow a bonsai in the Kengai style, you’d be cultivating the tree to look like it was grown in a mountainous region.

Starting Your Bonsai Plant

When you begin bonsai, you should start with a one-gallon nursery plant, which you will leave in its pot as you start to train it.  Instead of starting from the roots, start from the top of the plant and practice pruning and wiring techniques.  You should move slowly as you prune away no more than a third of the plant’s foliage at any one time.  As time goes on, your plant will both grow and remain stunted.

This stunted sapling will serve as your canvas.  You could start your canvas earlier by starting with growing the tree in the pot directly from seeds.  This can allow you to feel even more in control of the tree as it grows, since you’re nurturing it from what is basically its birth.  Starting a bonsai from seed clearly means it will take longer for you to see the fruits of your labor.  It’s also a lot harder to do and requires that you have a more advanced level of skill as you nurture it through its growth stages.  If this is your first experience with bonsai, it will probably be in your best interests to start with a sapling.

Instruction

Your best bet in learning about bonsai is to take local classes offered by specialized nurseries or local colleges, or even online classes.  For more information about everything you'd need to know about starting your bonsai experience, check out the American Bonsai Society at absbonsai.org.