Questions tagged [bonsai]

Miniature version of a tree curated in a small container by trimming its roots and branches. Each Specimen of bonsai trees needs different requirements such as soil type, amount of sun, watering schedule, NPK fertalizer levels and much more.

Bonsai (盆栽 Japanese) is a Japanese art form and tradition dating back over a thousand years.

bonsai of cotoneaster by OpenEye

A miniature version of a or bush is grown in a small or container, frequent trimming of the roots and branches shapes the plant's in a way as to grow no larger than the container().

Other cultures have similar practices such as penjing and hòn non bộ from China (where the art originated) and Vietnam respectively.

In English, "bonsai" is a catch-all term for all miniature trees in containers or pots.

Cotoneaster bonsai photo from OpenEye

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How to keep pine trees small

This is a picture inside Montreal's botanical garden at the entrance of the Japanese garden. In this picture we can see 5 small pine like trees along with thyme and rocks. I would like to recreate something inspired from this. How can I keep…
Gilles
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Is it possible for a transplanted baby Maple to grow into a Bonsai tree?

My understanding is that a real Bonsai tree is already very old living in a crevice somewhere, naturally tiny then transplanted. In 50 years living in these pots, what would these Maples look like (1-year-old children of the 20+ year-old Maple that…
Charney Kaye
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What are these pests on my Cussonia Bonsai?

My Cussonia bonsai suffers from these pests which I cannot recognize. I cleaned the leaves with a 90% alcohol solution, but they keep coming back, although I don't know if those are new pests or just eggs that are hatching. Could you please help me…
user1895
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When should I start repotting bonsai Juniper?

Are January and February good months to repot evergreen bonsai Juniper. This would be my first time repotting it and the plant is doing great so far, but I don't want to kill it: I want to make sure that I do it at the right time of year.
david
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Is there a particular term for 'large bonsai'?

We are relatively new to the Pacific Northwest coast. One thing that seems to be somewhat common are Japanese type gardens. What a lot of these gardens have I would call--for lack of a better term--"large outdoor bonsai" trees. Essentially, they…
DA.
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Growing temperate plants indoors

I have grown several (small) trees, native to western Europe, from seed. (Oak, Pine, Chestnut, Walnut, Plum, Maple, Beech, etc). I have had the fortune of having some space in the garden where I could grow them and let them "overwinter" outside;…
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spiral tree trunk growth

I’d like to create a helical twist in the trunk of a young tree. I’m talking about a spiral grain, not just bending it into a coil, etc. Here’s an example: I’ve read that it’s still not well understood how this happens in nature, but if I could rig…
shwoseph
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Chinese Elm bonsai turning yellow after repotting

I have a Chinese Elm bonsai. The tree was doing fine, sprouting many new twigs in the last month or two. After the growth slowed down I decided to repot the tree, because the original soil was too slow to dry out and also because the roots were…
zoul
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Can I make these impromptu bonsai work?

Yesterday, on an impulse, inspired by the Bob Ross of bonsai, I dug up two maple seedlings from my property and potted them. I had only one bonsai pot, so for the other one I had to use what I had on hand. (I did have a couple of flowerpots, but the…
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How long do I wait to wire my ficus bonsai after re-potting it?

I recently got a ficus bonsai 3 days ago. It's responding well, however, it needs some wiring, pruning and general reshaping before the spring/summer growth. I was wondering how long should I wait before re-wiring it. I was going to wait until…
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Good groundcover for bonsai

What type of plants are good ground cover for bonsai? When I first started growing bonsai, I only used a fine gravel for ground cover, but this looked very boring and artificial. Then I tried moss, since it has no roots to compete with the bonsai,…
Cerin
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Exposed roots in a juniperus bonsai, plus probable fungi problem

A friend of mine has a juniperus bonsai similar to this, but it is not doing well recently. I noticed its top roots are now outside of soil, which I find not good, and I am about to suggest my friend adding a thin layer of a good substrate to cover…
VividD
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Redwood Bonsai Trees leaves issue?

I had a tiny forest of 4 trees, but 2 were quite bad and they just died. Now, these 2 that left, i dont know if I should be worried or it's normal, but their leaves are starting to get all dry and fall out. I don't know if that's normal really.…
Dani
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What are the curled darkened areas on maple leaves?

My trident maple bonsai went into dormancy entering winter. I repotted It, carefully removing some large roots and pruning for radial roots. Bonsai soil mix of peat, leca, stone, bark. Extremely well draining. The pot is currently taking 4 days to…
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Dawn Redwood Bonsai Forrest Issue

I have a Dawn Redwood Bonsai Forrest. 3 out of 4 mini trees are doing fine (2 are doing great, one is doing fine) but the forth (the smallest one) looks sort of bad. Its leaves are look sort of dry and I don't know what I can do about it. When I…
Dani
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