"Bonsai" is translated from Japanese as a plant in a flat vessel. Japan is considered the birthplace of bonsai, although the art of growing tiny trees in vessels first appeared about two millennia ago in ancient China. In Japan, this art came only in the sixth century of our era, where it was further developed.
However, the art of modern bonsai as such appeared in the early twentieth century. Japanese bonsai differs from the traditional Chinese in that the first has great grace.
The following requirements are mandatory for traditional bonsai:
- The trunk must be strong, and the root system must be clearly expressed;
- Clear and clear lines of branches are required;
- the backbone of the plants should be branches and trunk, and they should be sufficiently visible through the foliage;
- it is necessary that there be a similarity to the formed tree of the same or related species that grows in natural conditions;
- It is required that the vessel has a simple shape and its color is not striking;
- The tree and the vessel must have a compositional match.
Indoor bonsai trees
The idea of room bonsai was born in the West of Germany. Huge difficulties are associated with growing indoor bonsai in temperate latitudes, so these plants are short-lived. This indoor plant needs a high concentration of moisture in the air, because of this, the plant should be kept as far as possible from the heating appliances. They are also afraid of drafts.
Conditions for caring for room bonsai
House plant bonsai is rather whimsical, so it needs special care. If bonsai is not properly maintained, it can lose its beauty and become an ordinary plant, not an elegant tree. Bonsai in most cases refers to subtropical and tropical plants, which is the reason for not matching our climate to him. From here you can see that the conditions for bonsai should be created by yourself. Therefore, if you have doubts about giving bonsai the necessary conditions for his successful and normal growth, it will be better to immediately abandon this venture.
Light mode for bonsai
Perhaps you will encounter such a problem as a lack of light for bonsai, because as in the tropics the light day is longer compared to the moderate latitudes. Therefore, additional lighting is required for bonsai. Especially the lack of light is typical for the cold season.
Since there are different types of bonsai, then the lighting conditions for them must be different.
Before choosing a place for bonsai content, it is necessary to take into account some lighting parameters:
- color of windowsill and walls;
- presence of external obstacles to sunlight;
- location of neighboring indoor plants;
- angle of incidence of sunlight;
- interval from the window;
- side of the world (east, west, south, north).
Also it should be remembered that curtains with high intensity absorb sunlight. Therefore, in the daytime, they must be moved aside or raised, so that the bonsai, being behind them, can get enough light.
Temperature conditions
Types of subtropical bonsai (rosemary, pomegranate, olive, myrtle) in the winter season contain at a temperature of five to fifteen degrees Celsius, and in summer they are carried to the balcony. Tropical species are constantly kept at temperatures between eighteen and twenty-five degrees Celsius. In summer, this kind of plant is left indoors. Tropical bonsai can be put on a stone window sill, only if there is a heating system under it. When caring for the plant, it must be remembered that the higher the temperature, the more water, light and nutrients are required. And at a low temperature, watering and top dressing of plants should be as abundant.
Air humidity
As a rule, the humidity in the urban environment is not sufficient for bonsai. But how can this problem be solved?
The most expensive, but not the most effective way to establish the best humidity of air can be considered an electric air humidifier. But humidifiers have quite a few drawbacks, for example: large sizes, noise effects, high cost of content.
And the easiest way to solve the problem will be to install a bonsai plant in a flat vessel filled with water. On the bottom you need to lay out small pebbles or put a lattice, and on them to install a pot of bonsai. Keep the amount of water at the same level. If this vessel is placed above the heating system, the efficiency of the air humidification method will increase.
To increase the humidity, it is required to spray the plant with water. Nevertheless, this procedure is short-lived and should be systematically repeated. Sprinkle the plant better in the morning, in order for it to dry out by the evening.
Watering bonsai
The earth in the reservoir with bonsai must be moist all the time. Determine whether the dry earth can be by color or by touch. If the soil surface is dry crust, then the soil is not necessarily completely dry. It is required that the water reaches the bottom of the vessel. To do this, you should water the soil two or three times, it is necessary that every grain of sand on the ground is moistened. In the warm period bonsai requires more water than in winter, so the plant grows more intensively in the summer. Subtropical bonsai in the summer watered fairly rarely, so that the soil was relatively dry, and the tropical are very poorly tolerate cold water. For watering, it is best to use melt water. Although it is possible to use tap water for a couple of hours. Such water precipitates mechanical impurities and dirt and becomes room temperature.
The soil
Bonsai is a plant for which ready-made soil is not suitable, which is widely distributed on sale. Because in such a soil, as a rule, many fine particles are contained. But it can be used as an additive to the main soil.