Today more and more people are living in apartments in large cities, surrounded by more blacktop than green space. For such people the rewards of bonsai are especially great. Central to successful bonsai are the actions of pruning, pinching and wiring.
Pruning is necessary to maintain (or refine growth to obtain) the right shape of a bonsai and encourage new growth. Some plants naturally respond well to pruning, regardless of how intense, whilst other plants can find it hard to recover, especially when pruned at the wrong time of the year. To prune correctly you must find out the type of plant your bonsai is and research when the best times are to prune old and new season growth.
Pruning enables you to shorten the height of a tree, remove unwanted branches, and shorten others. Bonsai are pruned with the same basic techniques used to pruning other trees.
An example of unwanted material within a tree is crossed branches, which should be removed. A tree flows from the inside out, with new growth developing outward in an uncluttered line. All branches growing inward, toward the trunk of the tree, should be removed.
However, before cutting off an unwanted branch, be certain it cannot be wired to an area where it is needed. In the sketches of bonsai in this web, unwanted branches have been removed.
Also absent from the sketches are signs of youth, including “sucker growth”, branchlets growing straight up or straight down from the main limbs. On the main lower branches, the foliage from the trunk a third to half way out the branch is missing. This is where age, lack of light, or lack of nutrients causes foliage loss. Since this loss occurs naturally over the years, removing this lower foliage adds the illusion of age to young trees. Loss of inner foliage occurs less on the tree’s upper portions, where branches are younger. No loss occurs on the new growth at the top of the tree. This area, of course, is young and vigorous, and receives full light.
The best time of the year for pruning is late winter or early spring. As spring can come early or late, you should pay close attention to the change of seasons in your own locale. Generally, new growth is pruned during the growing season to maintain the shape of the bonsai, whilst pruning of hard wood (old season growth) is done in late winter.
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| Pruning the Bonsai |
Redesign Your Bonsai
Pruning is necessary to maintain (or refine growth to obtain) the right shape of a bonsai and encourage new growth. Some plants naturally respond well to pruning, regardless of how intense, whilst other plants can find it hard to recover, especially when pruned at the wrong time of the year. To prune correctly you must find out the type of plant your bonsai is and research when the best times are to prune old and new season growth.
Pruning enables you to shorten the height of a tree, remove unwanted branches, and shorten others. Bonsai are pruned with the same basic techniques used to pruning other trees.
An example of unwanted material within a tree is crossed branches, which should be removed. A tree flows from the inside out, with new growth developing outward in an uncluttered line. All branches growing inward, toward the trunk of the tree, should be removed.
However, before cutting off an unwanted branch, be certain it cannot be wired to an area where it is needed. In the sketches of bonsai in this web, unwanted branches have been removed.
Illusion of Age
Also absent from the sketches are signs of youth, including “sucker growth”, branchlets growing straight up or straight down from the main limbs. On the main lower branches, the foliage from the trunk a third to half way out the branch is missing. This is where age, lack of light, or lack of nutrients causes foliage loss. Since this loss occurs naturally over the years, removing this lower foliage adds the illusion of age to young trees. Loss of inner foliage occurs less on the tree’s upper portions, where branches are younger. No loss occurs on the new growth at the top of the tree. This area, of course, is young and vigorous, and receives full light.
The best time of the year for pruning is late winter or early spring. As spring can come early or late, you should pay close attention to the change of seasons in your own locale. Generally, new growth is pruned during the growing season to maintain the shape of the bonsai, whilst pruning of hard wood (old season growth) is done in late winter.
I've never owned or grew a Bonsai tree in my life, but they've always peeked my interests when it comes to gardening. Solely because of how much of a junior tree it is, making it even more beautiful with every tiny snippet and leaf that may fall off, the more valuable. They've always had a very 'fragile' sense to them. Loved the guide.
ReplyDelete-Tony Salmeron
thanks for visiting this blog... and maybe sometimes you will grow your own bonsai...
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