How to Make Bonsai
Hello, thank you for visiting this bonsai tutorial. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to make your first bonsai easily and some basic knowledge of bonsai.
Making and Growing your bonsai
- Bonsai Soil: there are many kinds of it and learning how to mix the bonsai soil can be a little complicated for the beginners. So we should stick to a simple way (read more about the bonsai soil). If you are converting your plant into bonsai style, you can use the soil the plant grew up in. In this tutorial we use Akadama soil and Kanuma soil.
- coarse soil: used to prevent the main soil inside the pot from coming out of the bottom and helps the water to drain. (only needed depending on size and shape of the pot)
- Wires: there are two basic wires for bonsai. Aluminum and Copper. Aluminum wire is softer and easier to use.
- Scissors: really don't need expensive one. You can use the one you have at home and if you want the better one you can buy one then.
- Pliers/Nippers: the one you have at home is just fine. (need it only to cut and bend the wires.)
- Stick: something like chopstick.
- Net: to cover the hole in the pot.
- Pot: any pots are fine. it won't even need to be a pot. You can use a plate, flat plastic lid of something, and... anything you like as a pot! (pots that don't drain water from the bottom are hard for beginners to use.)
- Gloves and newspaper to keep the mess out of your hands and house.
- Green moss: to make your bonsai have umm.. a feeling that I can't explain. I don't know why bonsai looks really good with it!
- The plant: the one you like to have as bonsai style. Without this you can't make anything.
2 Mixing the soils
Ratio of Akadama soil to Kanuma soil is 7:3
(Akadama soil 7, Kanuma soil 3)
The difference between Akadama And Kanuma
Akadama soil High waterholding capacity and drainage/air conductivity at the same time. Soil type is slight acidity and no nutrition.
Kanuma soil More like pumice than soil. Higher drainage than akadama and high air conductivity. Soil type is acidity and no nutrition.(best use for plants that like acidity condithion like azaleas.)
These are the most common mix of bonsai and keep the soil to be high waterholding, high air conductivity and high drainage.
I recommend hard ones because they won't break so easy and last long inside pot and keep the plant healthy.
The the mixing ratio is up to the plant based on whether it likes more/less acidity etc.
3 Preparing and working on the wires and the net
if you are using your favorite plate or pot that doesn't have a hole on the bottom you can skip this part.
Cut the wire and net
and put them in the pot
To keep the net in place:
- insert the wire so the legs go through the net and out the bottom of the pot
- bend the looped part of the wire in opposite directions to lay flat against the net.(You can bend the looped part before inserting as well.)
- bend the wire sticking out against the pot
Extra wiring if needed:
In case your plant is too big or might not be stable in your pot, put an extra wire from the bottom so you can tie the plant. the length of the wire is up to the size of your plant. Don't worry so much about this. Just prepare the wire with the length you feel comfortable working with(not too short though). If it's too long you can cut it later anyways.
Put the extra wire from the bottom and curve it along the inside of the pot.
Wiring is a little hard but better to practice whenever you have the chance!
4 Putting the Coarse soil
Coarse soil is ,as mentioned in preparation above, used to prevent the main soil inside the pot from coming out of the bottom and helps the water to drain. (only needed depending on size and shape of the pot). if you are using a pot with no hole or flat pot with hole that doesn't have much room for the main soil to fit in you don't need this coarse soil. Keep the room for man soil.
5 Cut extra branch and leaves
Before you take out the plant you should cut the extra branch and leaves a little bit before you take it out (the main trimming is after you put it in the new pot). It's easier to handle the plant later this way.
6 Getting the plant ready for the new pot
Take out the plant and take off the old soil using a stick. If the soil is too hard you can put it in water and leave it a while so the soil comes off easily. ( don't need to take all the soil off.) and cut the extra roots if its too big for your pot. (more about root cutting, read here)
7 Wiring the root and put a little bit of the main soil( the one you prepared). in this tutorial, a mix of akadama and kanuma soil
Put the plant in the pot and tie it with the wire.
Put the soil little by little and make sure the soil goes everywhere between all the small roots in the pot using the stick, when you do this you can stick it from the top to the bottom of the pot with the stick so you know the soil is getting everywhere. (careful not to damage the root.)
8 Fill the pot with the soil up to 80% of the pot
make sure the soil is filled equally in the pot
9 Watering your new bonsai style plant!
don't know how much of water?
First, you see brown water coming out and later it'll look more clear (no more dirty brown water). That's the cue and you'll see water coming out of the bottom like this. ( read more about bonsai watering. )
getting tired? hang in there! almost done!
10 Inserting green moss.
Let's play with a softy,mossy feeling green moss!
Put it tight in the pot so they wont come out. (bonsai somehow looks good with green moss but its okay not to use it, you can use some other colored small soil to cover the surface to make it look good too.)
When you prepare green moss, cut the green moss a little bit bigger than your pot and smush it in your pot so it fits.
11 Tada! Done!
how do you like your first bonsai? cute and cool right?
there's more to discover about bonsai but this should be enough for the start.
hope you enjoyed this bonsai tutorial.
see ya and happy bonsai!Pictures by NICOGUSA. A lot of thanks!