What are Bonsai trees?
Many people think of tiny little Japanese trees cut and prunedto a miniature size but literally speaking Bonsai means 'plantin a tray' and while they are smaller than their wildcounterparts they don't have to be a couple of inches tall; theycan be grown in a pot in the garden and will be smaller thantheir wild counterparts.
Misconceptions about Bonsai trees.
Many people believe that training Bonsai trees is a cruelpastime because the cultivator starves the tree and cuts it tosuch an extent that it becomes unhealthy. Quite the reverse isusually true; while they are cut and pruned quite heavily tokeep them to the size of the pot, they are usually transferredfrom pot to pot regularly and are fed and watered much moreoften than their wild cousins.
Contrary to belief, Bonsai trees do not originate from Japan,but there are records dating back more than 2000 years that showBonsai being grown in China. These Bonsai weren't as small asthe Bonsai that people often envisage and were grown on anindividual basis outdoors in pots. It was, though, the Japanesethat took this art form and progressed it to the level it is atnow. This has led to quite different styles in Japanese andChinese Bonsai; the Chinese Bonsai being much more freestyle andmore lightly pruned than the Japanese miniature Bonsai that arevery heavily groomed and pruned and look much more likeminiature natural versions of the full sized versions.
Bonsai trees do not live shorter lives than wild trees. Theyregularly live for many centuries and are traditionally passeddown from generation to generation of family. They lead nearlyexactly the same length lives as their wild cousins and areoften much healthier because of the attention they receive.
The advantages of growing Bonsai.
Not everyone has a large garden where they can plant numeroustrees and let them grow as big as they want, and even those whodo have large gardens still need to wait for many years beforethe tree becomes truly established. By growing Bonsai you don'tneed any more room than the size of your pot and because youonly need them to grow to much smaller proportions it really isaccessible for anyone who is interested in growing Bonsai trees.You can even grow them inside if you can recreate the correctconditions for the tree you want to grow.
Growing Bonsai trees can fast become an addictive hobby andrequires attention to detail, foresight of how the tree willgrow and plenty of time and care. You will undoubtedly feelmassive satisfaction if you decide to grow Bonsai and are anygood at it.
About the author:Bonsia HQ, http://bonsaihq.com/ for lots of information aboutlooking after your bonsai.
