Bonsai is not an art of perfection. It is an art of scope and personal preference. You will make mistakes. This is normal and occurs even with bonsai masters.
You will kill trees. This is a sad fact of the activity, especially as you start out. You are dealing with living things, and you must be respectful of that. Commit yourself to understanding why every tree dies and what can be done to prevent it. Learn from your mistakes and do your best to prevent them in the future.
Perhaps most importantly, understand that when you put a tree in a pot you are committing yourself to the care of that tree. You cannot simply ignore it or it will die. bonsai is a responsibility as well as a hobby. If you practice it with care and patience, he rewards are tremendous.
Almost nothing in bonsai is immediate. Expect your trees to develop over years, even decades. It may be ten years or longer before your plant will actually be a “bonsai.” Don’t be discouraged by this, but think of it as part of the experience.
Don’t fiddle! The temptation for beginners is to continually fiddle with their tree(s), cutting bits off here and there, continually watering, misting, moving them around etc. Checking daily for water requirements and health problems is necessary, but otherwise leave the tree to grow and simply enjoy looking at it!
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Pruning back to shape is necessary but don’t continually jump onto every out of place leaf. In order to keep the tree healthy and vigorous it needs to be able to grow freely at times.
It is also important to remember timing is very important, don’t carry out jobs such as repotting or major restyling at the wrong time of the year as this can lead to poor health in the tree and lack of vigor. A tree repotted at the wrong time of year for instance may survive if you are lucky, it may even grow a bit, but, it will very rarely reward you with vigor.
It is particularly important not to stress the tree by doing several operations at the same time. Let the tree rest between for example wiring and replanting. Just as a human being needs time to recuperate from surgery, a bonsai tree needs the same treatment.
Plants are living things, and they need full recovery from one operation, before the next step is taken. A ruleof thumb is to wait one too three months after a transplanting before you start working on the tree or until you see clear signs of vigorous growth.
Although bonsai is a very delicate and precise hobby in many aspects, usually the plants are very forgiving – so don’t be afraid to prune. Also be careful not to leave the wire on too long so that it cuts into the bark.
Put away any preconceived ideas that bonsai is too hard to learn, too costly or too time-consuming. It’s none of these. In fact, it’s fun, relaxing and beautiful. Remember that bonsai is an art form – one that uses living plants as its raw material.
Overall, bonsai trees are quite personalized and there are no strict rules to abide by if you undertake it merely as a hobby which to gain enjoyment out of. It does not have to be an expensive commitment, but it is a commitment that requires a great amount of time, patience, skill and endurance.
Although things may not always go to plan, don’t give up. Remember that the Japanese bonsai masters were once beginners too and they have surely had their share of trial and error.
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