Growing and caring for a Bonsai tree (2024)

FAQs

Growing and caring for a Bonsai tree? ›

Bonsai tree care

You can also circulate air from outside, by opening a window during the day. The most important rule is, never water on a routine. Ignore the label attached to your Bonsai tree which states you need to water every x amount of days. The best practice is to monitor your tree and its soil, and only water when it's needed.

Also, as tropical and subtropical trees, indoor bonsai need steady temperatures, along with plenty of light and humidity. Check the substrate daily to see if you need to water, and add water only when the substrate starts to lose moisture (the compost should feel damp).

Bonsai trees and plants are grown and trained in shallow pots, so they often need daily watering in warm weather. In the winter, tender bonsai need to go indoors or in a greenhouse; hardy plants can stay outdoors as long as they're protected from drying wind and direct sun.

The Ficus bonsai is the bonsai we recommend for beginners that are new to bonsai and do not have the time for regular waterings. Since the ficus is so resilient to underwatering, it makes it ideal for those that want a low maintenance tree. Pruning the ficus bonsai is as simple as cutting back leaves.

Misting and air:

Mist as often as you like during the day. Definitely avoid having your Bonsai near a vent or a draft, as this will dry out the foliage. Using a pebble tray is a great way to increase local humidity. A pebble tray is a shallow tray filled with small stones.

Traditional Rules of Bonsai Pot Styles and Size:

In most cases the ideal length of the pot should be about 2/3 the height of the tree. If the height of the tree is shorter than its width, the length of the pot should be about 2/3 the width of the spread of the tree.

Popular organic fertilizers for bonsai include fish emulsion, cottonseed meal, and kelp or seaweed-based fertilizers. Popular inorganic fertilizers for bonsai include Miracle-Gro and Miracid.

Some bonsai can live for millennia if properly cared for. Meanwhile, others reach a fifty-year lifetime. Additionally, trees that are younger have a longer lifespan, while there may not be many years remaining for older trees.

Why is my indoor bonsai dying? ›

A bonsai tree can be sick due to various factors like damaged roots, root rot, over-watering or under-watering, sudden drop in temperature, pests, disease, overfeeding, infested soil and drought.

In most houses the only place where an indoor Bonsai will do well is right at a South facing window, as lots of light is crucial for the health of your tree. When placed even just a few feet away from a window the light intensity will drop significantly, slowing down growth and ultimately killing your Bonsai.

"Tropical bonsai, such as ficus, schefflera, dwarf jade, and serissa, are the best bonsai for the beginner," says David Castro, the curator of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's bonsai collection. "If you can take care of houseplants, then you have a good chance of keeping tropical bonsai happy, healthy, and alive."

Although this may seem like a long time, it's important to remember that if the roots are kept healthy, bonsai trees live for hundreds of years, so it's important you do all the proper research to ensure your bonsai tree has a healthy life.

When we talk about keeping a bonsai small the bonsai pot plays a big role in this, by restricting the amount of room roots have to grow this restricts the size the tree can grow. If a tree doesn't have a big root system it cant support a large tree, so the smaller the root ball the smaller the tree.

In summary, Bonsai trees require bright, indirect sunlight to thrive, and are sensitive to direct sunlight and seasonal changes. Monitor your Bonsai tree regularly and adjust its position as needed to ensure it receives the proper amount and intensity of sunlight.

Pot size affects how much water the bonsai tree needs

You are aiming to keep the soil evening moist all of the time. It's okay if the soil dries out a little bit between waterings but do not let it dry out completely. In hot, summer weather, it's likely that you'll need to water it every day.

You may think this is a no-brainer, but the bonsai has very specific watering requirements. Approximately once a week or so (when the topsoil feels completely dry) immerse the entire bonsai plant in a bucket or basin of water. Once the air bubbles have risen to the top, the bonsai has absorbed enough water.