Bonsai is an art form of patience more than anything else; while any suitably pruned plant is dubbed a bonsai

here in the States, in Japan the tree must be in training for seven years before it earns the title. So if its still going to have the training wheels on for six more years, theres no reason to try to do everything in four hours! But they all need repotting eventually, so heres the way we do it (in spring, hopefully, but never too close to winter, anyway) 1. Assemble everything (preferably outside; this is messy) you need to complete the task. Shears, wire clippers, a knife, a chopstick (Uh huh), bonsai wire, drainage screens, watering can or hose, spray bottle (you can skip this one if your spray nozzle on the hose has a mist setting) your new soil and the tree in question. 2. Put your drainage screens over the two drainage holes 3. Cut a piece of bonsai wire twice the width of the container and thread it through the drainage holes and screens (Go to the inside of the screens or when we put tension on the wire it will pull the screens in, and your soil will fall out the drainage holes) If the pot only has one hole, cut the head off a nail and use it to wrap the wire around. Then thread the two ends of the wire through the hole and through opposite sides of the screen. Now in both cases, pull your wire over the side of the container and out of the way. 4. Using your coarser soil, make a mound in your container where you are going to place the plant. (You should never place a plant dead center of a pot. Always offset a little to one side and a little towards the back) Some very shallow containers demand mounding the soil twice the depth of the pot, so keep that in mind. 5. Now remove your tree from its old pot, cutting the old wire that holds it and running a knife around the edge of the pot to separate the root mass from the container. 6. Comb out the roots with your chopstick removing most (not all) of the old soil. I like to leave a little of the old soil as long as disease, fungus or insects arent in the picture. Certain microbes in the soil are beneficial to your plant and colonize the soil around it. Leaving a few with the tree helps re-colonize

the new, fairly sterile soil you are replacing it with and I feel benefits the plant in overcoming the shock of transplant. 7. Prune the old roots (usually a 1/4 to 1/3 of the root mass and never more than at a time). If they start to dry at ALL, mist them thoroughly. 8. Work your tree down onto the mound of soil, eliminating air pockets. Mist the roots.

9. Back fill half the depth of the pot with your coarse soil and then bring the
ends of your wire in and, enclosing some main roots close to the trunk, twist the ends TIGHT to firmly secure the tree in the pot. Cut off excess wire. Mist the roots. 10. Finish filling the pot with your finer soil. Use your chopstick to work soil under the root ball and down to the bottom of the container; this eliminates air pockets that can dry out your roots and kill them. Make sure your root buttress (where they flare out) is visible. In our shallow mounded pot the buttress should be above the edge of the pot. 11. Moss the top of your pot. I collect my own from around the yard, but I am blessed with tons of the stuff. Florists carry sheet moss that will do nicely. I secure it to the soil by cutting an inch of bonsai wire, shaping it into a fishhook, and pushing the long end through the moss and into the soil. Four or five of these will tie things down nicely. This is an optional step unless you have one of those shallow containers and then youll need the moss to hold your mounded soil. 12. Now water the plant thoroughly (I recommend not using the immersion method here as your new soil is still very buoyant and will make a dash for the surface, undoing all your work. Watering three times is a much better idea for a newly potted plant and waiting an hour between each watering is best yet. Voila! You have just repotted your first (of many) trees. Remember that watering is very critical right now. The poor tree has just been ripped, cut, knifed, CHOPSTICKED, and then thrust into a new soil it has little connection to, so it needs lots of watering as it is going to be able to access very little of it. Soil should remain moist but not soggy; root rot is lurking here, too. Remember I mentioned the little microbes that can help our plant with shock. Well, you can buy them over the counter now; they are generally called mycorhizal

supplements, and you should be able to find it in your favorite garden center. Your plant stands a much better chance with some help like this. Another old English trick to promote root development is to allow willow stems to sit in water for days (or weeks), and then water with the willow water. It may be an old trick but there is good scientific evidence to back it up, and willow twigs cost a lot less than mycorhizal supplementation. (I am not suggesting that one replace the other). Keep the plant in a little less sun than normal and keep an eye on it. It will sulk for a bit (maybe even a week or two) but then the first new shoots will appear and you will begin to notice that the pot is drying faster than it has been. Your tree has turned the corner and is now ready for regular rotation. You can now feed with whatever fertilizer you have chosen; I like natural fertilizers like seaweed and fish emulsions or manure tea, but the chemical stuff will work too. You can fertilize bonsai a little more often as the soil is more porous and it gets depleted faster (Theres less of it supporting the plant than normal garden situations). Regular fertilization will cause back budding and help fill in the foliage, so we have to look at pruning now...

BONSAI TREE CARE Watering - The most important part of Bonsai care
This is the crux of the art of bonsai. Most trees that die (I prefer the phrase permanent dormancy) are lost to dehydration, either from lack of watering or from being kept in a low humidity environment (indoors) too long. Different soils dry at different rates, trees differ from species to species in water requirements and even different styles of pots dry out at varying rates, so each pot must be checked regularly until you become more familiar with the plant in question. The other end of the spectrum, over-watering can damage plants nearly as quickly; it is in finding the proper balance of soil, water and air that you will develop a healthy root system and thus a healthy bonsai.

Watering accomplishes three things for your bonsai.

First, and most obviously, it provides HO for your tree. Secondly, the water that flows through the soil carries nutrients your plant needs and washes out the excess salts that might otherwise build

up.

Third, and least obvious, the flow of water pushes out the old, spent gasses in the soil and pulls in new, fresh atmosphere.

People are conditioned to believe all the plants transpiration takes place in the leaves, but if that was true, how would a plant that was totally cut down spring back from the roots? The first few inches of soil are crucial to all of a plants functions; even a mighty oak does most of its feeding and drinking and much of its breathing in the top foot of soil. It is this reliance on a shallow soil profile that allows us to grow trees in such shallow pots in the first place. The porous quality of bonsai soil allows for quicker water flows and better gas exchange; this is why bonsai soil is so granular; it helps develop a dense mat of roots to support a dense mass of foliage. Bonsai watering basics Some quick watering tips: The old Japanese adage is to water three times; once for the pot, once for the soil, and once for the tree. By going back and forth over your collection three times it allows the water to soak into the soil and the pot and leave water for the tree to take in. Dont just water the soil. All parts of a plant absorb water to some degree; 35% of the water intake for a plant doesnt involve the root system at all. Washing off the foliage also keeps dust and pollutants from clogging stomata or breathing holes in the plants leaves.

Sure its raining, but is it enough to get good flow-through? Better safe than sorry; water anyway. Been raining all week? Prop up one end of the pot a few inches to increase drainage. Using the hose to water? Too much water pressure can blast soil out of pots; be sure to get an adjustable spray nozzle to allow for different needs (Get one with a mist setting; its great for occasional wash downs of the foliage). Keep in mind that if that hose has been lying in the sun for a few days, that first blast can boil a tree (literally!). Once a week or so, water by totally immersing the pot in water until the bubble trail quits. This assures top to bottom watering and lets the pot and soil soak up their maximum holding capacity, making it easier to keep them watered during the rest of the week. (I think this is the best tip in here, especially for novices) Water early in the day. If you must, water late in the day, but be aware that leaves your plants more vulnerable to fungus and slugs. Plants dont transpirate (breathe) above 85, so when you water in midday, you temporarily cool the leaf enough to start transpiration, which allows the moisture inside the leaf to escape in the exhalation; kind of counterproductive. AND the water sitting on a leaf in the midday sun can act as a lens, burning leaves. So watering early AM beats all these problems and gives you a few uninterrupted minutes with your trees, and that can be a real stress beater! If you have flowering bonsai, dont water the flowers; itll make them pass almost instantly This is the most important part of bonsai care. Watering is a learned skill; in Japan an apprentice is given pruning shears on his first day but he wont touch a watering can for another four years!