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Chantreyland Chequers Lane Eversley Cross Hook Hampshire RG27 0NX Telephone: 0118 973 2300 |
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| Peter Trenear's Tree Nursery in Eversley, Hampshire. |
TO BEGINDuring the early training period, Bonsai are better grown in either the open ground or in conventional flower pots.Once we have formed the basic shape, we need to thicken the trunk and branches and ensure that the pruning scars are healed as quickly as possible. For this we need healthy and sturdy growth. We feed regularly with a balanced fertilizer and water as and when required. PLANTING IN POTSPlastic pots are quite suitable for early training. Though not as aesthetically pleasing as clay, they have been carefully designed to ensure good drainage and good growth.Clay pots have the great advantage of a porous texture that allows the roots to breathe even when the soil is packed tight. This is important because to grow a good tree, we need firm planting and a soil based compost. These were the foundation of pot growing in the days before plastic pots and loamless compost. Bonsai pots will of course be needed for the more advanced specimens, these need to be chosen with great care, matching the pot to the tree, or perhaps the dish to the trees. For one of the delights of Bonsai is group planting. Another reason to grow on the trees in training pots, they then have excellent root systems to make for easy establishment.
PLANTING IN OPEN GROUNDThe following trees dislike chalky soil.ACERS, AZALEAS, RHODODENDRONS, PINES, TSUGA, THUYA, LIQUIDAMBAR If planting these add plenty of peat to the soil. Some peat or leaf mould should be added to all trees intended for Bonsai as this will increase the amount of soil attached to the roots when they are dug up again. COMPOSTI find a mixture of John Innes No.2 plus loamless ericaceous compost plus sharp sand or grit, in equal parts. Is suitable for all trees other than the above lime haters.Leave out the John Innes and use more ericaceous. If you know your own soil is neutral or acidic, use it instead of the John Innes.
FEEDINGLiquid feeding is best. A well balanced type such as Phostrogen is ideal. However any similar variety used at half strength, should prove successful in maintaining good but not excessive growth.WATERINGFrom Spring to Autumn, the advice is simple. Water whenever the surface appears dry.In Winter, in addition to surface drying test the weight of the pot against that of a similarly filled pot. If it weighs much heavier it is probably waterlogged, the most frequent cause of trees dying in Winter. PRUNINGStudy the illustrations of completed Bonsai. There are now many excellent books available either from your Library or Bookshop.But nature is the best designer and by observing the manner of growth of trees in windswept and mountainous areas the type of growth you need is made evident. Look well. Look long, and think again before making that cut. Once cut you can't stick it back on.
WIRINGShaping by winding aluminium wire round the trunk or branches, is the easiest method of transforming a tree into a Bonsai, or for that matter, altering the shape of any tree indoors or out.If you have difficulty getting aluminium or copper wire, string and stakes make a good substitute, with less chance of causing damage if forgetting to check the growth. Sometimes WE FORGET TO REMOVE THE WIRE AND THIS CAUSES LASTING MARKS ON THE BRANCH OR TRUNK. Capitals were an error whilst typing, but perhaps a good idea to leave them. Stones tied to branch ends give a very effective curve to branches. So save that stone with a hole in it. String and wood are of course the cheapest method and give good scope for ingenuity.
GENERAL ADVICEBonsai means "A tree in a pot", but we know that the Bonsai we want is not just "A tree in a pot".There is a tradition that goes with the word. Certain parts of the tree have been given more care than the others.
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