a bonsai life cycle

A bonsai lifecycle

If a bonsai doen't go through this, it goes through something very similar.

1) The plant is seeded with care. This plant spends its first year in a pot, until it has a reasonable root system.

2) The plant is placed in a growing situation. The plant will grow faster than a potted bonsai. It still takes some care. The plant will be root trimmed every two years. It will be fed plant food.

3) Eventually the tree looks like a monster. The branches that have been left to grow have added to the girth of the tree. However, they are not going to be part of the final design. The offending branches are cut off.

4) The plant is left to recuperate for a year or more. During this time the tree will throw off many small branches. Leave them.

5) A couple small branches were kept but the rest were cut off. These small branches have grown several seasons and the tree canopy is forming. The plant has been put into a bonsai pot with excellently draining bonsai soil, not garden soil.

In the next picture, we see how the choices made for a tree affect its final size. One can shape the bonsai right away, or they can grow it on for various lengths of time to increase the caliper and complexity of the tree.

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