How to take care of your bonsai

How to take care of your bonsai?

Taking care of your bonsai is a an easy task of following some simple gardening routines. Wrightia is very hardy and does not require special attention. What you need to remember is that, a bonsai is a living thing, just like a normal tree or plant. Therefore it has basic needs like water, sunlight and care. Here are some brief gardening guidelines that will help to keep your plant healthy and beautiful.


Watering your plant daily

Water your plant at least once or twice a day. Wrightia loves water. If you are too busy or unable to water it, as a temporary measure you can place it in a container filled with water. (for Wrightia only)


Sunlight

Plants need sunlight to produce food through the process of photosynthesis therefore, place you plant outdoor to receive as much direct sunlight as possible. If you intend to keep it indoor it must not be for a prolong period. Or have two plants and alternate it one indoor and the other outdoor.


Trimming

Every few weeks or months it is a good exercise to trim your plant back into it’s original shape. As time goes by new leaves and branches will grow wildly and your bonsai will look untidy and bushy. Regular pruning will keep your bonsai back in shape.



Wiring - shaping your tree

Occasionally, you might need to shape or reshape your bonsai. You can use either copper or aluminum wires to shape the trunk or branch.
Use the ideal wire thickness, anchor one end round the trunk or branch and wind it round diagonally. Next, leave the wire on branch or trunk for 2 weeks and then gradually bend the trunk or branch a little at a time until you are happy with the shape.


Soil Mixture

Generally it is necessary to repot your plant at least once a year or when you notice that the soil is harden and dry. Repotting with new soil mixture will help to provide the plant with space to grow and help to rejunivate new growth.
During repotting prepare some soil mixture preferably with 60% of baked earth and 40% of organic compost. (mixture of decaying vegetation) Mixed it thoroughly.

General Knowledge : 28 Nov 2006, i had learn new things when we do repotting. I was gain some expertise knowledge from Desa Petaling's sifu which is he teach me that everytime when do reportting. Normally we use red soil. The red soil use to contain alots unclean soil...powder... Sifu guide me that we must wash the soil 1st before we use to plan out bonsai. Wash atleast 5 times to clean the soil. This is new knowledge i gain from sifu. Wash soil is must have step. It is to clean up the soil to avoid some tree root was stuck if we nvr wash the soil, the soil will contain some unnecessary powder. Which is will cause the tree's root can't function well to pump the water to the tree branches. Then the tree branches will dry, cannot grow leave (as i face this problem now).


Repotting

To promote growth, repot your plant at least once a year or when you notice that the top soil has hardened or when the water drainage is poor.

How to repot your plant?

How to remove the plant from the pot? Use a flat bamboo and dig around the inside edge of the pot, tilt the pot upside down and gently shake the plant out. Remove some old soil and trim away some bottom roots. Next, place the plant back into the empty pot and add the newly mixed soil around the plant and firmly pressed it down.Water the plant thoroughly and place it in a shady place for at least three weeks before exposing it to direct sunlight.



Feeding your plant


A small bonsai needs very little fertiliser. Do not over feed it. Most small bonsai are killed by over feeding.
Depending on the size of the tree, just add a few granules or grains of fertiliser once every month or two.