will hold the soil), it is planted in a deep training pot without removing the original soil. Any root ends showing through the soil are trimmed off with a sharp knife. If the tree has only one or two large, thick roots, it is best planted out, together with its own soil, in a garden bed or a field.
After being planted, all trees should be protected from direct sun and wind, the earth kept moist, and the leaves sprayed at least three or four time!'; a day. After three or four months of this initial care the tree will begin to form new roots, at which point it is sufficiently established to benefit by manuring and may be allowed direct sunlight. Now it is no longer necessary to spray the leaves, though the earth of course should still be kept moist. If the tree is in good condition strong new buds will appear on the branches.
At the end of the first year the tree is transplanted from its training pot or from the ground into a pot suitable to its dimensions. Some of the original soil is still retained and the roots are trimmed. If there is an abundant growth of new roots at the base of the trunk, the roots are cut as described in the case of repotting (Chapter 3). If, however, only a few fine roots have formed round the thick taproot, this is only slightly pruned; if it is cut back drastically, the tree will die. The taproot is pruned again at the end of the second year, and finally cut off short at the end of the third year. This final cutting, however, should only be done when new roots have appeared at the base. This type of root formation is very common in pines and needs very careful treatment.
Once the tree is strong and well established, the branches may be wired and shaped, usually about three months after the second repotting, that is, when it has been in the nursery for rather more than two years. As described in the chapter on training, the branches should be arranged so as to display to best advantage the beauty of the trunk.
Not all trees lend themselves to natural dwarfing. Pines and junipers are perhaps the most common since mountains and sea-shore are their natural habitats. Among deciduous trees, maples, elms, hornbeams, etc., are occasionally to be found.
BONSAI FROM SEED
Bonsai of any species may be bred from seed, although of course this method takes the most time (see Plates 11- 13). For good results, it is essential to use fresh seed, which should be collected in the autumn and is best planted directly. If it is necessary to keep the seed till the following spring, it is enclosed in an airtight container and kept dry and cool, in the refrigerator if desired, and then sown in the early spring, before the budding season.
The seed may be sown in a pot, a box, or prepared ground. Before sowing, it is soaked overnight and, in the case of fruit stones or other hard-shelled seeds, the shell is broken to help germination. The pot is filled with soil in the Same way as for repotting (Chapter 3). The seed is placed on the surface of this soil, (if there is more than one seed, care should be taken that they do not touch each other) and the whole covered with topsoil to about twice the depth of the seed. The pot is then watered, never with a can, but by standing it in a container of water long enough for the moisture to permeate upwards to the surface of the soil; this procedure will take only a few minutes if the level of the water in the container is as high as the surface of the soil in the pot. The topsoil is next covered with a layer of damp sphagnum moss, chaff, or wood shavings. This should be lifted from time to time to make Sure that the soil is not getting too dry. The pot may be kept either outside or indoors. At the end of a week the entire moss covering should be lifted and, if there are signs of germination, removed altogether. The pot must be set out of doors where it can get direct sunshine and the seedlings watered regularly (from a can) and kept well weeded.
Fig. 1. — Ordinary cutting (camellia). A) Parent branch. 1) Remove flower buds. 2) Scissor-cuts (to produce four cuttings). B) Prepared cutting (from topmost cut of A). 3) Remove lower leaves. 4) Scissor-trim upper leaves. 5) Knife-cut stem. 6) Cut stem. 2 views. C) Cutting planted about 6 mos. 7) Root development. D) Transplanted to training pot.
Pine seedlings should be left undisturbed for a full year, but deciduous seedlings can be lifted after six months except in the case of very slow-growing trees. The seedlings are separated and transferred either to individual small pots or to the open ground. The latter produces quicker results, but is less convenient. The seedlings require normal all-year-round care until they are fit for training.
BONSAI FROM CUTTINGS
With the exception of pines, almost all trees can be bred from cuttings (see Plates 14-17). The cuttings are taken in the same way as for ordinary full-sized trees. There are two seasons for taking cuttings: early spring, when the new buds are beginning to swell; and early autumn (September in a normal temperate climate), when plants make a last growing effort before becoming dormant. In Japan the rainy season in June is also considered suitable.
A cutting should be from three to five inches long with three or five nodes on it (see Fig. 1). It is taken from the parent branch by cutting straight across with sharp scissors, just below a node. If the tree is of the large-leafed variety and the cutting is made after the budding season, one-third of each leaf must be cut off. All buds or leaves should be removed for half an inch at the bottom of the shoot. This end is then cut on the slant with a knife just below a node as this node will form the lowest root. If the shoot is thicker than an ordinary pencil, a double cut will be needed on either side of the stem, one cut being longer than the other. When the shoot is a very thick one (Fig. 2) it is necessary either to make two tapering cuts in the end, or else to make a deep notch, into which a small stone or piece of wood is inserted to prevent its closing, after which the aperture is filled with day or loam.
Fig. 2. — Very thick cutting (flowering quince). A) Tapering method. 1) Scissorcuts. 2) Knife-cut from parent branch. 3) Tapering knife-cuts. B & C) Notch method. 4) Knife-cut notch. 5) Soil. 6) Clay. 7) Pebble or piece of wood.
Key to Color Plate 5. 1) Winter chrysanthemum. 2) Ardisia. 3) Bird's-eye. 4) Stones. 5) Dwarf bamboo. 6)Japanese ground orchid.
In the case of evergreens, the prepared cutting must be laid in water for several hours, the leaves, if any, above the surface. Leaves should not be pruned away entirely, as they assist growth.
Thus prepared, the shoot is planted to the depth of about an inch in a pot or box of coarse, well aerated, sandy soil and watered thoroughly both from below and from above. The soil must be kept moist and the leaves sprayed, particularly in the evening. Roots develop readily from the nodes, and at the end of six to twelve months, depending upon the species, the cutting may be transplanted into a training pot or, as in the case of seedlings, into the ground. The pot should be kept out of doors but protected, during the first three months, from wind and direct sunlight. If the cutting has taken successfully, fresh buds and leaves will appear, after which normal everyday care is sufficient.
Color Plate 5. Seasonal group planting: New Years. See planting chart above.
Color Plate 6. Weeping forsythia. Clump style. 10". About 25 yrs. Produced by dividing. Glozed Chinese pot of Kuang-tung wore.
Color Plate 7. Wild-thyme azalea. Clinging-to-a-rock style. 1'.7 yrs. Produced from a cutting and planted on rock 3 yrs. ago. Bronze container by Houn Harada
