A few small roots were removed when exposing the trunk, but the rest of the root ball was only slightly disturbed. The tree was then planted with some fresh soil in a pot large enough for it to grow in for a of couple years.
Fresh soil should be tamped down around the root ball when potting. The original soil level can be seen on the trunk.
The completed myrtle-leaved orange bonsai is twenty-four inches tall.
Exposing the trunk added to the height of the bonsai, and though the top was not pruned, the finished specimen rises twenty-four inches above the soil level. The added trunk length places the first branch at a nice interval above the ground and adds to the aesthetic effect of the curving flow in the trunk and branches of the bonsai. The soil surface was dressed with pea gravel, then topped with a multi-colored agate chosen to reflect the curve of the trunk and balance the “empty” side of the bonsai.
The strawberry tree shown here was about twenty-six inches tall in a one-gallon nursery pot, and had flowers and buds in several of the growing tips. Although it took off a large cluster of flowers, the tallest growing tip was removed just above the point where three nice branches were sprouting, bringing the crown of the bonsai into balance. More pinching will be needed to develop the crown, but as the tips were producing clusters of buds, they were left to grow, flower, and hopefully produce fruit before trimming. About half an inch of trunk and a large root were exposed when shaping the root ball before repotting, giving the finished bonsai a height of twenty-two inches above the soil level.
This strawberry tree has been removed from its pot and is ready to be trimmed.
The bottom branches have been pruned, and the tall growing tip was removed.
The strawberry tree is now ready to place into a bonsai pot.
Fine pea gravel is used to cover the soil surface after the bonsai is potted.
Strawberry tree bonsai. This specimen is twenty-two inches tall.
The bonsai was placed in the pot just to the left of center to balance the right-flowing movement in the tree’s structure. Leaves and small branches were removed from the bottom up to shape the lower level of the crown. Two large branches were removed, one of which was below the large first limb left on the bonsai. The scars from removing those branches are visible, but will fade over time. Even with this harsh treatment, one month later the remaining buds were progressively blooming; the oldest flowers left on the bonsai had dropped, leaving clusters of tiny strawberry fruits growing in their place.
After the surface was finished with pea gravel, a piece of black obsidian collected in Oregon was selected to accent the bonsai. The rock was placed to anchor, balance, and reflect the flowing movement of the trunk and main flowering branch. The obsidian was particularly chosen for the contrast of its black color against the white flowers and pottery; it also reflects the color of the wingtips and neck of the sacred crane painted on the pot. The beautiful painted pottery also contrasts well with the bright green leaves and red trunk of the strawberry tree bonsai.
When creating these “instant” bonsai, the root ball usually cannot be flattened enough to fit in a conventional shallow bonsai pot. Like their crowns, the roots of traditional bonsai need years of training to be worked into shallow containers. The pots may depart from tradition in other ways, as well. Solid-colored earth-tone pottery is the customary choice for evergreen trees, while brightly colored or painted pottery is acceptable for flowering bonsai. These days, however, people are more concerned with whether the pottery style and color matches their home décor than its suitability for the bonsai. If we are pursuing this art to please ourselves, rather than feeling forced to follow tradition, the pottery style and color should reflect the artist’s preferences. Some may prefer to choose each individual pot to match the bonsai, while others may want every pot in their bonsai collection to match.
Although it is not as fast as carving an instant bonsai, another way to create a bonsai is to plant an inexpensive small plant such as a fast-growing herb, scented geranium, or hot pepper directly in the ground. This technique has been used in traditional bonsai with outdoor trees, which are planted in the ground and encouraged to grow rapidly for several years. A fifteen-foot tree would be dug up and cut back to less than two feet, providing a thick trunk on which to develop a crown. By adapting this technique to fast-growing plants, a bonsai can be created in a single growing season.
Ideally this should be started in spring, at the beginning of the best growing season. Field-planting directly in the ground in a space with good soil and ample available water will encourage rapid growth. I have taken a four-inch pot of rosemary, like those available in any good garden center, and field-grown a plant that produced a bonsai under two feet tall with a one-inch diameter trunk in a single summer growing season. This can also be done in a large pot while pushing growth with lots of water and fertilizer. You won’t get as much growth as is possible in the field, but it will be easier and less risky to move to a smaller pot when carving your large herb back into a bonsai. Field-growing and digging a plant carries some risk of losing the plant if conditions are too harsh, or if the root and crown pruning are not balanced. For this reason, I recommend growing several plants to train as bonsai. You may lose one or two, but an extra bonsai or three—especially a desirable herb—always makes a great gift.
Most of these fast-growing varieties put out many more new sprouting branches than will be needed to develop the bonsai structure. Your young plant should be cut back to a basic skeleton of a bonsai, with just the trunk and a couple of main branches pruned where you wish them to branch again. All extraneous new shoots and branches should be removed. As your bonsai-in-training grows, all new shoots on the trunk and main branches should be removed regularly except for the new branches forming at the tips of the pruned “skeleton.” These new branches should be pinched at the point where you wish them to branch again. Don’t be too obsessive about this process. Two to four pruning sessions through the summer should be enough. The point is to push lots of growth in the direction desired while keeping the plant from using too much of its energy developing unwanted branches. This process will work well even with little or no trimming through the growing season, although one good trim mid-season can make a big difference in the final shape. Refrain from pruning for the last month or two of the growing season before it is time to dig your specimen and replant it.
Digging a field-grown plant is necessarily a harsh procedure, likely causing root damage and reducing the plant’s ability to take in water for several days as root tips redevelop. This is ideally done at the end of the growing season in cool weather, before the first frost. Avoid digging field-grown plants or repotting in hot weather, which will stress the plant too much. Your transplanted bonsai should kept out of the sun in a shady place to prevent it from drying it out before new roots develop. You will need a rather deep pot. You may want to consider using a training pot, like a ten-inch or two-gallon plastic nursery pot, for six months or so before moving your bonsai into nice display pottery.
In order to balance the unavoidable root damage when digging your field-grown bonsai, a large amount of foliage
