you now those really small trees that look like trees but are really small are those really alive and where can i buy them
http://www.powerscourtcentre.com/assets/73/8537347D-68DE-4E73-B7A45E43DDCB7048_big_image/image_Bonsai-Tree.gif

There are real bonsai and there are artificial ones. Look on the internet for whichever fascinate you most. You’re sure to find a supplier in your area or one who will ship to you. Warning: Natural bonsai take lots of care and commitment..

The first thing that comes to mind when you say the word art is sculptures and painting. However, there is one kind of sculpture that is very popular but does not make use of wood and stone, but its own materials, which is known as bonsai.

Bonsai, derived from a Japanese word meaning ‘tree in a tray’, is an art that creates miniature bushes and trees. Through careful pruning and years of shaping and patience, the masterpieces are created by using ordinary specifics and creating bonsai.

It is not an art that just anyone can do; it takes a lot of care and patience, to create healthy plants. These are actual plants from ordinary species, such as maple or pine, which are shaped and grown in a small pot.

The artist has to control the perfect temperature and soil type to succeed. They must also possess the right temperament and techniques to perfectly prune the bonsai. There are many various ways of performing the art and it takes a great deal of practice in potting and repotting to attain the results.

The art of bonsai is an exact science right down to the watering of the bushes and trees. If you water the plant too much you will have a plant that becomes water logged and will likely develop root rot and fungi. With too little water, you will find the soil dries very quickly, eventually drying the leaves and killing the tree.

Every aspect of the art interacts with other aspects. For example, potting and soil practices depend on pruning and shaping techniques used, as well as drainage of the trees and bushes.

When it comes to art, bonsai is one of the hardest types to create. This is because all of the above elements, plus others has to be nearly perfect in order for the bushes and trees to survive. However, that is not all; this art also requires implementing pleasing colors, shapes, and styles in both the areas of the pot and plant to appeal to buyers.

When it comes to bonsai, there are 5 basic styles. These are known as semi-cascade, cascade, slanting, informal upright, and formal upright. While these are the basics, there are many advanced styles as well; one of which is called literati.

You could not learn and master this art in the time frame of a month.

Many artists work on one product for several years to create one tree. However, this tree may last more than one hundred years. Because of their longevity, these trees are generally passed from one generation to another, with each passing generating adding their own style to the tree.

The art and mastery of bonsai takes years of experience and training. It is not easy to create miniature bushes and trees from an ordinary species, just as it is not easy to create an ordinary species as it is.

Many people enjoy bonsai because it is handcrafted and takes us back to a time when technology was not an intrusion. Mass production was not available, neither were cell phones, hi-fi televisions, or high priced automobiles. It takes us back to a simpler time, when everything was just.

Randy Zakowski
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/bonsai-gardening-introduction-to-a-living-art-59336.html

I have a Japanese Black Pine bonsai tree, it came as a kit to plant it myself. The directions said to plant the seed in the soil and cover it in plastic wrap until it sprouts. It has yet to sprout and it’s been about two weeks since I planted it. Is there something wrong with it? How long should it take to sprout?

Of course.See …

so high nitrogen feeding is good for leaf growing and low nitrogen is good for trunk and root growth, right?

in the spring, which should i focus on more? obviously the leaves need to grow, but i was to strengthen the trunk for the next winter.

can i mix both high and low together so the trunk and leaves grow rapidly simultaneously?

or should i start with a high nitrogen feeding in the spring and do a low nitrogen feeding in the summer?

any feedback would be great.

btw here are my trees:
-10 yr serissa (about 10”)
-5 yr serissa (about 4-5”)
-dwarfed dogwood
-2 japanese maples
-5 yr zelkova (about 5-6”)

any feedback would be great.

http://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basics_Feed.html

high and low is not the way… balanced is the way…. unless it’s full spring , then you can use something higher in Nitrogen… like a 25-15-15….

read that site… much good info there….

You’ve surely seen the beautiful Bonsai tree somewhere in your life, even if only watching Mr. Miagi on the Karate Kid. It’s probably likely that if there’s a Japanese restaurant in your town, then you’ve sent them there. The art and dedication that it takes to plant and do the necessary upkeep with a Bonsai Tree is enormous, and sometimes much too daunting for those with a green thumb.

Bonsai’s are dwarf-potted plants that have been cultivated for centuries by the Chinese and Japanese. Since the end of World War II this art has taken off as a great hobby and pastime in the United States.

It not only take’s much patience to properly raise a bonsai, but also a good amount of artistic skill as well. It’s time-consuming, and there is a lot more to it than one might think. You could say that a bonsai is the marriage between plant and container, and nurturer…al forming the bond to create a distinct and lovely picture of nature in miniature form.

It is true that the bonsai is actually a hardy tree or shrub that is grown outside within a pot; however other tropical woody plants such as dwarf pomegranate can be developed as bonsais too. It’s important to note that only fairly small-leaved species should be used for bonsai trees – otherwise, the leaves will be out of scale with the rest of the plant. Using Ginkgo, Zeikova, and some of the pines and maples can give you outstanding bonsai trees.

Your best bet, and the most interesting bonsais are created from already runty plants with considerable, narrowing trunks and naturally twisty or gnarled branches. Also using young but otherwise normal plants can be effective as well. You can find such trees in either the wild or in a nursery.

An important part of a bonsai, bonsai pots, come in an array of designs. They can range from two inches to around twenty-five inches in diameter, and from one to ten inches deep. You can get these in glazed styles, or more popular porous red clay style. Either way, your pot should have a hole for draining.

The mixture of soil varies, but in any case it should be able to hold moisture and food, while also allowing for good drainage and aeration. Bonsai experts usually will layer the soil, beginning with a quite coarse mixture at the bottom of the bonsai pot, and then working their way up to a finer mixture. Then, the soil is topped off with either small ground-cover plants, moss, or fine pebbles.

Many people steer clear of the thought of raising a bonsai tree because they have been conditioned to believe that it takes years and years to nurture a bonsai to beauty. This actually is far from the case. In fact a bonsai can be made quite beautiful in only a few hours if you’ve taken care in choosing the right tree, the best pot for you, and giving it a try to prune your tree into your very own creation.

Vince J. Paxton
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/what-you-must-know-before-you-plant-a-bonsai-127231.html