267 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
267 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
c1989 judywhite. All Rights Reserved. This article first appeared
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in Garden State Home and Garden Magazine, Dec 1989.
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72230,1154
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The Timeless Art of Bonsai
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There may be more ancient horticultural pursuits than the art of
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bonsai, but not many. Bonsai is the technique of training trees to
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grow in small pots, dwarfing and diminutizing them to create
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miniature versions of nature. And in so doing, technique is
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transformed into art. In the hands of a master, bonsai becomes great
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art, timeless, subtly changing and evolving, weaving beauty with
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reflective quality. For bonsai is not merely a little tree. It is
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vision, the ability to see what could be, artistically translated
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into a three-dimensional, four-season echo of the natural world.
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Bonsai comes from two Chinese words that quite literally mean
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"tray grow," or potted tree. The Chinese claim the origination of
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the practice, but it was the Japanese who really laid seige to the
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concept and turned it into their own, even adopting the same word
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into their language. The Japanese hold bonsai such a high art
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because rather than feeling nature to be diminished by
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miniaturization, they consider it much more intensified, a
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crystalization process that holds within it the grace and beauty and
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mystery of life itself.
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Bonsai is a very formal art in Japan, with strict rules and
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specially defined shapes each with their own name. "The Japanese are
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so stylish with bonsai," says Bob Furnback, founding President of the
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Deep Cut Bonsai Society in Middletown, New Jersey. "They've been
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doing it for 800 years. We're sort of developing our own American
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style, following the basic rules of the Japanese." Besides the
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general leeway in adapting rules, the essential difference between
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Japanese bonsai and Western versions, says Furnback, are in the
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plants available as subjects. He and his wife Jean are strong
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proponents of using native New Jersey trees in their own bonsai
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creations, and a good percentage of the trees they have used in their
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sixty-odd bonsai collection have been seedlings or dwarfed trees
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found right here in the state, then trained to both shape and size.
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"The trees are generally more prized if found in nature to begin
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with," says Furnback, rather than those started from nursery grown
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seedlings. The weathered quality of trees found outdoors lends
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itself extremely well to the finished bonsai product. Exposed wood
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that has been scarred or broken off in nature is a desired effect,
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one that is often artificially induced by breaking off parts of
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branches and applying lime sulfur, which turns the wood a weathered
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silver gray or white. The sun also helps bleach the wood further.
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"Pick trees that are not perfect," advises Furnback, "the ones
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with branches missing and stunted growth. They make the best bonsai
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subjects." This is true whether choosing plants found naturally or
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ones in a nursery. Native New Jersey trees that make good bonsai are
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the Eastern white cedar, found in many areas of south Jersey. Swamp
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maple also works well, and grows almost anywhere in the state, even
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along roadways where they are constantly cut down by the road
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departments. Eastern red cedars are particularly common in the shore
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area. Pitch pines are good, but they are harder to find. As with
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any collected plant material, however, potential bonsai subjects
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should never be taken from protected areas or from properties without
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the owner's permission. Good places to look for likely subjects are
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on a slope or on a bare hill. Best season for finding native plants
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is early spring, when new buds are beginning and roots are still
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somewhat dormant and can be safely cut and dug up. A good root ball,
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perhaps a third in diameter than the height of the tree, should come
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with the plant. Bigger trees should be put in a big pot for a couple
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of years, then transplanted to a smaller container, and then finally
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into the bonsai pot itself, a training process that gradually root
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prunes the plant, enabling the dwarfing process. Smaller plants,
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says Furnback, can be put right away into bonsai pots, making a sort
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of "instant bonsai."
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Even native fruit trees such as apple and crabapple can become
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bonsai. "In the dwarfing process you can change the size of the
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leaves and roots of the apple," says Furnback, which can be done by
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selective root pruning and leaf cutting, "but you can't change the
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size of the fruit. To some, it may look grotesque, but to us, it is
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beautiful."
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Other types of trees not necessarily native to New Jersey that
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lend themselves to bonsai include Alberta spruce, junipers, pine,
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Hanoki cypress, Chinese elm, "in fact, almost anything that's woody,"
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Furnback suggests. Plants can be started from seed as well as
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purchased in various stages of growth, but there is no such thing as
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"bonsai seed," even though some catalogs may advertise as such. No
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plant will grow from a seed into a perfectly formed dwarfed bonsai.
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Bonsai is an art, not a seed.
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One of the easiest ways to start with bonsai is to purchase a
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"finished" bonsai. "Finished" is a relative term, because a bonsai
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tree is always growing, and therefore needs continual care and
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pruning and repotting throughout its lifetime. Miniaturizing the
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tree does not change its capacity for long life; some bonsai that
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have been handed down from generation to generation are estimated to
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be five to eight hundred years old. But a bonsai that is sold as
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"finished" has captured its essential character, its training
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basically complete. The vision has been created. The novice new
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owner basically needs to learn how to keep it alive and trimmed to
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its essential form, which is generally easier than trying to learn
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how to visualize, select, pot, root- and branch- and leaf-prune,
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twist, train and grow all at once.
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"While almost everyone has a passing interest in bonsai, those
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of us who have 'been to the mountain' know it is not a sport for
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everyone. Most lose interest when they find out you can't keep them
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on top of the television," writes Randy Clark, Vice President of the
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National Bonsai Foundation, in the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN BONSAI
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SOCIETY. What kind of care do bonsai need? Most bonsai subjects are
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temperate zone trees, those that need four seasons of cyclical
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change, including winter in order to undergo their necessary dormant
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season, just like trees do outdoors here. Just because they are in
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pots does not eliminate their need for seasonal change. Temperate
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zoned trees need a lot of sun, and by and large will spend the bulk
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of their time during any part of the year outdoors. They can be
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brought indoors for display, but for true growing, they want the
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fresh air and sunlight found outdoors. As with any plant in a pot,
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care must be taken to help them through the extremes of winter,
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sheltered from hard cold. Actually, hardy bonsai can be exposed to
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frost several times before being winter protected; this helps signal
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the coming dormant season. The type of soil used in the bonsai pots
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varies from person to person, "like spaghetti sauce recipes," says
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Jean Furnback, which depend upon individual growing environments and
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culture, but basically the mix includes gravel or coarse sand for
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drainage, peat moss, and clay loam. Many, like Dr. Lou Nosher, an
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admired New Jersey bonsai artist, recommend adding fine compost as
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well.
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Lou and Pauline Nosher have been growing bonsai in New Jersey
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since 1976, after they became inspired by the Japanese government's
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fabulous bonsai collection gift to the United States, from which the
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collection at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., was begun.
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At one point the Noshers owned over 300 bonsai, some of which have
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garnered awards at national bonsai symposia. Since retiring and
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moving to the shore, their bonsai collection enjoy the waterfront
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breezes on specially constructed tier display benches in summer,
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while during winter they are placed, pots and all, into the ground
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and protected with slatted fence and burlap windbreaks. One year a
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robin even built her nest in the center of a prized bonsai forest
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planting of Alberta spruce (which involved planting of several trees
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in one pot together), a true testament to Dr. Nosher's replication of
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nature. He is considered a master by many in New Jersey, including
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the birds.
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Hardy bonsai are generally watered every day during the growing
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season, between April and November, then given water perhaps only
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three times during the winter months after frost. Some bonsai are at
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their very finest in winter, especially some of the deciduous-leaved
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types whose trunks are particularly beautiful by themselves. Jean
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and Bob Furnback own a 25 year old Chinese Elm that is stunning any
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time of the year, "but we almost hate to see leaves come on," says
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Jean, because of the graceful beauty of the old trunk and intricate
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branches best revealed in winter.
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Because of their longeveity, bonsai become permanent members of
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the family to devotees. The Furnbacks even have names for some of
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their plants. One Eastern white cedar "was standing alone in the
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middle of a swamp, like a ghost," remembers Jean. It is called,
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simply, "The Ghost," a decided presence in their collection.
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The genius of bonsai lies in a combination of plant material
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selection, training the branches with wires if necessary, sometimes
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the entwining of trunks, judicious pruning and trimming, and also
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choice of pot in which to compose the landscape, for the bonsai is
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always treated as an ensemble. Granted, some artistic vision is
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necessary for the beginner, but mastering the techniques and craft
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helps the novice create his own miniaturized view of nature. As in
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the old joke, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" "Practice, practice,
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practice," the same holds true for bonsai. Every beginner must first
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"mangle, mutilate and finally murder a small juniper," again writes
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Randy Clark, but the secrets of bonsai art eventually are disclosed
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through the self-revelation of experience. No one need be a great
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bonsai master in order to create bonsai. They simply must be
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enthusiastic and persevering, with a wish not to tame nature, but,
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instead, to reveal it, through the gentle art of bonsai.
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- - - - - - - - - -
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INDOOR BONSAI AS HOUSEPLANTS are becoming increasingly more
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popular as people begin to take non-traditional indoor plants and
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train them in the bonsai tradition. Many plants that make suitable
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general houseplants, many of which come originally from tropical
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countries - ficus, schefflera, Ming aralia, camellia, crassula,
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dracaena, fuchia, hibiscus, poinsettia, succulents, rhododendron,
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jasmine, ivy, even herbs - are finding their way into bonsai pots.
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Because of their quick, non-dormant growing abilities, as well as
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their usually more flexible trunks and branches, many of the tropical
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plants are much faster to train to classical bonsai shapes than
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temperate trees. For instant gratification bonsai that can be
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displayed indoors all year round, tropical plants are a definite
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solution.
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This type of bonsai gives the budding bonsai artist more to do
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in winter months, since tropical plants still grow during the cold
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season and can be trimmed and shaped and wired. They are excellent
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practice plants as well, since most tropical houseplants are far less
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expensive than finished temperate zone bonsai trees.
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Most indoor bonsai need to be near a bright window - not hot
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sun, but bright indirect light - and appreciate good humidity, which
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can be increased by keeping them on gravel trays filled with water so
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that the pots sit above the water. All indoor bonsai will need water
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before the soil goes completely dry. And because of the limited
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amount of soil in a bonsai pot, it is important to fertilize often to
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replenish the soil, feeding a bit less in winter when the plants are
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in a slower growing season.
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An excellent book to get started in indoor bonsai is INDOOR
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BONSAI, by Paul Lesniewicz, Blandford Press, c1985, distributed by
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Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2 Park Avenue, New York, New York
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10016, which describes in detail the specific needs of many kinds of
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suitable indoor plants for bonsai, complete with pictures and helpful
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line drawings demonstrating pruning and wire techniques.
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- - - - - - - - - -
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SOURCES FOR GETTING STARTED IN BONSAI:
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PLANTS, TOOLS, SUPPLIES, BOOKS, FINISHED BONSAI:
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The Bonsai Farm, P.O. Box 130 Dept., Lavernia, TX 78121, free
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catalog
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Bonsai Creations, P.O. Box 7511, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 33338.
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Catalog $2.50
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Heritage Arts, 16651 S.E. 235th Street, Kent, WA 98042, Catalog
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$2.00
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Jiu-San Bonsai, 1243 Melville Road, Farmingdale, NY 11735. No
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mail order
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Woodview Gardens, HC 68, Box 405H, St. Francisville, LA 70775.
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Free catalog.
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LESSONS, DEMONSTRATIONS:
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Jerald Stowell, International Bonsai Master, Brookdale College,
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Lincroft, NJ. Courses also by Stowell at Deep Cut Park, Red Hill
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Road, Middletown, N.J.
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Rosade Bonsai Studio, Box 303 Ely Rd, RD-1, New Hope, PA 18938
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Matsu-Momiji Nursery, Steve Pilacik, P.O. Box 11414,
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Philadelphia, PA 19111
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BONSAI POTS:
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International Bonsai Containers, 412 Pinnacle Road, Rochester,
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NY 14623
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Rockport Pottery, Richard Robertson, Box 1200 Vinal Road, W.
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Rockport, Me 04865. Will custom design. Price list $1.00
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BONSAI SOCIETIES:
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The American Bonsai Society, Box 358, Keene, NH 03431.
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Membership $18. Includes quarterly color magazine, quarterly
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newsletter, discount book service, slide and video library.
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Membership 14,000.
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Bonsai Clubs International, 2636 W. Mission Road, #277,
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Tallahassee, Fl 32304. Membership $15. Includes BONSAI MAGAZINE,
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discount book service, lending library, directory of bonsai
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suppliers.
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Deep Cut Bonsai Society, Deep Cut Park, Red Hill Road,
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Middletown, New Jersey 07748. Meets third Thursday of each month,
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7:30 pm.
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BOOKS (Many books not published in the United States are available
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from bonsai supply stores listed above):
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BONSAI: The Art of Growing and Keeping Miniature Trees, by
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Peter Chan, Quintet Publishing Ltd., London, c1985. Superlative
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large format book with excellent color photos as well as ancient
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Japanese prints. Unsurpassed for culture and techniques, aesthetics,
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styles, etc. Recommended by experienced growers.
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THE ESSENTIALS OF BONSAI, by the editors of Shufunotomo, Timber
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Press, Portland, Oregon, in cooperation with the American
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Horticultural Society, c1982. Excellent color book with many
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drawings, particularly good for explaining the classification of
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styles, complete with pictures of each along with their Japanese
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names. Good cultivation and techniques.
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CHINESE BONSAI: The Art of Penjing, by Ilona Lesniewicz and Li
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Zhimin, Blandford Press, distributed by Sterling Publishing Co.,
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Inc., 2 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10016, c1988. Large format
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color book that explains and depicts the Chinese style of bonsai that
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incorporates landscapes and often figurines. Pictures good, but not
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much in the way of culture.
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