Upon buying your beloved Bonsais, you will naturally want to take good care of them.
Through the caring for Bonsais, it brings out our beautiful hearts, leading to a happy mind. This is truly a great wholesome way to distress and have a lifestyle with utmost enjoyment.
It helps you to cultivate mindfulness when you will see nature itself is a miracle, we don't need to be walking on water or flying in air to do that. Walking along on Earth, the wonderful blue sky, with birds tweeting and your lovely bonsai is a miracle itself.
You feel most satisfied and happy when your bonsais grow healthily and beautifully. It is communicating to you that it appreciates your tender loving care to it.
Now, the five most important factors to ensure that your Bonsai thrives healthily are water, sunlight, fertilizer, insecticide and appropriate shape trimming. Once these factors are fulfilled, your beloved Bonsai is sure to grow beautifully.
Firstly, watering of bonsai is important. Once at 9am and the other at around 4pm. Please take note that bonsais with a complex wood structure like Wrightia, Maple and Ficus etc needs watering twice a day. Whereas for pine and Junipers, once daily shall suffice. Also, ensure that the soil is fully moistened, that is the soil feels wet to the touch. Remember not to just water the leaves, but the roots itself. Excess watering is fine as water naturally overflows when in excess.
Secondly, sunlight for Bonsais are important, just as sleep is to humans. Just like we love to have enough rest and relaxation after a day's of hard work, the Bonsais love sunlight coupled with water. There must be a balance. Just a note here displaying of Bonsais indoors is possible, but do not exceed 3 weeks preferable as they need adequate sunlight to grow well.
Thirdly, fertilizer helps to enhance growth of Bonsais but it is not as crucial as aequate sunlight and water. It should be in minute or moderate amounts, never too much or it will cause damage to the roots of Bonsai and the leaves will turn yellow. Place fertilizer into outdoor bonsais (more than 4 hours of sunlight daily) once every 2 months. Fertilizer is not needed for indoor bonsais.
In addition, we have to take preventive measures against growth of insects on bonsais by spraying insecticide on Bonsais monthly.
Lastly, as time goes by, the branches will grow and extend. The shape will change, thus in order to maintain its shape or even to enhance its beauty, trimming of edges is necessary. However, if done on a daily basis, the plant will not have the opportunity to grow. Thus, once every three months will be most appropriate.
May you be on your way to cultivating beautiful bonsais, hearts and minds.