What Kind Of Tool Should You Purchase Next? – As your interest in bonsai intensifies, and it undoubtedly will, you should seriously consider purchasing a concave branch cutter next. The concave branch cutter, much like shears - and the majority of all bonsai tools - is available here at Bonsai Boy- in a number of quality grades and a couple different sizes. The main function or use of a concave branch cutter is to remove branches. As its name suggests, the shape of the cut mark left on the trunk or branch is concave. When used properly, the concave branch cutter leaves a wound that is somewhat taller than it is wider and slightly concave; and this promotes the rapid and even healing of the wound, with very little scarring. The concave branch cutter is indispensable to bonsai and a great “next” tool.
Other Tools You Should & Will Consider? – A pair of bud scissors, soil sieves, knob cutters, wire cutters, a root hook, and trunk bender will all soon be tools you need and want. The Art of bonsai is one that grows with you, literally and figuratively. As your bonsai interest grows, so too, will your knowledge, skill level and tool collection.
Methods of Tree Propagation
Why Is Tree Propagation So Significant? - Trees that are sought-after for use as bonsai material have several characteristics that make them appropriate for the smaller design arrangements of bonsai. These characteristics assist in the persuasive reproduction of nature from a miniature perspective. The range of characteristics desirable for use as bonsai material include: form, color, branch and trunk structure, bark texture, a wide range of leaf shapes, sizes, and textures, and for pines - a wide range of needle shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. The ability to faithfully reproduce trees that contain these desirable characteristics, through the use of different methods of propagation, is essential to the future of these valuable varieties of trees, and by extension, to the future of bonsai, itself.
Growing Bonsai from Seed - There are two very advantageous features to growing bonsai trees from seed - for both beginning and experienced bonsai enthusiasts. The first advantage is that you can grow “hard to find” species of bonsai trees for a relatively small price. A pack of bonsai seeds can be purchased, on average, for under $5. The second, and most important, advantage is that once your seeds have successfully germinated and your trees begin to grow, you can control every aspect of your tree, at every stage of its development into a quality bonsai. The size, shape and style of your trees are yours to control from the very beginning.
Cuttings - Cuttings are one of the most popular methods to propagate quality bonsai material. Cuttings are an excellent propagation method, because they will create numerous trees that are genetically identical to the " parent " tree or bonsai. By taking cuttings, you can create new trees from a tree that contains the characteristics you consider to be important and suitable for a bonsai tree to have. An additional reason that makes cuttings one of the more popular ways to propagate bonsai material is that it is faster than starting bonsai trees from seed. Some species of trees will produce a rooted, growing tree - from a cutting - before the seeds of another tree can even sprout! Saving you tons of time and, quite often, weeks of worry.
Air layering - Air layering is a method for propagating trees through the removal a large branch or section of the trunk to create a new tree. One of the main attractions to propagating bonsai material through air layering is that you can create a sizable new tree with in one growing season, as opposed to the other methods - except collecting - which all involve several seasons of development. Removing a branch from a desirable tree or bonsai requires the removal of the bark, cambium, and phloem. This prevents carbohydrates and photosynthates from flowing down the trunk, past the removal site, but still allows water and mineral nutrients to flow upward to the leaves through the xylem. The removal site should be 1” wide all the way around the branch. It must then be protected with sphagnum moss, peat moss or other water retaining media, wrapped to in dark poly or tin foil and allowed to root. When there are enough roots to sustain the branch independently (approximately between 3 to 6 months depending on species) the branch is cut off of the “parent” tree and then the new bonsai is planted in the ground or a large, deep pot.
Tools for Bonsai
What Kind Of Bonsai Tools Work Best? – There is a specific bonsai tool for every specific bonsai activity and using the correct tool is the “best” tool and the best way to get the correct results. Tools for the practice of bonsai have been around for as long as bonsai itself - thousands of years. So, it is not necessary, nor practical, for a bonsai beginner to purchase a complete set of bonsai tools. As your interest in bonsai cultivation grows, so should your collection of bonsai tools. With each new bonsai endeavor you undertake, you will inevitably purchase the tool necessary to properly perform that endeavor – trust me.
What Kind Of Tool Should You Purchase First? – Consider a pair of shears as your first bonsai tool. They will enable you to keep your new bonsai neatly trimmed and styled. Bonsai shears are available in many quality grades and even a mid-level grade is relatively inexpensive and very easy to put to use.
Grafting - Grafting is a commonly used method for propagating trees, when propagation by seeds or by cuttings is impractical or impossible. Grafting techniques are often applied at nurseries for reproducing large numbers
of a desirable species for use as bonsai material. The species of tree
to be grafted it
is called the ‘’scion” and the tree to which it will be attached is called the “root-stock.” Customarily, the ‘’scion” is of a fine or unusual species and the “root-stock” tree is usually a common
version of the same species.
