Bonsai: A How To Short Course

Why Short? Because I'm Tired!!

I had my second Bonsai class the other day. I already alluded to my new forest, but I want to briefly illuminate on the things I've done so far in the class.

I repotted one of my Bonsai. These pictures take you through the steps.

1-remove from pot
2-remove the dirt (Old dirt is "No Thank you")
3-trim off the roots
4-put large soil on bottom (Thin layer, about 10%)
5-place medium size in a hill (Thick layer, about 75%)
6-arrange tree and fasten it to the bottom with a copper wire
7-poke to get the pieces to settle
8-fill with small soil (For aesthetics, about 15%)
9-water (often)(the soil begins to look dry again when it needs watering)*
Our Sensei refers to this process as open heart surgery. You have to work quick while the roots are exposed.
The next one show how I've begun shaping my juniper tree. It already has some copper wire on the main trunk, but I wanted to shape it further so I've redirected the top and then the side branches. He explained you want to try to get a triangular shape with the branches.(The smallest branch wasn't visible from the front before, now it will grow up with the guidance of the wire.)

I really enjoyed trying to visualize this living thing and apply my own artistic vision.

*The smaller the pot the more skill it takes to keep alive, but the cooler it looks. A small pot makes the tree look larger in scale.