Caring For Bonsai Trees – Training Pot Or A Pretty Pot?

hanun — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:47:57 +0000

It was coming into spring, and I thought it would be good to freshen up things around home. I had been looking at some of the pots available for bonsai and I thought it would be nice to update the plastic pot my bonsai was in. The plastic pot was a little plain and I wanted to showcase what I had learnt about caring for bonsai trees by getting a brighter pot.

I wanted to choose a pot that would complement my tree as the pot is considered as much part of the art-form as the tree itself. I had read that the tree contributes to one half of the composition, the pot completes the image.

Although I wanted the colour and texture of a pot to match a characteristic of the tree, I was to find out that choosing the style or look of the pot is not that important in the early stages of caring for bonsai trees when you are simply focusing on keeping it healthy and miniature.

As we know, bonsai trees are grown in small pots, or trays, which binds the roots and keeps the tree small. I found out the plastic pot that my tree came in is also referred to as a “humidity tray”. When the plant is watered the plastic pot retains the water to create humidity around the plant. They are usually made of plastic or wood and are sometimes called “training pots”.

A training pot is all that is required in the initial stages of caring for bonsai trees, while you focus on establishing a stable root system, letting the trunk develop some thickness and giving the branches some direction. The root system is the foundation of the tree and until it is established properly there will only be a branch on a trunk.

If you buy an already potted bonsai, it is likely that is can stay in the same pot for a few years.

It is likely that you will only be repotting your new tree if there are any issues with the soil quality.

When caring for bonsai, your tree will definitely need to be repotted every three to five years. In the meantime you will need to remove the tree from the pot every year to inspect the root system. If the roots form a ball around the edge of the pot, it’s time to prune or trim the roots and repot the tree.

We do have to consider whether the pot is stable enough for the tree. If the pot is too small, it will be easily knocked over. It could also make the tree ‘pot bound’ too quickly by not giving the root system room to grow.

So at this time, I can only continue to dream about the future pot for my bonsai and my focus will be on getting growth and development for my tree.

When I become competent at caring for bonsai and have kept it healthy and miniature then such things as shape, colour, texture and size of the pot will become much more important in order to complement the beauty I have achieved with my bonsai tree.

Tips for Front Yard Landscaping

hanun — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:06:18 +0000

The front yard is one of the most important landscaping projects you’ll undertake on your property. Getting the front yard right is particularly important because it’s the part of the house that people most often see-and the part they see and walk through every time they enter. With that in mind, here are some landscaping and design tips for your front yard.

Keep the House Design in Mind

The first detail of planning your landscaping-and particularly the materials you will use for structures such as walkways-is to determine how your landscaping will harmonize with the exterior of your home.

This is important because it ensures a smooth transition from the outside of the home to the inside. For example, if your home is made from brick, consider creating walkways that are edged in brick, to pick up on the colors of the home and echo those colors on the ground. Then make the dominant color of the walkway match or closely echo the color of the roof.

Pay Attention to Walkways

The front yard is less a place to relax in than it is an area that welcomes people to your home. Paying particular attention to the shape and design driveways and walkways is important, because these aspects of the front yard will see constant use. Driveways and walkways should be broad enough to use comfortably-for example, people walking from the gate to your house should not brush against shrubbery or flowers, but should have enough room to move without being caught by plants.

Adding motion-sensor lighting to driveways and walkways helps make your front yard a safer place to move through at night-you can choose lighting that complements the exterior of your home, further enhancing the harmony between the exterior and the yard.

Choosing Trees and Shrubs

When choosing trees for the front yard, you must think in the long term-how tall are they going to be when fully mature? Will they block sun, or shed leaves on the driveway or walkway?

These are important considerations for any front yard plantings. The trees and shrubs you add will grow over the years, and you’ll need to consider how much space mature planting will take up when you first add the plants. Don’t forget that root systems will grow over time, too-larger trees have extensive root systems, and a tree in a poor location may disrupt walkways or even the foundations of your home.

In addition, remember that overhang from your roof may deprive some plants of sunlight, depending on their sun requirements and the season. Small bushes and shrubs should be places four to six feet away from the home to ensure they receive enough sunlight throughout the year.

Fragrant plants and trees are an excellent option for front yards, with attractive scents that welcome your visitors-fruit trees, herbs, and sweet-smelling shrubs such as lavender are good choices.

Consider the View

When designing front yard landscaping, consider the view you are creating both of the yard and of the home. For example, if your front yard is small, it’s best not to cram too many plants into the area. It’s important to ensure that the front of the home is in full view from both the inside of the home and from the outside, so that you can see out, and so that new visitors are not in any doubt as to the location of the entry point of the home.

Use plants and shrubs that emphasize the entry point of your home-for example, add a planter with colorful flowers on either side of the front door, or train a vine to grow over the exterior of the front porch. This makes your entry point more welcoming, emphasizes its location, and further eases the transition between the outdoors and the indoors.

Adding Color

Flowing plants can be added easily to provide a welcoming splash of color in the front yard. A good option that makes planning the front yard in the long term easier is to designate particular spots for short-term plantings.

This means that you first designate the spots for trees and shrubs that will be constant fixtures-that will grow and mature over the course of several years-and then plan to use the remaining space for annuals or biennial plants. For example, your short-term yard space could be the home of colorful bulbs in the spring, and then used for summer annuals after the spring bulbs have flowered and died out.

Alternatively, if you’d prefer a lower-maintenance front yard, use perennial shrubs and plants to add color, rather than annuals and biennials that have shorter life-spans and need replacing every one to two years.

Old Spring Spike » Match

Caring For Bonsai Trees – Training Pot Or A Pretty Pot?

Tips for Front Yard Landscaping