On father's day, I was given one of my favorite presents I have ever received: a Bonsai starter kit, consisting of small pots and a few seeds to grow trees.
The present worked on many levels. For starters, I have had an interest in Bonsai since my teenage years and always wanted to have a go at it, so this gives me the perfect excuse to jump into a new hobby.
On a more meaningful level, the seeds in the kit were Jacaranda seeds which are a South American species particularly abundant in Argentina, where I am from. Right in the center of my home town, there is a big square, and planted along the whole length of one side there is a long line of Jacaranda trees, when they bloom in the spring they make for a stunning view. I am really looking forward to seeing these seeds turn into trees, and have a little piece of home here, in New Zealand.
The best part of the present though is what it brought with it: a new journey. I get to be a beginner again, and that is a beautiful feeling.
After following the instructions in my kit to sow the Jacaranda seeds, I fell deep into an internet Bonsai rabbit hole. In the last few weeks, I have watched an unfathomable number of YouTube videos, read countless blog posts and even bought (and read) a book for beginners. I am obsessed, I can't talk about anything else (sorry Kirsten).
I quickly learned that it takes somewhere between 3 to 4 years for a tree grown from seed to be able to do Bonsai with them. So, I needed to find a more immediate way to put into practice everything that I have been learning. Luckily, I found two alternatives for beginners:
You can buy a Bonsai tree in training and keep working on it; or
You can buy a tree from a nursery and turn that into a Bonsai.
As the second option sounded more fun (and it is also way cheaper), that is what I decided to do.
My first trees
Contrary to my belief, there is nothing special about Bonsai trees. They are simply regular trees that, by regular pruning of branches and roots, have been trained to remain small. That being said, there are species that because of any given characteristic lend themselves better for Bonsai and are more popular within the practice. In other words, any tree can be turned into a Bonsai but not all trees will make a good Bonsai.
Trees can be divided into three large categories: conifers, deciduous and broadleaf evergreen. Each type of tree requires different care, pruning, and styling. You see where this is going, right? Yep, I got one tree of each type.
Conifer: Siberian Spruce
The Siberian Spruce might not be the most popular spruce choice, but apparently, it can be turned into a nice Bonsai tree. Also, it was available at the garden center I went to, so that was convenient too.
Here are a couple of photos before and after I did some work on it. Keep in mind this was literally my first try and I don't know exactly what I am doing. The joy of being a beginner.
Deciduos: Magnolia Stellata
If I am being honest, I didn't have Magnolias in mind when heading to the nursery, I wanted to find either a Japanese maple or a honeysuckle tree. Walking around the trees I caught this little one with the corner of my eye and fell in love with it.
I feel like this one went a bit better in terms of Bonsai techniques, we need to wait for spring growth to be sure.
Broadleaf evergreen: Camellia Japonica
The Camellia genus has hundreds of species, of which any would be suitable for Bonsai. Having said that, some of them have very big leaves and flowers that can make the tree look out of proportion. Because it has smaller leaves and flowers, one of the most popular species is the Camellia Japonica. I found at the nursery the Cinnamon Cindy cultivar, which has beautiful white peony-style blooms.
Now this one, I am pretty sure I killed. I obviously took a lot of foliage off, but what truly worries me is that I had to repot it and by doing so also removed a big chunk of the root mass. Again, we will have to wait and see.
Coming up next
I am really looking forward to seeing these trees develop, as well as working on other tree species and increasing my tree collection. Keep an eye on this channel for tree updates (so you can see what ends up happening with these trees and others).
Also, I will be making the pots for my trees. Bonsai pots have a number of functional and design characteristics that differentiate them from regular flower pots. I still need to do a bit more research into what makes a good Bonsai pot, but soon I'll be making the first prototypes. I will share them here as well, along with any learnings I find.
I am so excited about what this new beginning means for both me and Kenobi Ceramics. I feel like I have opened a door to a new world of possibilities and I can't wait to start exploring them.