Bonsai Trees Care

Most types of Bonsai can be started from seed just as easily as one can grow vegetables from seed. Chinese Elm and Crape Myrtle are great beginner trees for anyone new to Bonsai growing. To start growing Bonsai, one should first select a small pot, a round one 2-inches in diameter is good. Next, fill the pot 1/3 full with Bonsai soil, lay your seed on top of the soil and then cover the seed with 1/4 inch of soil.

Set your pot on a windowsill that gets direct sunlight during the day. You can easily set 4 or 5 2-inch pots on most windowsills, so why not try growing more than one type of Bonsai.

Sprinkle water over the soil until it is damp, and then check the soil each day, ensuring that it stays damp as you wait for the seed to sprout. Your seed will sprout within 1 to 3 weeks.

Once you see a sprout growing out of the soil, you will then want to move it to a window that gets less than a few hours of direct sunlight each day. Continue watering your new plant each day, keeping the soil damp, for several months.

Once you see roots growing out of the hole in the bottom of your pot, then it’s time to transplant your seedling to a larger pot. Select a pot that is almost the same size as your Bonsai pot, fill it with Bonsai soil and dig a small hole in the middle of the soil to place your seedling in. Carefully remove your seedling from the 2-inch pot, leaving the soil from the pot on its roots, and place the root ball with soil on the roots gently in the hole in the soil in the larger pot. Press soil around the roots, being careful not to injure the delicate base of your seedling.

Once your seedling has grown enough roots to fill the new pot, it’ll be ready to transplant into your Bonsai pot. Do not start training your new Bonsai until 6 months after it has been transplanted into the Bonsai pot. Trying to train a Bonsai soon after transplanting is traumatic to the plant, so it’s always best to wait several months to give your new Bonsai time to adjust between transplanting and training.