SOME NOTES FOR BONSAI BEGINNERS
Bonsai starter material.
The name bonsai means literally tree in a dish and has been developed
to an art form in the far east especially in China and later in
Japan.
Inattention to the well-being of the tree will soon show in its lack of willingness to thrive. Any pruning and shaping should be done with care and precision, The Starter material offered here is of Two types which are excellent for beginners and readily available are
1) South African Jade Plant.
(Crassula 
arborescens)
An indoor plant that grows readily in most circumstances. It appreciates
even temperatures in the winter and will grow well in the summer.
It can be kept outside in the summer but should be brought indoors
for winter. The leaves may develop a red colour when exposed to
sunlight, This is quite natural and fades away again in the winter,
but do not over expose to the sun. During this time the plant
should be fed with a suitable liquid fertiliser every three weeks.
Do not over water.
The leaves will grow large and fleshy and well separated. The soil is best kept fairly dry and in fact these plants can stand droughts well. In order to shape the tree prune back to one pair after two or three pairs of leaves have been produced. Each pruned shoot will produce two new shoots. The plants are rather brittle in the trunks and should be handled very carefully. Wiring is not recommended.
Propagation is very easy. Any leaf removed will within a few weeks develop roots, if buried and watered on removal from the plant. Repot every spring for the first three years. Use equal amounts of sand and soil.
2)Douglas Fir
(Pseudotsuga menziesii.)
These are outdoor trees and grow rapidly during the spring and
summer. The tallest trees in Britain are Douglas firs so to attempt
a bonsai one is no small challe
nge.
They will need no special attention during the winter but should
be kept in a sheltered place so as not to be blown over by the
wind. Again feeding every three weeks in the summer with a liquid
fertiliser will encourage growth. The branches can be shaped with
the use of thin copper wire wound carefully around the branches.
This wire should only be left on for short periods. Its purpose
is not to restrict growth but simply to help direct the growing
points.
Supplies of fir seedlings are readily available on waste ground in Northern Scotland where self seeding has takes place in profusion.
Any larger specimens should not be removed without permission.
In spring part of the green tufts at the end of the branches can be nipped out.
This helps to make the grown more dense and less spindly. Again repot every year for the first three years.
3) Larch 
(larix Japonicus)
There are two kinds of larch that self seed in abundance in waste
ground all over Scotland. The most common is the Japanese larch
and the less common the slightly slower growing European larch.
The easiest time to distinguish between these is in the spring.
The Japanese larch has reddish new twigs while the european are
straw coloured. It is also common for the two varieties to cross-fertalise
so many 'mixed variety trees occur.
The larch makes an excellent specimen for bonsai techniques. It
survives well in difficult conditions and looks well in even the
early days of training. It is the only deciduous conifer and has
some lovely colours and yellow, green and brown.
As with the fir nip out the new tufts as required to give shape
and extra growth. The larch is to be preferred to the douglas
fir because it is more resistant to periods of drought or excess
moisture.
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