You happened upon a bonsai exhibit and couldn’t get it out of your mind. You looked us up, came to a meeting, and decided to give it a shot. When do you start? Now.

Anyone here will tell you, you could do a lot worse than to chose bonsai. It’s cheaper than raising quarter horses, more interesting than making plaster statues, and safer than skydiving. There’s something wonderful and addictive about bonsai, and I suspect I’m not alone in finding myself communing with my trees a little every day, watching their slow and persistent change, sometimes just enjoying their company with a glass of wine.

But how, exactly, does one begin? There is no one, perfect way, but here are a few suggestions from one who is not so far from beginnerhood himself.

Clubs such as BSSF are your best resource. The quickest way to learn about trees, tech-niques, and materials, is to join the BSSF or another bonsai club (dues are inexpensive) and attend meetings and workshops. There are also frequent shows around the Bay, usually with demonstrations and sales. Club members tend to be friendly folk who welcome newcomers and are glad to share what they have learned over the years.

I suggest that you buy four trees to start with. In order to have something nice to look at right away, you could buy two that have already been in bonsai cultivation for a few years. Not expensive trees, because you will make mistakes, as we all do, and you don’t want to lose a $400 masterpiece. But it is better to buy four nursery trees, preferably in one-gallon or larger containers, and to learn the bonsai-er’s indispensable virtue, patience. You could buy starters in smaller pots, but it will take longer for them to become something that looks like a bonsai, and you’ll want to plant them in one-gallon pots soon anyway. These four trees will be your tutors. They will teach you about what they like and when: how to wire them, how to trim them, how to water them, how to fertilize them, and in time, how to put them into bonsai pots. That’s a lot to learn.

But don’t buy just any species of tree. I suggest buying two junipers and two trident maples. Junipers are forgiving of our clumsy initial efforts, and thrive in San Francisco weather. The two most commonly chosen junipers are San José and shimpaku. Trident maple is also forgiving, and may be the best choice for a deciduous tree. Look for trees with thicker, tapered trunks, and branching that doesn’t leave long open spaces on the trunk. Here are a couple of examples of what they could become.

You will need a few tools and materials. Here are some suggestions to get you started. You will need a minimum of one tool: a basic trimmer to be used—until you have more tools—for cutting buds, twigs, small branches, and roots. Get one specifically designed for bonsai use, as other types can create problems for you. Japantown is one place to find them, but some nurseries also carry bonsai tools. If you want more tools, get wiring pliers and wire cutters next. Get some plastic screening to place over drainage holes, also available in these places. You will in time need some bonsai pots, but that’s not urgent if you leave your trees in large nursery pots for a couple of years.

You will need some wire for wrapping tree branches for shaping. Annealed copper wire is best, but not always readily available. Club members can help out. Copper wire should be about one-third the thickness of the branch you are wrapping. You can estimate two different sizes to buy by looking at the trees you bought. Aluminum wire is usually considered less desirable, but it is easier to find. It should be thicker, perhaps half the size of the branch you are wrapping. A few wooden or bamboo chopsticks are handy too.

There are many, many more things to spend money on, but these will get you started.

You will need some “dirt” at repotting time. Some people actually do plant bonsai in dirt, usually common potting soil, but the best results in the San Francisco setting are obtained with a more open, porous compound such as can often be obtained at BSSF meetings. There are advantages and disadvantages to any sort of planting medium. The advantage of the BSSF medium is that root aeration is excellent, fertilizer is delivered more directly to the roots, and root rot is nearly unheard of. The disadvantage is that it dries out quickly, so watering is very important, especially in hot weather.

Bonsai are not a sometime thing, and cannot be ignored for very long. Particularly with a porous planting medium, it is important to water no less often than every other day in warm summer weather, preferably every day. During especially hot weather, it’s a good idea to water twice a day. This isn’t as demanding as it might seem. Certainly it’s much easier than walking the dog, changing the baby, or fixing dinner. Give the trees a nice shower every morning until water runs out of the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. Do the same in the late afternoon on especially hot days.

Perhaps we should have talked about where to put your trees from the first, but we live where we live, and must adapt to the conditions there. They must go outside. What you seek is the ideal balance of sun, shade, and moving air. You want plenty of sun, but not unmoderated hot sun, nor too much shade and cold. You want moving air, but not constant strong and drying wind. Microclimates vary greatly in different parts of the city. If you have an extreme of anything, you will need to do something to moderate it. Constant wind or blazing all-day hot sun will require some sort of partial shelter. Your planting medium will help guard against root rot if there is another monsoon like ’05-’06.

Last item on the agenda is fertilizing. Most bonsai are under-fertilized. You will learn at meetings how to fertilize for best effect.

Now you’re ready to go. Don’t blame me if bonsai takes over your life.

by John Alan Pennington

Tag: Beginner