Wiring and Shaping Your Bonsai Tree

If you are starting with a garden centre plant then a great deal of pruning will be necessary.

5 Main Rules to follow:

• You should make sure that you only remove the excess foliage and undesirable limbs of the plant.
• You should make sure that you make all the cuts above the body, side of a branch, all the main fork of the tree.
• You should make sure you remove all of the buds except those outsides of the trunk in order to stimulate growth outwards and upwards.
• You should make sure that you leave the stubs flush with the stem. Avoid cutting the tree so much that the main branches become weakened.
• Do not treat the bonsai tree like a hedge; the objective should be to make the plant look like a mature tree you would find in nature. Just like nature make them branches grow towards the open space and away from each other. If you prune too much the plant will not be able to photosynthesise.

Heavy pruning is normally done only once in a life of a bonsai tree. Once you have established the basic form, shaping is done by nipping or pinching back. By doing this you will be able to control new growth. Nipping process allows for the bonsai tree to develop luxurious foliage. You should nip off tiny Spurs at the bottom of the tree trunk before they are large enough to leave a scar on the tree.

Roots of a Bonsai tree are also trimmed. You should try and keep all the fibrous roots and maintain a balance of one root for one branch if possible. During this process remove any roots which are damaged during the digging and make sure you leave the surface roots intact. You should ensure that you prune with a sharp tool and cut in a sloping angle to avoid damaging them.

Pruning is a crucial step that must be done in order to maintain the shape of a Bonsai tree and encourage new growth. Some plants will respond very well to pruning and some may respond negatively to it as they find it hard to recover, especially if pruned at the wrong time of the year. It is advisable you research about your tree species and choose the best time to prune the old and new growth. Usually new growth is pruned during the growing season such as spring in order to maintain the shape of the Bonsai while the old hardwood is pruned during the middle of autumn.

One of the main forms of pruning for Bonsai specially evergreen Bonsai such as Juniper and Cedar is called 'finger pruning'/ finger pruning is when you pinch back the new growth which does not come in general shape of the bonsai tree or it is at the top of the Bonsai. This will help it to encourage becoming creating foliage and looking more like a natural tree. Finger pruning is done by taking a growth between your thumb and forefinger while holding the branch with your other hand and removing with a twist movement. Finger pruning is much better than trimming the growth with scissors as it leaves and unnatural look on the foliage.

As for more complicated trees such as maple and Chinese Elm scissors are the best tool for pruning. When you are trimming outward or over-enthusiastic growths on a tree make sure you trim back just after the next series of leaves, but don't cut the foliage as such. Leaf pruning is usually done on this deciduous and tropical plants such as maple to reduce the leaf size and remove unsightly leaves and speed up the growth by causing two Seasons growth in one.

The week's following pruning make sure you keep the plant in a hospital position and climate and supply it with sufficient water.

 In the next few weeks make sure that you keep the plant in a hospitable position and climate and supply it adequate water. Remember the goal is to make the tree look like how it will be in nature in order to keep up with the principles of bonsai.

 Trimming and pruning are a crucial step in bonsai to keep it a miniature. This is why you systematically remove vigorous growth in spring. You must also note however the health of the tree. Whenever you do anything in bonsai you must always think about your actions and how it will affect the health of the plant first. You should never remove all of the growth at any one time. You must also note that you must not prune your bonsai everyday as many people think. Pruning your tree two or three times a year is enough and you should do it at the start of spring, end of ­summer, or sometimes late autumn or winter.

Now that you know how to prune your bonsai and when to do it, grab your self a Bonsai Tree or Bonsai Kit and start your journey into the world of Bonsai Trees