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Important Points

Thick Trunk

Branches near the base

Branches on all sides

Choosing your first tree as a bonsai starter


If you are a beginner you might like to see rapid results. Hence you might wish to shape your
first bonsai from an already mature plant, which can be easily bought from a nursery.

On the other hand, you might want to start your bonsai collection from plants you grow yourself
through a process of layering to obtain material from a mature tree in your garden. This will give
an old look to the tree, and because you can choose the site for layering, you will be able to
obtain a multiple trunk specimen, or a specimen with branches in the desired position right from
the start. But the process takes time, and is slower than starting from a nursery plant.
If you have patience, and are ready to wait for good results, you could start from seed, or a
runner or cutting; a still slower processes, but a lot of fun. However, it might be better to start
first with a nursery plant, and use these alternative methods for expanding your collection.
Start with a nursery plant that is 3-7 years old. Its very encouraging to have a thick trunk right
from the start, and the plant will look old much more easily and quickly. Choose a plant with
many branches coming out from the lower levels of the trunk.
How will you choose from amongst the plants in the nursery?
General wisdom:

The plant species chosen must be able to live within the confines of a pot, and adapt to,

and withstand rigorous training, responding in a way that brings out the features of the tree in
natural habitats in the plant being shaped in the pot.
It should not be so costly that you regret the financial loss when it dies. PKR 300,

approximately USD4 should get you a good specimen.


Here are some tips to assist you as you choose your plant:
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7.

Choose a local species


Make your own bonsai from a nursery plant, rather than choose a commercially available
Bonsai specimen
Choose low cost plant stock from out-of-the-way nurseries who do not make much of a
profit and are happy to get a customer
Choose a knowledgeable nursery where you can get advice on what the plant likes best
Choose a hardy species (Prosopis, Accacia, Ficus, Malpeggia)
Choose a species that can be made to look like a bonsai in a few years. Especially
important is the ability of the trunk and its bark to look old. Ippel grows old quickly, as does
Prosopis julifera and acacias. Pines take a longer time ( 8-10 years), and are difficult to
maintain in warm climates such as Karachi. Juniper grows slowly but it has beautiful
potentialsbut can die suddenly in hot climates
Choose species with small leaves. Do not choose a rubber plant (Ficus elastic)!

8.

Choose trees with hard wood ( such as Bougainvillea) as against plants with soft trunks
( such as Scheffeleria)
9.
Avoid species with a limited life span (As example, Mr Siddiqui feels that Pesonia sp do
not live long. Similarly some creepers may not survive for long; though the climber
Wisteria is a good choice.)
10. If available, choose dwarf speciesexample dwarf Ixora
11. Until you understand how to overcome the problem of die-back avoid trees that have
serious die-back problems. The term die back is used to describe the situation wherein, once
trimmed, the branch dies back for a considerable but variable length to the next node.
Whilst Prosopis juliofera ( the jungly keekar) dies back, this is usually only to one
internode, and one can therefore preplan where to cut the branch. Most acacias do the same.
Juniper does not take kindly to trimming with shears at all, but if one twists off the shoots, a
process described as pinching, the plant tolerates it well.
12. Choose plants which can be made into one of the basic five styles first. It helps discipline
ones creativity to stick to the rules when creating your first bonsai. Plants not liked by me
for bonsai, because they do not look like bonsai to me, include Adenium obesum, Cycads,
and Bamboo. But sure, they do form attractive Bonsai when they follow their own style.
However, leave them for later.
13. Any plant you choose should be healthy, showing vigorous growth, have multiple
branches, and its leaves should be fresh and green, not dry yellow or wilted.
The natural leaf size as a determinant of the species you will choose
As stated, do not choose the (Indian) Rubber Plant Ficus elastica. It has very large leaves as does
Ficus Benjamina. Other Ficus sp listed in the table are ideal for starters as they are tough,
resilient, and can withstand a degree of drought; though they do not like water logging. In
general compound leaves are more difficult to manage than simple leafed plants. Avoid Gulmohr
(Delonix Regia)it has very large compound leaves.
Do not start your collection with one of these plants: The Neem tree ( Azadharacta indica)it
too has large compound leaves; Monkey puzzle(Araucaria sp) has foliage that is difficult to wire
or prune. In contrast, Bakkain and Malpeggia species have delicate leaves those these are
compound, and is easy to wire or cut and prune, though in Malpeggia, the older branches are
brittle and do not bend easily. The common lime is generally a good plant, but remember it is
grafted onto a root stock of another species, and the graft site most often is ugly and thick, so you
might have t search hard to find a suitable plantand that is at times difficult. Use the root stock
of other plantsthe root stock of Cheeko ( Manilara) is a good choice, but has rather large

leaves. Bougainvillea is another tough plant, but its branches are brittle and the plant needs to be
shaped by cut and grow method rather than wiring. It is rapid growing and will give three crops
of flowers in a year. One needs to be careful about trying to fit the roots into a tiny or thin
long pot.
All things told, you are best starting with the Ficus species, Malpeggia species, or an Accacia or
Pithecelobium dulce (the Jungle Jalebi).
The Accacia nilotica or arabica is a very hardy species and has fine compound leaves, It is
known as the Lahori Kikar. A plant closely mimicking it is the Afghani kikar Prosopis julifera
which grows prolifically and is extremely hardy, suitable for many styles and allows propagation
by cuttings.It has thorns, and dies back after pruning. Knowing that you can protect yourself
form the thorns and knowing about the die back, you can cut it one node above the node which
lies above the point where you want the plant to sprout out. Do not cut just above the desired
node. Its a good plant to choose as your first, because it does not get easily affected by dry outs,
when you forget to water it twice a day! It grows easily from seeds which are produced profusely
in the trees growing in the wild even in the city of Karachi, in any of the nurseries.
The Jungle Jalebi is a prolific grower, and can be shaped very easily by clip and grow method or
by wiring. The Prosopis, Accacia and Pithecelobium all suffer the fact that they close their
leaves much before sunset, a point to be remembered when exhibiting the plant as most
exhibitions remain open in the late evenings and up to 10 pm. Nevertheless they are good plants
to start with.
The Imli Tamarind, is particularly useful for forest collections. Its seeds are available from the
market as the pulp surrounding the seed is used in everyday cooking. The plant however does not
thicken its stem and does not develop a good taper for single plant specimens.
Prepared by Jamsheer Talati for Pakistan Bonsai Society

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