Bonsai is the art of growing small trees and plants. It is a japanese term which literally means "bon planted", where a 'bon' is a tray-like pot typically used in bonsai culture. As the Japanese regard trees as the most fundamental of plants, the term implies a 'bon-planted tree'.

Container-grown plants, including trees as well as other plants, have a history stretching back at least to the early times of Egyptian culture. Pictorial records from around 4000 BC show trees growing in containers cut into rock. Pharaoh Ramesses III donated gardens consisting of potted olives, date palms, and other plants to hundreds of temples. Pre-Common-Era India used container-grown trees for medicine and food.

The oldest known living bonsai trees are in the collection at Happo-en (a private garden and exclusive restaurant) in Tokyo, Japan, where bonsai are between 400 to 800 years old.

The practice of bonsai incorporates a number of techniques either unique to bonsai or, if used in other forms of cultivation, applied in unusual ways that are particularly suitable to the bonsai domain.

Most bonsai species are outdoor trees and shrubs by nature, and they require temperature, humidity, and sunlight conditions approximating their native climate year round. The skill of the gardener can help plants from outside the local hardiness zone to survive and even thrive, but doing so takes careful watering, shielding of selected bonsai from excessive sunlight or wind, and possibly protection from winter conditions (e.g., through the use of cold boxes or winter greenhouses).

Traditional bonsai species (particularly those from the Japanese tradition) are temparate limate trees, and require moderate temperatures, moderate humidity, and full sun in summer with a dormancy period in winter that may need be near freezing. They do not thrive indoors, where the light is generally too dim, and humidity often too low, for them to grow properly. Only in the dormant period can they safely be brought indoors, and even then the plants require cold temperatures and lighting that approximates the number of hours the sun is visible. Raising the temperature or providing more hours of light than available from natural daylight can cause the bonsai to break dormancy, which often weakens or kills it.

Juniper bonsai trees enjoy low intensity light compared to the direct noon time sun. If your plant is constantly kept indoors, you might like to position it in a way that it catches either the early morning sun or the late afternoon sun. Junipers might also need a humidity tray once they are kept indoors. Place your juniper bonsai on a humidity tray for this.

Tradition aside, an indoor placement would be fine, so long as the tree recieves at least two hours of direct sunlight per day. Do not set it where air from an air conditioner or heat vent blows on it.

Your Juniper bonsai does best if it has a "Winter" to complete it's natural cycle. Place it in a cool room during the Winter, the cooler the better. Freezing will not hurt it, so long as it isn't subjected to a rapid rise in temparature. If it is cool enough (50 degrees F or less), indirect light will be sufficient. Watering requirements will be much reduced.

If you can't simulate Winter, and must keep the bonsai in your living area, be sure to place it where it will receive the minimum sunlight requirement. Whenever your bonsai s kept indoors at room temperature, be sure to humidify it by misting it a couple of times a day. Spraying for mites also becomes more important.

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During the winter months, the bonsai goes into dormancy like other garden trees. People that live in areas with heavy snowfall during the winter or where temperatures frequently drop below freezing, might want to take the juniper indoors to protect it over the short winter months. However, if you do this, place the tree in a cool room or in the garage where there are no heat vents of any kind.

If you have chosen the juniper to be raised indoors, it should be placed in a warm and sunny spot in the summer and a very cool place during the winter months. By keeping your juniper bonsai tree inside permanently could result in a sickly appearance over time and dying if it is not properly cared for.

Remember, the juniper needs to go into dormancy even if it considered an indoor plant. During its dormancy period, make sure there is some light getting to the tree, as it will die in total darkness. However, it should definitely be placed in an unheated room, porch, or cool basement during the winter. For the soil, you want to check this periodically. If the soil feels dry or nearly dry, water it. Most importantly, take extra care not to over water. If the juniper will be kept in a garage or closed-off room, be careful when time comes to reintroduce it to the outdoors. In this case, place the juniper in a location that does not get much sun and one out of the wind. Then over a few weeks, gradually move the tree back to a more open location. The bottom line is that the juniper bonsai tree is a great, hardy plant that is easy to grow. This tree has a long lifespan and makes a great choice of bonsai.

Readers have left 4 comments.

 1. Untitled
Tin, Unregistered

linshak! akala ko kung sinong Paul!!

 Posted 2009-01-08 07:34:29

 2. Untitled
Mae, Unregistered

hehehe... wish ko lang di ba?!

 Posted 2009-01-08 10:32:18

 3. Untitled
jem, Unregistered

goodluck with PJ, hope he thrives!

 Posted 2009-01-10 21:48:41

 4. Untitled
Mae, Unregistered

Thanks Jem. He's doing well... so far.

 Posted 2009-01-10 22:13:30

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