How To Keep A Bonsai Tree Short

The lars anderson bonsai collection at the arnold arboretum in boston has some bonsai trees from the 18th century.

How to keep a bonsai tree short. Branches with unnatural twists and turns. If two branches occur at the same height of the tree keep one of them and remove the other. The word bonsai means a pot bon that holds a plant or plantings sai. How do you keep bonsai small the simple and obvious answer is that you trim them aggressively.

For more help on keeping your bonsai healthier see how to keep a bonsai tree healthy. Indoor and outdoor bonsai. When leaf are falling down to 90 degree angle i cut them off. With proper care a bonsai can last for centuries but even a relatively young plant can give the illusion of great age.

You cut the branches back to reduce the distance between branches and to encourage taper and fine growth and to create the illusion of a large old tree. I prune a ficus religiosa a ficus microcarpa and a jade tree back to size. Check that the plant is getting sufficient shade and sunlight. Another important technique to shape bonsai trees is wiring.

Keeping a growing tree low once a tree is pruned into a tulip shape growers who want to keep their tree low prune or remove vigorous shoots above that height pruning 50 percent of all new growth. I don t wait till they die down by itself. Provide it with sufficient food and water. Protect it from extreme temperatures including fluctuations between extremes cover or bring it indoors if needed.

So back to the original question. It s easy to grow a bonsai tree larger keeping it small is a challenge. Look at a tree s height at maturity and make sure you have space for it before planting. This is how i keep my papaya tree short and set fruits early.

Can you keep big trees small by pruning it to keep it short. All my papaya trees had a lot. It s best to start this process when your tree is younger or newly planted.