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There is an old saying amongst the bonsai enthusiasts of Japan:
"Bonsai ni ame ga ni do furimasu ..." You will find out what that means at the end of this article. Probably no other task in bonsai is more daunting to the beginning enthusiast than watering. When to water, how much to water, how often to water... it’s safe to speculate that no other task has been the cause of more bonsai deaths than watering. The question I hear most frequently is: "When should I water my bonsai?" Invariably I say, "Wait until it’s perfectly dry, and then water the day before." While that instruction doesn’t win me many friends, it’s actually exactly right. The key is, one must become sensitive to the tree’s cycles and know when ‘dry’ is ‘too dry’. So many factors dictate when it is appropriate to water-- species and age, time of year, number of years in a bonsai pot, type of soil used, size and depth of pot, all play a role in how often one should water. The good news is: If you are using an appropriate bonsai soil, the risk of overwatering your tree is infinitesimal. (Please see bonsai article Healthy Bonsai From The Ground, Up on this forum.) Freely draining, largely inorganic bonsai soil precludes overwatering. Neat, eh? No more killing trees because you overwatered. The next question is, what is enough water? An important factor here is: What type of bonsai do you have? Whereas a Wisteria bonsai might literally sit in a basin of water for much of the growing season, an aged Ponderosa Pine might receive only sporadic watering outside of natural rain showers. How large is the planting? A tiny mame or miniature bonsai might require three or more waterings a day in summer, whereas a massive bonsai might need a morning spritz of the foliage to keep it healthy for the day. On a more advanced level, think of water as a tool that will assist you in shaping your bonsai. Young, raw nursery stock (pre-bonsai or 'potensai' as one wit put it) in need of lots of shaping will require more water. Plump wood buds well, so there must always be ample water for the tree to grow rampantly. This 'wall of foliage' is then pruned back and shaped as the tree enters the refinement stage. Bonsai that have entered the refinement stage need less water. We wish to slow growth and minimize the disturbance of existing branch structure, so less water is applied. In the case of pines, we are careful to not wet the needles until they have set. And finally, those old bonsai Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Zen And The Art of Watering Bonsai in Bonsai is owned by David J. Bockman. Permission to republish Zen And The Art of Watering Bonsai in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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