A Gentle Warning
During the holiday season many gift givers are taken in by the bonsai in many discount stores, supermarkets, drug stores, and even malls. They believe this is just the thing for their favorite gardener. This article is a gentle plea not to waste your money on this poor quality bonsai which frequently just dies and upsets the recipient who thinks they killed your present!
Bonsai abound right now. Some, such as the Weeping Fig or the Schefflera plants make excellent indoor bonsai. However, those cute little juniper bushes which are so common right now are frequently destined to die due to the poor treatment they received before you purchased them. This bonsai often has rocks glued over the top as a "mulch" and a wad of moss around the base of the "tree." The rocks are glued in for convenience in shipping.
Some have a piece of wood attached to the shrub's trunk. This represents new growth from old wood in the Chinese culture. When figures of Chinese or Japanese people are placed in the pot, these are properly called penjing rather than bonsai. Penjing is Chinese while bonsai is Japanese for growing small trees in pots. Personally, I am fascinated with penjing because it often depicts a scene by adding small gazebos, statues of people, and other accessories.
Let's look at several basic problems that exist with the juniper bonsai. First, the glued rocks are making it impossible to water the shrub properly. In some cases the rocks actually reduce the Amount of air available to the roots. Second, many of these trees are already partially (or completely) dead when they arrive in the store. Third, they are usually very poor quality bonsai. A good bonsai takes many years of training to develop. Unfortunately, this means bonsai wouldn't sell for the $20 or less price tag usually on these plants.
If you are intent on buying someone a true bonsai, please find a florist or greenhouse where the owner either creates their own bonsai specimens to sell or ships in quality bonsai. Take a look at the Internet Bonsai Club website mentioned later in this article to get a feel for what a "quality bonsai" is. Ask to look at the roots (often seen through the drainage holes) of the tree--do they look healthy? Does the plant's style look as though someone spent some time wiring and training branches? Does the foliage on the plant look healthy?
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