Friday, October 5, 2007

Soil, Moss, and Other Bonsai Garden Essentials


In order to have a successful bonsai garden you need to have the best soil possible. It is first important to understand that you should never use garden soil in your bonsai garden. This type of soil is typically heavily ridden with bugs, pests, and even diseases that can really create a huge problem in your bonsai garden. In order to have the fewest problems possible you want to use a prepared soil, which is intended for repotting if possible.
While you need a repotting soil, you can use a basic soil there is no need to search for the most advanced soil you can find. Some plants do better with a simple soil rather than one that is heavily saturated with additives. If you have pines in your bonsai garden then you will need to use a grittier soil because they perform much better this way.
When you are looking for the perfect moss for your bonsai garden you may become frustrated, however it is possible to grow your own moss instead. This is much cheaper, plus your moss will not go through "shock" when it is planted. This helps your bonsai garden be much healthier.
As you progress in your bonsai garden, you will eventually need to pull the plant from the planter and trim the roots. When this is necessary, carefully remove the moss from the top of the plant and set to the side. Once you are finished repotting your plant you can carefully replace the moss. It will generally take a couple of weeks, but with proper watering your moss will begin growing again and be as healthy as before you moved it.
As your bonsai garden grows, you will experience some form of pest infestation at some point. Most of the time it is either aphids or scale insects, this is ok because they are some of the simplest to rid yourself of. However, it is important to check your bonsai garden each day to ensure that the problem is caught quickly and handled as fast as possible. If you wait even as little as a week before beginning treatment you could be allowing a few small bugs to become thousands which will take a lot more time and effort to get rid of.
Instead, closely monitor your garden each day when you are watering. Since you are already watering your plants, it makes the easiest time to do a quick check. If you find any bugs, it is always best to gently remove them. However, if you have a large amount of bugs you may need to seek the help of an insecticide to really keep the bugs at bay and off your beloved garden.
by Chris Wight

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