Top Bonsai Choices
Fuchsia 
With more than 8,000 hybrids of this one plant, you will find that many of them make great choices for Bonsai. Typically, Fuchsia has larger leaves, which with pruning, can be reduced in size. However, the flowers are also large but cannot be made smaller.When considering Fuchsia for Bonsai, we would recommend Lady Thumb, Microphylla, or Tom Thumb. However, the most reliable and hardy of the species is the Fuchsia Magellanica. When choosing this plant, you want to avoid any variegated forms since they tend to revert in bad lighting and are among the weaker species.
Typically, you would grow Fuchsia outdoors for most of the year. Most species will handle low temperatures relatively well but once the weather turns too cold, generally lower than 27 degrees, then the leafs will fall off and the branches might die. For this reason, you would do best to keep the Fuchsia indoors during the colder months.
Care
- Fuchsia needs good levels of humidity along with regular misting. However, you want to make sure they are not over watered
- About every two years, you will need to repot this plant, at least for the first 10 years of its life. After that time, you would repot about every four years, using a basic soil mix.
- This plant needs to be pinched weekly in the summertime, which will help slow down the growth of over anxious shoots. Additionally, this will help with ramification and improve the size of the leaves
- Fuchsia produce flowers throughout the year and while you will need to provide some minor pruning, it will not affect the production much
- Any suckers growing from the roots should be removed.
- Because this type of plant buds vigorously, you might consider wiring and doing a little bit of pruning to help train the shape.
- If you want to propagate Fuchsia, you will find it is easy to do. Simply take cuttings during the spring and then again during the late summer months.
- When wiring young shoots, use care in that they are tender and can be bruised or damaged easily
- Susceptible to aphids, you will need to carefully examine these plants on a regular basis and then use a good, preferably organic insecticide
- If the soil becomes too wet or the plant is not in a place with proper air circulation, they can have problems with mildew. In this case, you would need to spray a fungicide.
This particular plant grows much like a shrub and is actually a member of the Southern Chinese evergreen family. Considered an indoor plant and makes a beautiful Bonsai.The leaves are shiny, oval, and dark green while the trunk is a white or gray color. This contrast makes this a striking appearance. Then, the Fukien Tea grows small, white flowers that have a subtle perfumed fragrance.
If you care for this Bonsai carefully, it will bloom throughout the year. Once the flowers are finished blooming, they will be replaced with small green berries that eventually change to a bright red. The nice thing about this plant is that they are easy to train for Bonsai and seldom need to be wired.
Care
- When growing indoors, you need to place the Fukien Tea in a location where the temperature maintains around 60 degrees. If you do place this plant outdoors, make sure it is placed in a sunny location where it gets a good water supply and good levels of humidity.
- The branches will need to be pruned throughout the year
- New shoots that take away from the shape you are trying to achieve for the Bonsai will need to be pinched
- When trimming new shoots, keep it back to about three leaves on a regular basis during the normal growing season and then about every two to three months during the colder months
- From spring to fall, the Fukien Tea will need to be fed fortnightly and in the winter, make sure the food is low in nitrogen
- The Fukien Tea is not fond of shady locations. Therefore, it needs to always have as much sun as possible without getting too hot, which could cause the leaves to burn
- This plant does not tolerate cold draughts or frost well
Native to South Africa, this is a beautiful plant for Bonsai. Considered an indoor plant, they do not do well below 45 degrees. The trunk is nice and thick, with a thick, elliptic leaves that are a beautiful green color. When growing the Jade Tree, you need to make sure it has sufficient light, which causes the leaves to form red edges while white, star-shaped flowers blossom, typically in the fall.The leaves usually grow to about two inches, although they can be cut back to about one-half inch with regular pruning. For the Bonsai style, you will find the best options to be clump or informal upright.
Care
- Provide as much natural light as possible since poor lighting will cause small leaves and a poor growth rate
- Only light watering is required without the soil drying out in between watering. Typically, you can tell when this plant needs more water in that the leaves will start to have a wrinkled texture.
- Report the Jade Tree about every two to three years, using quality, organic matter. Most Bonsai enthusiasts recommend a mix comprised of 75% inorganic matter, or grit, and 25% organic, or peat compost. This particular mix offers excellent drainage, while holding just enough.
- Feed this tree about once a month from spring to fall
- To help encourage growth on the lower portion of this tree, you will need to pinch new growth consistently
- When wounded, the Jade Tree faithfully creates new growth
- To produce new branches, individual leaves should be removed immediately
- For trunk reduction, the Jade Tree does quite well
- When training with wiring, you will need to set the new position about every three weeks
- Before wiring, make sure you do not water. The reason is that turgid branches snap and mark much easier.
- Propagation is a breeze and can be done at any time during the year
- When over watered, the Jade Tree develops unhealthy root systems. When this happens, they are no longer capable of supporting the heavy foliage, causing them to become top heavy.
- Be careful when wiring in that the bark is prone to marks. Additionally, if forced to bend too far, the branches will snap off.
Bonsai Gardening Secrets
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