Are you interested in something more adventurous in the art of bonsai gardening?  If so, you need not be stuck with with the more traditional coniferous, deciduous or occasional fruit trees as the only items in your collection.  Your options can range to the more exotic bonsai varieties which will help enhance your skills.

Wisteria makes one excellent alternative to the classical bonsai. A native of China, Japan, and Korea, they can reach 30 feet in the wild. Shaping them into a bonsai can be an interesting challenge, because they don’t conform to any of the usual styles.

The Wisteria flowers are both aromatic and beautiful and come in a variety of colors, including blue, pink, white, and purple.  Blossoming in the Spring, they need lots of water with adequate drainage and they do well in partial shade to full sun.  Just before they flower in the spring, you should provide them with a good amount of fertilizer, and once again in late summer before they drop their leaves.

Another option is Orange Jasmine which will provide a delight to the nose and beauty to the eye.  Orange Jasmine bears a bright red fruit and fragrant, white blossoms.

Orange Jasmine should be fed every three to four weeks beginning in early spring and continuing through mid-autumn. Light watering is sufficient for most of the year, with slightly more in the hotter season.

Because they do better in filtered sun and moderate shade, they are one of the few bonsai that can, and probably should, be raised indoors.

The Mimosa tree, also occasionally known as silk trees due to their long silky filaments, offer another good alternative.  They are as fragrant as both of the two choices mentioned above and their puffy flowers and lacy foliage are also just as lovely.

Moderate water should be provided to the Mimosa during the blooming season which is from late April to early July.  However, care should be taken to avoid getting water on the flowers themselves, since the flowers will rapidly deteriorate when wet, similar to a number of other flowering plants.

The Mimosa will be one of the larger bonsai in your collection. They grow rapidly, have large leaves and are very difficult to sustain at a very small size. So give them lots of room on the display bench.

Another non-traditional bonsai is the Desert Rose.  The Desert Rose can turn what would be an ordinary bonsai collection into one full of color and excitement.  It is a native of East Africa and in the wild can grow up to 10 feet tall, producing large, pink, trumpet-bowl flowers.

Very bushy, it makes an excellent design complement to the many trees in a standard bonsai set. They need lots of fresh air and ample sunshine, so keep them outside most of the year.

They’re sensitive to cold, though, so in cold climates they should be brought indoors. They don’t thrive below 50F (10C), though they will lie dormant and healthy from 50-60F (10C-15C). During this period they will need very little water.

You should try your hand at some of these exotic fragrant and beautiful flowering plants to extend your horizon and further develop your bonsai gardening skills. They provide a nice contrast when placed among some of the more standard evergreens, such as, pines, firs, and junipers.  Additionally, as they lose their leaves in the fall and blossom in the spring, you’ll have an interesting ever-changing display.

George Dodge enjoys landscaping and gardening as a hobby.  Bonsai gardening offers hours of enjoyment producing exquisit miniture trees and shrubs as an art form. His Bonsai Tree Gardening site presents tips for the beginning bonsai gardener.  Experiment with exotic bonsai choices to roundout your collection.

Bonsai trees might appear to be an unchanging work of art, however, they require much time and effort to produce. Bonsai gardening is an art that has existed for many centuries. It started in Asia but has now established itself firmly in western society.

For those who are just beginning the art of growing bonsai trees, it’s important that they gain some knowledge before they begin to cultivate a bonsai tree.A great deal of time and effort is required to grow a bonsai tree.

The first, and probably the most important thing of all, is to ensure that you have fertile soil and the correct pots in which to successfully grow a bonsai tree.You also must know which variety is most appropriate for your situation before you buy a bonsai. There are many kinds of bonsai trees, and some of them are more suitable for a beginner. You should start by choosing a hardy and easy to grow tree for your initial attempt.

Japanese Snowdrop is often recommended for the beginner. This is a hardy tree which can be grown in an outdoor environment in full sun. Maintenance is relatively simple as long as you water it well and make sure that the ball root system doesn’t become totally dry. This bonsai tree will need yearly pruning as well as frequent monitoring of its roots.

The Japanese Pagoda tree is another tree that is great to work with for beginners. It is reasonably simple to maintain and grow. This variety of tree also flowers in season. The Japanese Pagoda will appreciate full sun with some partial shade. It does not like to be too hot or too dry, so it is important to keep the roots damp most of the time.

You need to bear in mind that not all species of bonsai trees have the same preferences for watering and sun exposure. Therefore, it is critical that you are knowledgeable of your plant’s specific requirements in order to grow it successfully. Some trees need to be repotted regularly at least every one to three years. This will help the plant maintain its roots and prevent their root system from attracting pests and other threats.

Training your bonsai tree means that the branches and twigs need to be wired and kept in place with some special branch benders. A great deal of time, effort, and patience is required in the process of bonsai care, but the end result will be a beautiful bonsai tree.

Bonsai

Watching bonsai trees grow and forming them into beautiful sculptures is an absorbing and very rewarding hobby. Growing bonsai isn’t an expensive pastime with not many specialist tools required, but a beautiful bonsai tree can be more of a statement in your home than many ornaments can. A bonsai tree is a living ornament.

Bonsai are container planted trees that are developed to be a miniature of of the full size tree. Bonsai can be grown from almost any perennial wood stemmed trees and shrubs that grow branches and can grow small through pot confinement with the help from root and crown trimming.

A Bonsai tree can be developed from seed, from young shoots taken from the wild, (please observe any local laws in respect of removing wild plants in your area), or can be ordered as ready grown bonsai trees. Although growing bonsai trees from seed is the slowest method, but you will then have total control over how your bonsai tree will look.

Bonsai trees are planted in bonsai pots that restrict the development of the roots but also enhance the look of your bonsai. Special soils can be purchased that provide the ideal conditions for your bonsai tree to grow in.

Many methods are used to shape and give character to your bonsai including trimming leaves, wiring branches, grafting on other plants, dwarfing and deadwood, (a process used to age bark). Few specialist tools are needed to sculpt bonsai trees, and these can easily be purchased for little cost. All that you need to get started can easily be bought from a bonsai nursery.

Bonsai trees can be had as indoor and outdoor varieties, many bonsai trees are improved if they are left outdoors in the summer months and then grown inside during the winter.

For anyone that likes the idea, you can buy artificial bonsai.

If you wonder if growing bonsai is for you, I would say give it a try, bonsai are simple to grow and maintain, and take a small amount of your spare time, every bonsai tree is unique, and who can’t help but to admire a bonsai tree every time they see one.