TAKE THE COURSE!

Learn how to create and care for bonsai in Manitoba.

The Bonsai Society of Winnipeg presents an introductory course on Bonsai. More...

BONSAI, A GROWING ART IN MANITOBA

There are many excellent sources for learning about bonsai, but if you live on the Canadian prairies, this web site is designed to help you learn to deal with the local climate conditions, so you too can grow bonsai successfully.

Bonsai, a Japanese word pronounced bone-sigh, translates literally as bon (a tray or pot) and sai (a tree or planting). A tree in a pot! But not just any tree, and not just any pot! See bonsai basics.

Bonsai is the name of an art form. Design principles and sound horticultural practices are used to create small trees. These miniature trees, ranging in height from four inches to about four feet, are trained in shallow pots.The object is to create the appearance, expression and even the feeling of a tree in a natural environment, true to scale with a tree in nature.

Which Trees Are Best for Bonsai?

The best trees to train for bonsai have these characteristics:
- many closely spaced branches
- naturally small leaves
- short, thick, tapered trunks
- surface roots well distributed around the trunk

Bonsai can be divided into three main groups, according to their winter hardiness:

A. NATIVE MANITOBA TREES and other winter hardy, but non-native species, are much the easiest to work with and to look after. In Manitoba we call these trees outdoor trees, because they can survive our long, cold, prairie winters outdoors. Indeed, they require a long dormancy to survive, and without this prolonged rest period would soon become exhausted and die.

Some popular outdoor trees include:

All of these trees are readily available at local garden centres.

B. TEMPERATE TREES, which thrive in a moderate climate such as that of Japan, England or Vancouver, cannot survive our Manitoba winters outdoors. But like their hardier cousins, they do require a cool rest period. This makes them more difficult to grow, as they require a cold frame with regulated, moderate temperatures.

Some popular temperate trees often available locally include:

procumbens juniper,
Japanese maples,
azalea,
Chinese elm zelkova

C. TROPICAL and SUB-TROPICAL TREES can be grown in your home if you have supplemental lighting, and if you can keep humidity levels high around them in winter.

Some popular tropicals and sub-tropicals include:

ALL TREES SHOULD BE KEPT OUTDOORS IN THE SUMMER!

A WORD OF ADVICE! Florist shops and some garden centres carry selected tropicals. Some florists also carry ‘gift bonsai’, and occasionally small bonsai can be found in department stores and even home centres. Be very cautious about buying these ready-made bonsai. Better by far to buy your trees from a reputable retailer who offers healthy trees and sound advice. Better still, after you learn the bonsai basics, start your bonsai collection from good nursery stock or dig a tree from the garden or from the wild, and create your own bonsai. This will take longer, but it will be much less expensive, and it will truly be ‘your tree’!