Definitivamente vale la pena viajar a las manzanas frescas del árbol cada otoño a medida que maduran para la cosecha. La mayoría de la gente no tiene espacio para cultivar los suyos, o simplemente no quiere lidiar con la generosidad cada año a medida que se recogen más productos que se pueden usar fácilmente.
Pero, ¿y si te dijera que puedes tener tu propio manzano, sin importar el espacio que tengas disponible para él? ¿Y que podría controlar fácilmente la cantidad de manzanas que obtiene para evitar desperdicios innecesarios? Con un manzano bonsái, puede tener exactamente eso y hacer crecer un árbol que encaje perfectamente en su mesa, balcón, porche o incluso a lo largo de un enrejado.
¿Qué es un árbol bonsái?
Bonsái es un término japonés que se traduce literalmente como "plantado en un recipiente poco profundo". Esta práctica es una antigua forma de arte hortícola chino que se ha tomado prestada en todas las culturas como una técnica de jardinería popular para crear representaciones miniaturizadas, pero realistas, de formas de árboles.
Bonsai no es una planta alterada genéticamente para crear una versión enana de una especie de tamaño completo. Más bien, a través de un cuidadoso cultivo, poda y alambrado de las ramas, un jardinero puede influir en el árbol para que se mantenga por debajo de los 4 pies (una altura generalmente aceptada) y aún produzca flores y frutos si así lo desea. Los árboles se ganan en altura desde unas pocas pulgadas hasta aproximadamente 7 pies de alto dependiendo de los resultados deseados y la ubicación de la planta.
Cualquier planta que tenga un tallo leñoso puede ser influenciada para crecer bajo estas condiciones, y solo requieren algunas herramientas y productos simples para mantener la planta. Aunque se sugieren macetas para ayudar a restringir el crecimiento de las raíces y la disponibilidad de nutrientes, las especies nativas de su área se pueden cultivar dentro de su jardín.
Cómo empezar
Los manzanos son una excelente opción para crear bonsáis. Tienen una tasa de crecimiento decente que brinda muchas oportunidades para formar nuevos brotes y ramas, además, florecen maravillosamente en primavera y se pueden cultivar para producir una cantidad decente de fruta en relación con su tamaño.
Materiales que necesitará
Aparte de la planta y el contenedor (que se explica a continuación), no necesita muchos materiales para cultivar su planta. Una capa inferior del sustrato grueso para drenaje, tierra, tijeras de podar para ayudar a recortar y cortar ramas y raíces, y alambre y alicates para dar forma son todo lo que necesita para comenzar. Por supuesto, se debe tener en cuenta el suelo que elija para garantizar que tenga un suelo que tenga buen drenaje y aireación.
Suelo
El suelo siempre es una consideración importante, sin importar si está plantando en el jardín o en sus macetas. El suelo ayuda a que los nutrientes estén disponibles para su planta, pero también debe permitir el drenaje del agua y una buena aireación, pero no se seca demasiado rápido, lo que endurece los suelos y evita que las raíces absorban el agua. Dado que las raíces de Bonsai son poco profundas, es muy importante tener en cuenta el suelo en el que se asienta.
Siempre puedes comprar una mezcla de bonsái o hacer la tuya usando una mezcla de Akadema, piedra pómez, roca de lava, tierra orgánica para macetas y arena. Akadema es arcilla dura cocida y, cuando se mezcla con otros sustratos, ayuda a facilitar el drenaje del agua que necesita para evitar que el agua se asiente en las raíces y provoque la pudrición.
Esta mezcla también es fundamental para la formación de raíces. Desea que sus raíces se separen, ya que crean una tonelada de interés, además, debilitan el árbol de una manera que permite que el asiento se mantenga más pequeño. Esto también proporciona una mayor área de superficie para la absorción de agua y nutrientes para alimentar la parte superior de su árbol, que es donde se encuentra su principal interés.
Semilla vs Plántula
Debe decidir si desea comenzar su planta a partir de una semilla o una plántula. Ambos te proporcionan una planta pequeña, pero hay algunas ventajas de tenerla desde la edad más temprana posible. Aunque tendrás que tener paciencia para cultivar tu planta a partir de una semilla, una vez que alcance unos 5 cm de altura, podrás ponerla en maceta y comenzar el proceso de formación y modelado a medida que crece.
Elegir un contenedor
Los bonsáis tradicionales se inician y se dejan dentro de pequeños contenedores que ayudan a equilibrar la altura final y el crecimiento del árbol. El contenedor es tan importante como el propio árbol y se considera una parte integral de la forma de arte. There are many opinions surrounding the type of container that goes best with the type of plant you have decided upon, including shape, color, and glaze.
In general, the pot should be the same height as the trunk is wide directly above the surface roots (called nebari). Oval and rectangular pots should be ⅔ of the tree’s height around, with round or square pots only ⅓ the height- with pots becoming wider if a particularly large canopy is present. Bearing fruit trees should be given a deeper pot, however, in order to ensure the nutrient uptake is sufficient for harvestable fruits. Double the depth of what is expected should be considered.
Plant Care Tips
Through the years Bonsai cultivators have developed many techniques to help create a healthy plant that lives long and thrives. One is the soil mixing technique as described above, as is the container size to provide a means to help keep the plant small and focused on sending nutrients into prolific foliage and blooms.
If you provide a fine mesh wide across the bottom, you help retain the soils that hold nutrients to make them available for root uptake. The mesh will allow water drainage, but will not as readily wash fertilizers and other organic materials from the soils as well-drained soils are known for. The use of the Akadema clays also helps bind nutrients while allowing water to drain.
Since many Bonsai end up indoors, be sure that it receives proper sunlight. Light is crucial to the survival of trees, and most do not do well in low light situations. A sunny window, placing outdoors in warmer months, or even supplementing with a grow light are all solutions to making sure the tree is able to photosynthesis and create the beautiful blooms, foliage, and fruits you desire.
Repotting
You should repot your Bonsai every 2 to 5 years. You have to watch carefully for signs that your tree is not growing as well as you feel it should, or not producing the bloom for foliage. If this is the case, it may be becoming root bound, and it should be repotted. To replant, you want to follow a few simple steps, being careful to be gentle with the entire plant through the whole process.
- Gently lift the plant with the soil out of the pot and gently tap and remove the soil from the roots.
- Cut approximately 60% or 2/3rds of the root mass from the plant. It is important that you leave at least 30% of the roots.
- You can then report into a new pot, or into the same pot as you now have a root system that has room to grow.
Training for Shape
If you are new to Bonsai, you should stick with keeping your tree as natural as possible to help learn how the tree grows, and the care required to keep it alive and healthy. Over time, as you become more comfortable with Bonsai techniques, you can begin to train your trees into shapes that you desire.
You do want your tree to grow naturally, no matter what work you will do upon it. You need to recognize the direction your tree prefers to grow, and help cultivate this to create intricate balance. You do not want to force your tree into training, rather allow the tree to move along your training techniques.
Pruning
Pruning is the most important steps in training your tree. There are two types of trimming:maintenance, and training. Maintenance refers to both the trimming of the roots for repotting, as described above, as well as to keep your tree in it’s desired shape and size by cutting new growth. It is very important to pay attention to how you prune your apple tree as you want to ensure you keep those branches that will produce. Basically, you want to keep your growth buds if you want to get any fruit.
Pruning for training takes place after the tree has gone dormant in the autumn, or before it bursts forth in the spring. Even if your tree is not losing leaves, this is still a period of slow to no growth due to light availability. Basically, you want to remove any branches that are not wanted or take away from your desired shape at this time.
Defoliation
Defoliation is the technique in which you remove the unwanted mature leaves to encourage new growth and to help keep them small. This can be done during the growing season and can take place as you remove any small, new shoots that occur through the night of growth.
Wiring
Wiring is the process in which you wrap a soft aluminum or copper wire around your branches to help shape them into the direction you want. The gage of wire is dependent on the thickness of the branch and is related to the strength you need. It is easiest to do this with young, supple branches, but you must take care to watch it closely as they grow fast and you want to make sure you remove the wire in time to keep it from marring your branch surface or cutting into it. You can use this technique to anchor your branches as well to pull them in new directions.
Hydration
Because your tree has a small container, well-drained soils, and an intricate root system, watering is a very important consideration. You want to be sure your plant receives enough water due to the conditions of its growth. Like most plants, you want to make sure your tree never completely dries out, but you also do not want water sitting at your tree’s roots (hence the attention to drainage).
You can water your Bonsai from the top, or bottom, but you need to make sure you water regularly. Some experts claim you need to water a little each day, others twice a day. Even more so, some claim soaking it well once a week is sufficient. Honestly, this is very much dependent on what substrate you have your plant within. If it drains quickly, you will need to water it on a regular schedule, such as once every morning, and then take care to watch how quickly it dries out.
Plants do not grow well when saturated, or dry, but rather take up maximum nutrients when damp to put forth new growth structure. Apple trees in particular need to be watered well when producing to keep a regular flow of food and hydration to the fruits (which are very full of water).
Fertilization
Because of the forced dwarfed nature of a Bonsai, it is very important that the tree is fed regularly as keeping it in a smaller state does not allow the canopy to create all the food it needs through photosynthesis. Plus, nutrients are quickly washed out of well-drained soil and need to be replaced.
Special Bonsai fertilizers are available for purchase and are even available for seasonal changes. In general, you will want to fertilize about twice a month during the growing season but stop during fruit production. Come winter, your tree will not as readily uptake nutrients, and so you can slow your fertilization schedule down to once every few months, and provide a low, or no, nitrogen feed.
Conclusión
Although what I described above may seem like a lot of work, consider the slow growth of most plants and the small nature of Bonsai, and you can see that very little time needs to be put into your overall effort. In general, you need to apply a watering, fertilizing, and pruning schedule to your mature tree- with the majority of your attention to growing and shaping your sapling as it matures.
If you have ever shaped Bonsai before, we would love to hear about your techniques and tips below. We also would love the chance to answer any questions you may have. As always, please share as well!