Basics For Making A Bonsai Forest

A bonsai forest is a style of bonsai where a miniature forest made up of small trees is made in a bonsai tray or pot. This is actually one of the bigger bonsai creations that can be made by a bonsai gardener. A bonsai forest usually has trees which are grown straight and tall with lesser or no curvature to mar the forest like appearance of the plants. In most cases of bonsai forest styles, the trees are all of the same species. A mixture of different tree species is rarely done by gardeners.

Arrangement of The Trees

Bonsai forest pots and trays may look like any random part of a forest but there is actually a lot of thought that has gone into the arrangement of the trees. There may be any number of trees in the bonsai forest style, from three to seven or more if desired. The whole group is also actually divided into smaller groups and the spacing among them is not even. An entire group of five bonsai trees that make up a bonsai forest can actually be a group of two and three trees. Groupings depend on the whim of the gardener.

Another thing to bear in mind is to keep the trees from blocking one another when viewed from the front angle, nor should three or more trees fall in line with one another. Although these are not hard and fast rules for bonsai forest gardening, these will contribute to the randomness and normalcy of a forest like appearance. Tree distribution can be all over the pot for a large forest appearance or on top of a rock or hill. Another bonsai forest style is to have clumps of trees in certain areas.

The symmetry of the crowns and foliage of your bonsai forest will depend entirely on you and your preferences. Some bonsai gardeners prefer rounded crowns while others like tapered ends. These will also depend on what species of indoor bonsai trees you are growing. Moss and rocks can be added to the entire landscape to recreate a forest appearance.

Creating a bonsai forest can be hard work that takes a lot of time especially when starting working on it. This is because the roots will need anchoring in one spot to be able to establish the forest appearance and to control them. Eventually, the trees’ roots will mesh together and you will have an entire bonsai forest to prune and maintain.