Bonsai basics

Jan 18, 2013 2 Replies

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mkr5000 13 years ago

I have a coleus plant that I brought in for the winter and put in a south window

-- I've done this before and coleus do really well like that.

Ok, so I cut back the plant considerably and it's now about 8" tall with what has become a woody stem about 1/2" diameter with a LOT of new growth starting to pierce out of that woody stem.

So, I guess, in essence what I created by my cutting back the plant and not letting it flower, is bonsai?

I know the process can be complicated in it's technique but can it also be as easy as what I just described?

I did google "coleus bonsai" and yes, it's a plant that will work.

I wonder what other plants (not bonsai trees) will do this? Other colorful annuals for example. ?

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David E. Ross 13 years ago

Most bonsai hobbyists want plants that not only look old but are actually old. You can't do that with an annual.

Furthermore, they want to create a dwarf from a plant that is not naturally a dwarf. It seems like cheating if you use a plant that does not grow large, such a coleus.

However, if you are pleased with what you have, it's okay.

I have thought about making a bonsai from a seedling dwarf myrtle (Myrtus communis 'Compacta'), which actually grows to over 6 feet in the ground. If I can get it to mature at less than 1 foot, that might indeed be a true bonsai. I won't live to see it truly old since I am already over 70.

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mkr5000 13 years ago

so, I wonder what the word is (if there is any, for what I've done?

that is, cheating the plant from flowering and I guess, just basically extending it's age?

I suppose I thought it was a part of the "bonsai thing" just based on it's appearance.

never thought a coleus could get such a woody stem -- treelike in appearence, really.

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