Every time i see a bonsai tree i’m left wondering how it survives hundreds of years, period, but more-so how the plant takes decades to get ‘root bound’ as in there’s not enough room for the roots and the soil becomes hard, which happens more often for usual houseplants.
How do people get around that issue that is prevalent with all other houseplants?
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Bonsai trees basically require two things.
1. Stunting the tree’s growth by cutting roots and such. Trees are resilient in that if they can survive, a lack of nutrients will just result in a really small tree
2. A lot of care to keep the tree in the sweet spot where it’s undernourished but healthy. That includes frequently refreshing the soil to keep it from becoming hard.
> but more-so how the plant takes decades to get ‘root bound’ as in there’s not enough room for the roots and the soil becomes hard
Bonsai trees are regularly repotted and have their roots trimmed back, precisely to keep this from happening.
Bonsai trees are generally not houseplants. There is also no special species or type of tree which is a bonsai. They are normal trees, which are trained to be small by consistent pruning and restricting to a small pot. Most trees can be made into bonsai but some are more suitable than others. They should be kept outside like trees and exposed to sun, wind and rain like any other tree. (Of course traditional house plants, like Jade, make good indoor trees, but most bonsai trees you see are highly likely to be outdoor trees and they are only indoors for a competition or temporary display)
Bonsai trees are repotted every couple of years when they are young, then maybe every 5 years or so when mature. You prune off around a third of its roots and re-pot them in fresh soil/grit. You want to avoid them becoming fully root bound. Trees are surprisingly tough though and actually thrive when having their roots pruned, think of it like keeping them active in the gym growing their muscles to stay healthy. As with any plant, if you have a healthy growing medium you will likely have a healthy plant.
As with most potted plants they do need more care & attention than plants in the ground as they are in a small closed environment (the pot). You need to water them quite a lot, possibly up to 3 times a day in Summer, but be careful not to overwater so they become waterlogged, leading to root rot etc. They also need feeding regularly in the growing season. If you keep a nice moist soil, with grit for breathability so oxygen can get to the roots, then the tree should thrive.
It’s not in a small pot. I do bonsai and I manipulate the tree to the extent that the small pot is the right size. Regarding being root bound, we inspect the plant and cut the roots. You can do this with lots of plants. I occasionally do it with plants other than the ones I’m performing bonsai on.
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