Bonsai

Bonsai, your bonsai needs watering before it dries out, bonsai need plenty of water in the summer otherwise your bonsai will die very quickly. Feeding and watering helps your plant to grow. Tap water is fine to use for bonsai trees.

Watering: Plants rely on a continual flow of water to stay alive and to grow. Water is absorbed from the compost into the roots by a process known as osmosis. This process allows the plant to distribute vital nutrients throughout the tree. Wthout any water at its roots, the flow is interrupted and the plant quickly collapses and dries out. Leaves and branch tips are the first areas to be affected, followed by branches. Finally the trunk and roots themselves dry-out by which time it is unlikely that the tree will survive without damage. At this point watering the tree is too late; water is absorbed from the roots and goes back into the wet earth this process is known as reverse osmosis. The effects of over-watering can be just as much a problem but can take a relatively long period of time to detect. Roots need oxygen to 'breathe' and if there is too much water it reduces the ability of the compost to absorb air. This then makes the finer roots suffocate and die. The immediate effect to the tree is a loss of vigour as parts of its root system are unable to grow.
How often you should water your plant depends on the time of year and the weather conditions. In very hot weather this can dry the soil out very quickly and the plant will need watering several times a week or even daily in extremely hot conditions. If your plants are kept outside then during the winter months the rain will normally provide enough water, except if there is a hot spell or lack of rain.

Feeding: In order for your tree to grow it needs certain nutrients and chemicals. If it were growing in the ground it would normally find these by its roots growing more
and findind and absorbing the required amount. But in the confines of a pot you have to replace what the tree has absorbed and what has been washed out of the soil when watered.

The three main elements required are Nitrogen (N), the second is phosphates (P2O5) and the third potash (K20). The amount of each element is marked on the bag and should be of equal quantities. It is possible to change the way the tree grows by altering the the different elements, most fertlisers that are sold are to encourage flower growth but if you fed the tree with a fertiliser that had a greater amount of potassium it would produce a better flower growth at the expense of leaf growth. Fertiliser should be mixed with water and given every two weeks, the soil should be watered until no more can be absorbed and it runs out of the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot or container. Do not overfeed the recommended dose as it does not make the tree grow quicker but actually results in less growth also do not mix stronger than recommended because this can burn the roots of the tree.