Bonsai

The huge Juniper tree in front of my house at Kikruma village is legendary. My grandparents used its shade as home. It also served as home for ghosts where they raised their young ones. Now, I want to make dwarf plants (Bonsai) out of it. (Strictly speaking, Dwarf plant is not a synonym of Bonsai)

I have been reading about Bonsai for some years. My interest in Bonsai began when I went to a plant exhibition in Imphal around 2003-2004.  It is time I put into practice what I have read.

Juniper trees are said to be ideal plants for growing Bonsai, but it’s hard to find Juniper saplings. So, I have to manage with cuttings. I took around 20 cuttings each from the two juniper varieties that were available at home. Out of about 40 cuttings, only 2, one from each variety survived and developed roots. That’s a success, actually. These are the two.

 

 My mom already had these other 2 saplings (below); again from cuttings.  So, here we are, set to begin. Keep a close look at the pictures and see the transformation as more pictures of the same plants will be uploaded in the future.

This (below) is all the way from the top of 2^nd Saramati Mountain in Myanmar border. It’s a variety of Rhododendron which is different from the ones we get at home. The villagers (Thanamir village) told me that flowers are not just red or white. It’s multicolored. Time will tell if that is true. Actually there were two saplings, but my uncle stole one (taken without permission). To grow Bonsai out of these may be tricky. 

 

 Finally, Here’s a natural Bonsai that my brother Aveo brought from the village. I say ‘Natural’ because it wasn’t pruned artificially to be a Bonsai, but simply a stunted plant found in the backyard.