Hello there! My name is Justin Euler and I ship things at iFixit. I have 4 years experience of putting things into boxes and I still enjoy it! And, doing it for a superb company such as iFixit makes it extra rewarding.
I have a wide range of interests, such as video games, camping, animals, and music, but my main interest as of late is bonsai.
Bonsai literally translates into "planted in a tray, or container". It combines art and horticulture to present a small tree that looks like a larger specimen you would find in the wild.
Above is a very old redwood bonsai. Displayed in Shin Zen Park in Fresno, CA.
They can be started from nursery plants, or dug up in the wild. As well as from cuttings, which are my favorite because they are free!
Me, at a bonsai workshop. The person who teaches me ran this with another man, Steve Iwaki, from Lompoc. I paid $100 for the tree, a pot and the workshop. The tree pictured is a 'San Jose Juniper'.
Below, I will show you pictures of a bougainvillea that I potted into a bonsai pot. I got this tree from wal-mart, on clearance for $1.50, which I was very happy about.
It starts as a nursery plant.
I took it out and cleaned all the dirt out of the roots in favor of proper bonsai soil, which can be a mix of pumice, lava rock, and akadama which is Japanese fired clay.
I then trimmed the roots to fit into the plastic bonsai pot. There are also ceramic pots which are much better, but more expensive, especially if bought authentic from Japan.
The wire I placed through the holes of the pot will be wrapped around the root ball to secure it into place.
Here it is with bonsai soil added, and trimmed up. Normally I would wire the branches before potting, but this particular species does not take wiring well so I left it alone. I trimmed it to create a triangle shape in the foliage which is desired in bonsai.
But, wait, I messed up. There is a front to every bonsai, which is basically the best view of the tree. I should have twisted it a bit, to look like this:
That's better! I will wait a few months and move it to the proper position. You want to work on them little by little, as to not stress them out. There are certain times of the year to do different things, so you need to be careful!
Feel free to come by and ask questions about bonsai, I love talking about it!