Page 52 - Tài liệu cây cảnh Bonsai4me Bonsai Basics

Chapter 7 The Importance Of Timing

In Bonsai

There are a wide range of techniques available to the bonsai enthusiast that
can help keep his/her bonsai healthy, vigorous and in shape throughout the year.
These techniques range from the straightforward but essential, such as pruning
and repotting, to the more advanced such as wiring, trunk chopping or grafting.
The key to using these techniques successfully is partly due to the knowledge
needed to carry them out correctly, but also very importantly, when they are
carried out. All bonsai techniques must be performed at the correct time for them
to be successful. Failure to adhere to the correct timing can kill or injure bonsai

and will greatly increase the possibility of the technique failing to have the
desired outcome.
A technique such as repotting and root pruning is perfectly safe as long as
the timing is correct; root pruning at the wrong time will kill or at very least,
seriously weaken your tree.
Cyclic Timing
Almost all plants and certainly those that are used for bonsai have an annual

or cyclic growth pattern.
In other words, over the course of one year, a plant will pass through a series
of states and conditions that will not be repeated until the following year. These
annual growth patterns are closely shaped and defined by the annual cycles of
the sun, season and the weather. These annual growth patterns also subtly
change according to your own climate and the weather experienced in your area
in the previous weeks and months. (Tropical climates and indoor cultivation can
and will interrupt or negate these seasonal variations making timing more
difficult and in some cases, less important).
All bonsai techniques have recommended 'times' during the year that they
can be performed. Dependent on the nature of the technique, the timing maybe
described as any time over 3 or 4 months of the growing season to as little as a 2
week window that occurs only once a year. Unless you have full understanding
of the technique, the physiological reasons for the timing and an understanding
of the risks of ill-timed work, always adhere strictly to the recommended timing
you are given. Never be tempted to carry out ill-timed work in the belief the tree