Balcony garden

 By Maria Vivish

A balcony garden can be as big or as small as the mind of the gardener, the available space and of course, the budget. It can range from a few railing baskets to multiple pots and vertical gardens covering every inch of wall space. The first step would be to decide exactly what you want and how you envision your balcony space.

North, south, east or west — which way does your balcony face? The direction will determine whether it is on the sunny side or the shady side. The level of light is an important factor when selecting plants. The same applies when choosing your balcony furniture. 

If you prefer wooden furniture, for example, this is better suited to a south-facing balcony. For one very simple reason: It will dry quicker here than on a shady north-facing balcony. But the same heat in a south-facing balcony would make metal furniture uncomfortable to sit on.

South-facing balconies get to bask in the sun almost all day long. Flowering sun worshippers include oleanders and hibiscus, bougainvillea, lantana or zinnias. 

You can catch the first rays of the day on east-facing balconies,  From midday, the sun moves on and it gets darker and cooler on east-facing balconies, so plants that prefer semi-shady locations are best here. This includes impatiens and petunias; philodendrons and boxwood are also good choices. 

Urban Balcony Image Credit Alice Gordenker 

On west-facing balconies, you don't feel the sun on your face until early afternoon. As with east-facing balconies, plants that enjoy partial shade are the ideal choice.

The north-facing balcony is the south-facing balcony's counterpart. Here you will go more or less the whole day without seeing the sun. Ferns and grasses are ideal for a bit of greenery, as also ivy and begonias.

The watering requirements of your plants will also change depending on your geographic location as also on the direction of your balcony. If you own a South or West facing balcony or if your balcony is windy or if you live in tropics you will need to water more often.

You will need to make sure your plants get watered when you are away on vacation. Calling on your neighbor to help can be an option. If not, opting for an automatic watering system, like drip irrigation, for your pots and planters is a great idea.

Please do remember to take into consideration the load bearing capacity of the balcony when choosing the container and potting soil mix.

For most urban gardeners, the balcony garden space has become our little oasis, a haven of greenery and peace we can enjoy. 

LITERATI OR BUNJIN STYLE

 AK HARINI

 Literati or Bunjin, this style is often seen at a seashore. And in areas where trees have grown up reaching for light in competition with other trees. The trunk line itself flows or twists through several curves.

The name Literati style breaks many rules, but nevertheless the trees have an air of refined elegance. Japanese called it Bunjin, while the Chinese called it Wenjin. The Chinese got inspired by their  calligraphy and paintings of trees , which resembled Literati style. Which made them incorporate it in Bonsai.

                                           

ATTRIBUTES OF LITERATI STYLE:

Literati style is elegant, simplistic, clean, tall, slender, and flowy.

The leaves need to be sparsely placed in the apex.

Two styles can be incorporated in various ways:

 1) Literati and semi-cascade

 2) Literati and informal upright

 3) Literati and forest

CONTAINERS:

Shallow-oval and round flat containers are ideal for this style. As these trees are long and slender, with a flowy nature. These containers add an ascetic beauty to the tree.

TREES:

Trees suitable for Literati style are Pine and coniferous trees. Apart from these, all Ficus varieties and the species F. tomentosa naturally bears Literati style.

                          

Acknowledgement for the sketch drawings :Literati or Bunjin Bonsai | Bonsai Learning Center

 

 

Root Over Rock Style Bonsai

Sheela Babu

Root over rock is a representation of beauty surviving against all odds. They are trees surviving in rocky terrain and are usually tees with natural tendency to have long and strong roots as they have to struggle to find nutrients in a harsh environment.

How to start the bonsai : the rock being an important focus in this style,choose an appealing rock with cracks and crevices so that the root finds place to cling as it establishes. 

 • Choose a plant that has long well established root system. 

 • Arrange the root on the rock guiding the roots along the crevices and tie it in position with raffia or or any smooth jute rope. 

 • Hold the rock tightly with cling film or garden tape making sure the root below is exposed to grow into the soil 

 • Bury the entire arrangement into a wide deep pot leaving the stem on top into a porous well draining soil (sand+potting mix). Water thoroughly. 

 • Trim the foliage to put less strain on the roots. 

 • Leave it in the training pot for at least one year or longer. Water generously 

 • Fertilise only after a month. 

 • Transferring to bonsai pots :remove from growth pot and wash the roots with a gentle spray of water in order to expose the roots. 

 • Place in a shallow pot (preferably oval pot) and fill with your regular bonsai mix. 

 • Place in semi shade and keep moist till well established.

Fruiting Bonsai

By Molly Cherian

The most popular edible fruiting trees suitable for our  climate are miniature mandrian orange, Chinese musambi, lemon, tamarind,gooseberry,pomegranates,star fruit,sapota,custard apple,guava, grapes,mulberry,garunda,Barbados cherry etc

Sapota in a bonsai pot

Fruiting bonsai in growth pot- belonged to Malini

While bonsai trees produce smaller branches and leaves ,they always have only regular size flowers and fruits.

Seedlings from seeds may take a long time for flowering and fruiting. Air layered plants, grafted or hybrid ones, even dwarf varieties can produce flowers and fruits
within a  short period of time.

Soil
Garden soil, river sand and compost in the ratio 1:1:1 is good as potting  mixture. Grow in a grow bag initially ,then repot in a bonsai pot.

Maintenance
Fruiting trees need lots of sunlight. So keep them in a well lit area. Watering should be done when the soil is almost dried out.

Fertilising
Should be done periodically. During winter use low nitrogen fertiliser, in spring nitrogen rich and in summer a balanced fertiliser. This is the general rule for fruiting trees. For optimum fruit production application of a balanced fertiliser, during spring till  middle of autumn ie. August, September, October is needed. Feed your tree high dosage of Potash and and Phosphorus- a pinch per pot  every month.
Banana peel fertiliser and powdered egg shells: Soak in water and keep aside for a day.
Dilute the mixture with water in the ratio 1:2 and apply early morning or evening once in
3 days. Use the residue for composting.
Another application is a pinch of  NPK 18:18:18 in soil once a month and water the plant after the application. Apply sulphate of potash once in every 3months.
Wood ash mixed with water:  Apply alternate weeks. Wood ash contains Potassium.
During summer, mulch the trees using grass clippings of grass to maintain humidity.

Shape
Maintain shape of the tree by pruning. Prune the growing tips. Winter is the right time to prune custard apple. Mango in spring time, Pomegranate early autumn ie middle of October.

Diseases
 Mealybug and Spider mite are the common pests. Grow marigold, sunflower, onion or garlic near the plant to reduce the incidence of these pests.
Use neem oil, soap solution and tobacco juice, diluted with water and spray affected plants every week till the plant over comes the pest attack.

Comfrey tea fertiliser
It is a liquid fertiliser , good for overall growth. It encourages better flowering and fruiting. Soak the comfrey  leaves in water for 2 or 3 weeks , stain and spray after mixing with water in the ratio 1:3.
Instead of comfrey use leaves of subabul  or drumstick leaves. The solution is stinky but quite effective.

FICUS GREEN ISLAND BONSAI

 By Vandana

Ficus  green island is a variety of Ficus  Micrpcarpa. It is a tropical evergreen shrub. It grows to a height of 2.4 to 3 metres with a canopy of .9 to 1.2 metres wide.

Its origin is India ,Sri Lanks, Southern China, Malasia, Borneo.

It’s a Family of Moraceae

LEAVES : they are glossy dark green leathery small and round. Young leaves are yellow green and turn dark as they mature. The shape would be described botanically as orbicular with only an obscure lip.

TRUNK : New shoots and very young stems are green and turn brown as they mature. The stems are naturally thick and strong and they can grow upto  a diameter of 5 cms. The trunk is the most mature part and is brown to light grey . It can grow upto 7 cms in diameter.

FLOWERS AND FRUITS : The flowers are inside what we think young fruit and the colour is white or cream yellow . Fruit is green with an accent of purple when young and turn purple when ripe.

ROOTS : Young aerial roots are white and turn red to brown .It is said the root system is twice as large and deep as its canopy.

WATERING: Green Island can tolerate under watering to over watering   but no water logging . The top soil is dry to 1 cm then it needs to be watered.

LIGHTING : It can adapt to low medium or high light . Long exposure to direct sunlight can cause yellowing of leaf

FERTILIZING : It can be fertilized every two weeks in summer and four to six weeks in winter.

PRUNING : Pruning encourages the growth of young stems and branches .We can prune stems , twigs, and leaves for new shoots .Leaf pruning can be used to reduce leaf size . Pruning can be done 2 ways , either constant or seasonal.

PESTS : Common pests are scale insects and mealy bugs . They can cause leaf yellowing and leaf drop .They can be removed by hand or cotton swabs with alcohol.

PROPOGATION :  Propogation  is possible with root cutting or by stem cutting . Dip the cutting in root hormone and plant it in a container . Do not cover with plastic. Keep it near the window and watered.  Within a few weeks cuttings will take root .Early summer is the best time.

WIRING : Plant must be shaped and wired early. Check the wired branches frequently . The plant is prone to growth spurts during the growing season so scars and cuts can happen in the bark very quickly.

REPOTTING : It must be potted once every two years . It all depends, if there is a growth spurt it may require early potting. The best time to repot is early summer.

GREEN ISLAND is one of the most loved bonsai for many reasons .It is excellent for beginers .They are tolerant to any soil and light conditions .They make fine indoor bonsai. Most importantly they are remarkably  forgiving for those learning bonsai water techniques.

 

 

Raft Style in Bonsai

By Susan Abraham

 

In Bonsai there are 2 groups of styles  -  the Single Tree Style created with individual plants which take up styles like formal, upright, informal cascade, etc, and the Group Planting Style, which creates a composition resembling a natural forest. Bonsai Artists have to employ their imagination and skill to create an aesthetic composition.  Saikei, Suihan, Penjing, Raft style and Netsuranari, all are part of Group Planting.

 The Raft style imitates the tree which has been uprooted and fallen on the ground with its trunk horizontal with the original root mass sustaining its growth partially. This can happen during natural calamities. The tree still struggles to survive by growing roots under the fallen trunk and sends up new growth on the upper side.

 Two types of raft styles can be created by a Bonsai artist – the ‘straight raft style’ and the ‘sinuous raft style’.

For the straight raft style an erect plant with more branches on one side is usually chosen. Those branches growing towards the opposite side are gradually wired and trained to grow towards the desired side, vertical to the ground. The tree should be potted horizontally and secured by wires at both ends in a long training pot with the original root mass still sustaining the plant.

 

  The bark and cambium under the horizontal trunk should be peeled off at convenient points and root hormones applied to induce root growth. The trunk should be totally covered with soil. The branches will now grow as individual trees from the horizontal trunk looking as if they have been planted in a straight row.

                  
          

For the ‘sinuous raft style’ the original trunk that is chosen would be curved or twisted. Those branches growing towards the unwanted side are wired and trained to grow in the required direction. Here also the cambium is exposed at convenient points and root hormones applied before potting.

New shoots can be trained to achieve the desired design. In the long run roots will be connected and exposed.

Because of the sinuous shape of the trunk, the new branches growing as individual trees will reflect depth, giving the whole design a forest like appearance.

 

 This style is a unique way of making a Forest Bonsai with a single plant. After a few years of training, transplant the group to a suitable ceramic tray.

Raft is always planted in long shallow rectangular or oval pots with the biggest branch in the centre. These shallow pots facilitate in showing off the arrangement.

 

                                            

  As the soil level is above the rim of the tray it is important to hold it with moss. Judicious watering, feeding, pruning and repotting is very important to keep the trees healthy.

Plants suitable for creating raft style are ficus varieties, junipers, etc.

 

 

 

Baobab

 Baobab is world’s largest succulent tree, belongs to silk cotton family. Scientific term is Adansonia digitata.

Baobab is generally found in Central Africa, Madagascar and Australia. Also seen in some parts of India, Sri Lanka, Barbados and Hawai.

Baobab prefers drier, less tropical climate. These trees are sensitive to frost and water logging.
It has massive trunk which holds large amount of water during the dry period.

They drop the leaves periodically and produce new foliage shortly before the rainy season . Without the leaves, the crown looks like a root system. Hence Baobab is also called as upside down tree.

At first they have simple elliptic leaves. Much later, hand shaped leaves with 5-9 leafllets are also developed.

Large white flowers are found hanging from long stalks. It has an unpleasant smell . The flowers opens at night and are pollinated by fruit bats.
Flowering starts only after 15 years. Thus It takes 15 to 20 years to fruit. Fruits are grey coloured,  gourd like and edible. Fruits are a foot long and found hanging from the branches. So it is also known as ‘monkey bread’. White fruit pulp is highly nutritious. Cream of tartar is produced from the acidic seed pulp.

Leaves,flowers and fruits are used for medicinal purposes. Hence Baobab trees are also   called as ‘Tree of life’ or ‘Kalpavriksh’. The bark is used for making paper, cloth and rope.

Baobab is a long living tree, lives up to 1000 years.