Bonsai Basics - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Get your First Bonsai in Flat 10 Minutes.

Bonsai means a Miniature Tree in a Tray.

If you wonder as how a Tree can survive in Tray? here is the rational for the same.
Soil has minerals & nutrients that are essentials for any Tree's growth. When you water the plant, the minerals & nutrients present in soil dissolve in water. Because of the soil, the entire water does not drain out of the pot, but is retained in the pot in form of moisture. The bonsai tree roots absorbs this moisture & gets the basic raw material required to make food using photosynthesis. The moist soil keeps the Roots moist, which is required in most of the tree.

So technically speaking if you can give your Bonsai Tree required amount of water & necessary minerals/nutrients required without drying out the roots, the Bonsai Tree will still survive. To plant a tree you can choose various medium Stones, Bricks, Sand or Soil. As soil already has basic nutrients present, just watering will suffice. In other medium you will have to add nutrients along with water to make the bonsai tree survive.

Making your First Bonsai.
Buy an Adenium from the nursery which has nice caudex (10 inches in circumference). Google around to see picture of Adenium & what caudex means.
You can either remove the entire soil, & throw the plant in one corner of your Garden (in a semi shaded or shaded place). You will be surprised that the plant will survive for weeks without water & soil. That's not all, it will continue to give flowers.

Alternatively, you can plant this tree in a tray which contain just sand or pebbles or brick bites or mixture of above 3. And presto, you have your first bonsai ready.

So you have your first bonsai in a Tree, it obviously does not look like a Tree. We will have to style it like a Barber styles our hair. Bonsai Styles are covered in next Chapter.