Meet Matilda.  She’s a dwarf jade plant (Portulacaria afra)—also known as elephant bush—and my first effort at bonsai.  I’ve admired bonsai for years, but never attempted it.  Oh, years ago I impulse-purchased a bonsai tree at a big box store.  I can’t say whether it was my own inexperience or mishandling of the plant by someone along the way before I brought it home, but it didn’t end well for the poor little tree.

Matilda, my dwarf jade Bonsai tree.

Fast forward to yesterday and a class co-hosted by a local brewery and Bonsai Bar, what you might call a traveling school of Bonsai.  A friend and I spent two hours learning to pot, prune, and wire our own dwarf jade trees.  The class included all the materials we needed and plenty of instruction.  As class ended, we were encouraged to name and register our plants to receive helpful reminders, and to check out the how-to videos on their website. 

I have high hopes for Matilda.  As instructed, I gave her pot a soak when we got home last night, and today she’s basking in the light beside my plant stand.  It’s not an ideal spot, but she’s a bit tall for the shelves.  She may need a grow light of her own. 

For those not familiar with Bonsai, it’s a Japanese artform where a tree or shrub is grown in a very small pot, its growth inhibited by the pot’s size and its shape manipulated by prudent pruning and the wrapping of wire around its branches to shape them, making the little tree appear old and often gnarled. 

Along with my baby Bonsai, I brought home the leaves and branches I’d pruned from it.  I’m told they’re easy to root.  We shall see.  Even if I don’t use them for Bonsai, I’d welcome the little plants.  I would like to make another Bonsai tree using another plant, just to see how they compare. 

I’ve read that any plant with a woody trunk and (preferably) small leaves can be used to create Bonsai, even what would become full-sized trees.  I think I’m going to take a look around my yard and look for volunteers or root some small branches and see what I can come up with.  I wouldn’t want Matilda to be lonely. 

Yesterday, the witch hazel in my garden finally flowered.  It’s been teasing for weeks, its buds swollen and yellow, but even with the warmer weather for the past several days, it waited.  Today it’s in full bloom, a brilliant yellow against the sky.  I can’t help but wonder if witch hazel would make a good subject for Bonsai. 

The witch hazel in bloom. Winter really is coming to an end.

*  *  *  *  *