My First Forest Bonsai

I took a forest bonsai class earlier this month and this is the first forest bonsai I have ever made. And yes, I love my work and am proud of it.

We were given seven pine trees, a marble slab, a bonsai figurine, a piece of bonsai pot drainage mesh, and a rubber strap. The rubber strap is used to wrap around the soil to prevent it from falling apart. The strap can be removed once the root systems of the trees have grabbed the soil strong and tight enough.

I spent quite a lot time thinking about tree placement to get the most natural looking arrangement. For example, during the class, Teacher Wong kept reminding us that trees in a forest bonsai should not fall directly behind one another when viewed from the front. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded, for there were seven pines we had to arrange on a small little marble slab. Moreover, we also needed to leave a clear area for the cow figurine which we would place after the forest bonsai was made.

After we had designed the tree arrangement for our forest bonsai and got approved by Teacher Wong, we added in soil and moss. Then, we watered our forest bonsai thoroughly once they were made, as soon as possible.

I am currently keeping my forest bonsai under my bonsai rack.  Our newly made forest bonsai should be kept under shade with indirect sunlight for at least two weeks, and gradually expose the forest bonsai to more and more sun afterward.