Page 46 - BSAM 2018 Q2

of the plant kingdom, and by analogy the attachment to life that we demonstrate in particular and the difficult moments of our existence.
From these considerations, the bonsai artist can draw inspiration to prepare a bonsai that knows how to capture these feelings.
Let’s try to think about what could have happened to make the tree grow in that particular way. In the foot hills of mountain environments, it often happens that water erosion facilitates the detachment of stones that mix with a little soil and are transported together, rolling to the point where they stop and stabilize. If on those stones a seed is deposited in the little sediment that partly covers them, and this seed sprouts, it will be
observed that, in a first step, the small plant will draw what is essential to survive from that little sediment, but later, for nutritive needs, will make its roots extend along the stone, in the cracks between one stone and the other in search of a larger amount of soil, more suitable for its development. With the passage of time, new atmospheric events can occur, moving stones and washing out soil to highlight the roots of our tree clinging to the stone.
With time, the tree will increasingly surround the stone with its roots, improving its anchorage and strengthening its root system and consequently its global development, until it reaches that aspect of ancient tree “clinging to life.”
S2econd phase: After one month of frequent watering, the seedlings absorb nutrients by radical capillarity and extend their roots into the soil of the c3ultivation pot.
Third phase:
Choosing the leading plant and grafting the other plants to it (to help form a large root system and develop the plant faster); after a period of time, pruning the “donor” seedlings from the leading plant and sealing the cuts. Now the leader tree has all the roots of the donor trees to support it.
44 | BCI | April/May/June 2018