Bonsai trees have appealed to gardeners for millennia due to their graceful beauty and artistry. Many gardeners love practicing the art of bonsai because they enjoy shaping each branch and bloom carefully and painstakingly. People also value the elegant yet simple beauty that a bonsai tree can bring to an indoor or an outdoor space. Gardeners who want a piece of foliage that is small in size and yet large in class often end up purchasing or growing a bonsai tree.
The Appeal Of An Artificial Bonsai Tree
Bonsai gardeners relish the challenge of growing, shaping, and maintaining a bonsai tree, but many other people may lack the desire and/or the ability to nurture a real bonsai tree to maturity. Perhaps these people have so-called “brown thumbs” and generally fail to take care of anything they try to grow, or maybe they simply live such busy lives that they do not have the time or the energy to devote to growing and shaping a real bonsai tree. Some would condemn these individuals as being unworthy participants in the art of bonsai, but beauty and artistry can be appreciated by more than just artists. People who wish to own a bonsai tree without devoting much maintenance and upkeep time can either purchase an artificial bonsai tree or make one on their own.
Purchasing
There are many online sites that sell artificial bonsai trees that have already been assembled and are ready for display as is. Bonsai trees can come in a variety of shapes and sizes, so anyone wishing to purchase an artificial bonsai tree will have to peruse the available options on multiple legitimate websites. Prices and sizes vary as much as does the available types, so customers will simply have to choose what they want and order it as they would order any other item online. As with any online commercial process, the customer should vet and scrutinize any online retailer with which he or she contemplates conducting business.
Making An Artificial Bonsai
Many people appreciate and respect the amount of work that goes into shaping a bonsai tree and want to be intimately involved in the creating process. There are many different ways to make an artificial bonsai tree; many of the differences involve the artistic abilities of the bonsai builders. Artificial bonsai building techniques range from the relatively simple to the highly complex, but all involve crafting every aspect of a bonsai tree from the trunk to the fruits and flowers.
Simple
Crafting a bonsai tree from a piece of wood, some artificial flowers, a bonsai pot, and some adhesive and shaping agents is fairly easy. All a person has to do is to decide on the type of bonsai tree to make, purchase the listed items as well as some decorative rocks, and assemble them together using epoxy and wire. The selected piece of wood must have branches that extend out so that the crafter can affix the artificial flowers to the branches using craft glue. The wire should be affixed to the tree in order to help hold the pieces together while the glue dries; whether or not to remove the wire is up to the crafter since copper wiring is often necessary for the shaping of real bonsai trees.
Moderately Difficult
Those who wish to create a more realistic looking artificial bonsai tree may want to consider utilizing luna clay and flower molds instead of a stick and artificial flowers. While the idea that clay may make a more realistic looking trunk and branches than an actual stick may seem counterintuitive, the fact that luna clay remains flexible even after it dries makes it ideal for artificial bonsai construction. The crafter can purchase flower molds that can be used to create whatever blossoms and leaves the artificial bonsai tree is to have and must then attach the flowers to the molded branches. The final step is to paint the branches and flora; a talented artist can give the bonsai tree real depth and detail for this step. Once everything has dried, the crafter may then put the finished product in a bonsai pot and surround it with whatever added decoration he or she chooses to add.
Complex
Those with a flair for artistry and crafting may want to try to make a highly complicated and complex bonsai tree using a piece of weathered wood, florist wire, modeling clay, and tissue paper among other things. After determining the type of bonsai and either buying or making the leaves and flowers, the crafter must create the trunk and branches of the tree using twisted florist wire and tape. This allows the crafter to shape the bonsai tree exactly how he or she wants and gives the tree added flexibility. The greenery can be wired on; the crafter does not have to worry about what the surface of the trunk looks like as everything will eventually be covered over.
The crafter should insert the base of the trunk into florist Styrofoam to keep it in place, taking care to artistically arrange the wires around the piece of wood that will lend authenticity to the artificial bonsai tree. Once the wires are set in place, the crafter should further shape the tree with modeling clay. Then the crafter will cover the trunk with diluted glue and brown tissue paper, adding whatever enhancements he or she desires before or after placing the tree in the bonsai pot.
Maintenance
Artificial bonsai tree maintenance is simple. All the owner must do is to dust it every once in awhile to keep the tree free from dust and protect the tree from direct sunlight since the sun will fade the colors of the tree with time. Those who use deadwood as the bonsai base should beware of possible mold and decay that may occur over the years.
