Tips to Bonsai a Jade Plant - Crassula ovata sp.

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Jade plant (Crassula ovata sp.) is an excellent species for bonsai as they need low maintenance and have a distinct bonsai like appearance. The plant is also known as Money Plant, Money Tree, Dollar Plant or Dollar Tree. The plant has a peculiar distinct jade green colour and that is how the name Jade Plant has come into existence. The easy-to-grow jade plant tolerates dry soil, average humidity and sunny positions. Jade grows well in hot sunny climates and is a houseplant in most parts of India. Jade plant is a succulent native of Africa. Jade has a thick, fleshy, evergreen leaves and has a thick fleshy trunk. Jade plants become bonsai easily and adapts well to pruning and wiring required to maintain the size of the tree like shape and structure.

Tips to Bonsai a Jade Plant

To make a bonsai out of a Jade plant purchase a small healthy jade plant with thick trunk and many branches.
Select a suitable bonsai pot with two thirds width of that of the jeight of the plant so as to match the finished bonsai.
Take small pieces of broken terracotta pot little larger than the drainage hole and place over the drainage holes to prevent washing out of soil while watering.
Make a bonsai soil mix or add one part river sand one part compost and one part leaf mould. Excellent drainage is very important for a bonsai soil, so adding more of river sand or coarse sand will solve the issue.
Remove the jade plant from the pot, loosen and remove the excess soil and gently and spread the roots in the bottom of the pot.
Trim the excess roots spreading outside the pot to fit in the selected pot. Prune dead and downward-growing large tap root like roots.

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To create a tree like alternating branches pattern remove either one of each opposite branches with a sharp cutters. Prune twiggy and leggy branches off and tip branches and create a tree canopy shape.
Spread some potting mix in the pot. Place the tree, spread the roots out and add mor potting mix above and cover fully leaving a quarter to half inch for watering. Use a anchoring wire and secure the tree in the position in the pot, if necessary. Leave the plant to dry up and do not water for a day or two. Otherwise the roots may get rotted. After one or two daysr regular watering can be followed.
Do not add fertilizers at this point of time. Fertilizers should be applied only when the roots are in tact and active, Fertilizers can be applied after two or three weeks only.
Place the bonsai pot in a shady position for two days and when you start to water transfer to a full sunny position.
Jade plants can withstand low or poor watering and it can be watered once in two days, but if the pot is too small or shallow regular daily watering is recommended.
If the water is too less the leaves will be small and compact and if the water is more the leaves will be large, fleshy and the inter leaf space will be more. From this you can find out the water requirement.

Premna - the ideal material for Bonsai

Premna plant sp. is a sub-tropical plant found in many Asian and South East Asian countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Taiwan. In South East Asian Countries it is a prized species suitable for Bonsai. It is called as Qou Niang Tze in Chinese, meaning “Stinky Lady” or “Stinky Bitch,” due to its bad smell from the leaves, when touched or worked. As a result of this bad smell, it has only a few pest problems, but rats and mice eat the leaves very well. As it is beautiful, charming and feminine to look at, it is called as a lady.

There are numerous varieties of Premna which have different habitat, ranging from mountainous regions to coastal areas. The coastal species known as Premna obtusifolia is most suitable for Bonsai due to its unique texture of Jin and Shari in the trunk due to the natural forces or pressures. The bright green leaves are shiny and the twisted trunk is often dynamic and elegant especially when tamed as a miniature bonsai.

Premna is very fast growing, many time it is too fast. It produces suckers or new shoots from the root surface. These characters make Premna, an ideal choice for mini bonsai. Leaf size reduction is also possible when the plant or tree is continuously defoliated. With proper pruning and taming the leaf size can be even reduced to 2mm and made very compact. The mountainous variety has larger leaves, larger branches, trunk and stronger odor.

Premna as Bonsai

The branches of Premna do grow in irregular an untidy manner, so wiring is a must for initial styling. Due to the fast growing nature and abundant back-budding, the clipping technique works out very well for creating a beautiful canopy. Premna is an ideal plant species for all bonsai styles, be it literati, raft or windswept. It appeals enthusiasts who expect the natural Jin and Shari structures.

Growing Nakshatra Trees for eternal bliss! (1)

The Nakshatra Trees

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The nakshatras are from the Rig Veda. It is one of the early references on astrology, which dates back to 3,000 years B C. The Vedas are the evidences of religious scriptures written by the great Indian sages of those days. The nakshatras are almost like the zodiac signs but is specific. They mean the constellations, stars and mythology behind their positions in the sky at the time of birth. They also mean the stories or myths based on the ruling deities and bring to life symbolic references on daily basis.
There are 27 Nakshatras in a year and every individual has a Nakshatra assigned depending on the date, time and place of birth. The Nakshatras and Rasis have slightly different names in Tamil and Hindi or Sanskrit. The Indian Vedic Science astrology is based on this concept of Nakshatras or Constellations and Rasis.

Every Nakshatra has a unique symbolic plant or tree that has the connection with the nature. In Indian culture, in those days, there was a tradition to plant a tree, of the same Nakshatra, once a child was born. Then to take care of the tree and keep it healthy, and it was believed that then only that child will be also happy like the tree and prosper.

Likewise 27 different trees have been assigned for 27 different Nakshatras. The useful and easily available well known tree of each Rasi’s nakshatras is symbolized and assigned as that Rasi tree. These nakshatra trees are mentioned in the Rig Veda by the Vedic Rishis. But many trees names have changed over years and some have become extinct too. Due to non availability and lack of necessary information there are some changes in the names and some give different set of trees for the nakshatras, but our list is based on the Travancore Ayyappan Temple Devaswom and the list as mentioned in the Panchankams.

Benefits of Growing Nakshatra Trees

Growing these Nakshatra Trees in homes directly creates a healthy environment and facilitates the development of a sound mind in a healthy disease free body; which is the ultimate bliss of all!

List of Nakshatra Trees

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1. Ashwini - Strtychnos nux vomica – Yetti


2. Bharani - Garuga pinnata - Arunelli


3. Karthilai - Ficus racemosa - Aththi


4. Rohini - Syzygium cumini - Naaval


5. Mirugaseerusham - Acacia catechu - Karunkali


6. Thiruvadhirai - Pterocarpus santalinus - Censandanam


7. Punarpoosam - Bambusa arundinacea - Moongil


8. Poosam - Ficus religiosa - Arasu


9. Ayilyam - Calophyllum inophyllum - Punnai


10. Magam - Ficus benghalensis - Aalamaram


11. Pooram - Butea monosperma - Purasu


12. Uthiram - Nerium odorum - Arali


13. Hastham - Bauhinia racemosa - Aaththi


14. Sithirai - Aegle marmelos - Vilavam


15. Swathi - Terminalia arjuna - Maruthu


16. Visakam - Feronia elephantum - Vila


17. Anusham - Mimusops elengi - Magizham


18. Kettai - Streblus asper - Kutti pala


19. Moolam - Mangifera indica - Maa


20. Pooradam - Salix tetrasperma - Vanji


21. Uthiradam - Artocarpus heterophyllus - Pala


22. Thiruvonam - Calotropis gigantean - Erukku


23. Avittam - Prosopis spicigera - Vanni


24. Sadhayam - Adina cordifolia - Kadambai


25. Poorattathi - Terminalia alata - Karumaruthu


26. Uthirattathi - Azadirachta indica - Vembu


27. Revathi - Madhuca longifolia - Iluppai

What is Terminalia arjuna ?

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Recently, I bought Arjuna tree (Terminalia Arjuna) as a small sapling, from a nursery in Padappai near Chennai. It was too tall, about seven feet; I decided to cut short to 2 feet and cut into three pieces and planted them. After two months, when the torrential rain was all over, I found that all were doing extremely well.

When I bought, it had green leaves and when I cut and planted the cuttings all produced brown leaves. A few of my friends, who came to see my garden, saw these cuttings and said it was ‘Neer Maruthu’ and not Maruthu or Arjuna. I was terribly shocked to hear this, as I was more particular to grow only Arjuna Tree as it was the Nakshatra Tree of my wife. (Birth Star Treefor Swathi) As today, I had some extra time, I decided to find out what it is; either Arjuana or Neer Maruthu?

After an hour’s study I understood the matter and I was happy to know that both are the same and we all were right. It is known as Arjuna in English, Marutham in Tamil and Neer Maruthu in Malayala that is how we all were right.

Terminalia arjuna

The arjuna tree is a huge tree growing up to 25 meters tall; has a buttressed trunk, which forms a huge canopy with numerous shoots dropping downwards on all sides. The leaves are oblong and conical with green top and brown below. The bark is grey to pale white in color and the flowers are yellow. Usually the flowers appear between April and June and are around 2 cm in size.

Terminalia arjuna is usually found growing on the river banks or near dry rivers, hence the name neer maruthu. It is found vastly in Bangladesh, West Bengal and south India and central India. It is known as 'marutha maram' (marutham pattai) in Tamil, thella maddi in Telugu, neer maruthu in Malayalam, matthimara in Kannada and kohda in Rajasthani.

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The arjuna has been used as a treatment for heart diseases in Ayurveda by Vagbhata during the 7th century CE itself. A traditional milk decoction called Ashtānga Hridayam is prepared from the Arjuna bark. It is also mentioned in many other ancient Indian vedas, and is a well known remedy for thousands of years. Vagbhata mentions arjuna in his book Aṣṭāṅgahṛdayasaṃhitā as topical medicine powder for hemorrhages, ulcers and wounds. Arjuna is the most excellent medicine for Heart and it has the capacity to even overcome heart failures.

The arjuna leaves are fed to the silk moth which yields the tassar silk, which is a commercially important wild silk. Hence it is grown vastly and has a commercial importance too.