What is a prebonsai?

A bonsai is a tree that, for years, has been worked so that they can be beautiful in a pot that is less and less tall and wider. But before being transferred to nurseries, garden centers and so on, it has gone through the stage of prebonsai.

What does that word mean? Well the truth is that you will not find the meaning in conventional dictionaries. It is not widely used. But it is important to know it to know more about these curious plants. So let's see what it is 🙂.

What is it?

A prebonsai It is a tree that has characteristics that can turn it into a beautiful bonsai with a little work. For example, you can have a very interesting trunk movement, or a crown that grows cascading naturally.

Normally, we will find it planted in a pot that has the same height and diameter, either square or round, with a price that can be around 30 euros.

How does this work?

To go from prebonsai to bonsai we have to follow this step by step:

1. First we have to trim those branches that have grown more than the others, as well as those that are growing towards us at the end of winter. This will allow us to better choose the style of our future bonsai.
2. Once the style has been decided, we will give the crown a new look if necessary and then we will clean the soil that covers the base of the trunk.
3. Then, we will cut a little less than half of the roots and plant it in a bonsai tray with akadama (we can buy it here) mixed with 30% kiryuzuna (like the one they sell here).
4. Finally, we will water until the water comes out of the drainage holes in the tray.

Thus, we can have a most interesting bonsai. 🙂