Bonsai Basic: Tools and Their Usage
Shears for Pruning–If you are beginning the hobby of bonsai gardening, you must have a pair of pruning shears ready. It is used to for trimming the leaves of these tiny plants, and is considered the most important bonsai tool. Hence, it should be maintained regularly and kept free of rust.
Scissors for Buds—Next to pruning shears is a pair of bud scissors. They are used to trim leaves and buds. In order to maintain a strong grip, the scissors are designed with small blades. Thus, you can only use this tool for a more delicate work.
Wire Cutters—Every owner of a bonsai tree should own a good pair of wire cutters as well. These will be useful for a variety of reasons, but you will typically be using them to trim the wire that is used on bonsai trees in order to help them stay in the proper position. You will need to make sure that you only use the very tip of your wire cutters when severing some wire, or else you could end up damaging the branch of your bonsai tree.
Knob Cutter—To dig in to the bonsai wood, you will need another essential equipment for your bonsai, a knob cutter. This tool is used to remove protruding wood from the tree’s trunk. Doing this will give your bonsai a much more presentable look; so that it maintains its streamlined contour.
Root Cutter—We should never forget the kind of scissors which allow us to cut through the highly thick wood section, the root cutter.
Hori Hori Digging Tool—Marketed on Ebay and Amazon, this tool is highly recommended by its users for its flexibility of usage. It allows you to cut through tough flower stalks, and its sharpness is capable of digging holes in bedding of plants.
To make it simple, you can purchase an all-in-one package, which will include the most basic and essential tools of Bonsai Gardening. Not only convenient, with all the tools included in the package, it is sure be less expensive than getting the items separately.
With the required skills in a successful bonsai, precision and discipline are the two important attitudes that one has to posses in order to get decent results. If you are planning to buy a ready made bonsai, forget it! Buying someone else’s creation is a waste and pointless. Let Bonsai gardening serve its purpose. Let it give you the value of patience, perseverance, creativity and innovation.
Each tool has a different purpose and different capabilities. Therefore, any misuse may lead to an undesired result such as a major damage in both your tools and your bonsai plant. In addition, it is important that proper cleaning of your bonsai tool is performed after every use. As a result, you will prevent deterioration from the environmental elements. Imagine life without your precious tools? There will be no bonsai to spend time with.
