Small succulents, big appeal

Maj Gen C S Bewli 

Creation of bonsai is a pleasurable experience and an increasing number of people of all ages and different walks of life are experimenting and enjoying the art. Due to their perennial appeal bonsais have become a style statement and are increasingly being used within houses and offices to create a focal point. However, availability and maintenance remain the main hurdle for those wanting to enjoy a bonsai. 

Bonsai gardening is not an overnight affair; it is a living art that keeps on evolving and taking shape perpetually. Unlike, a graphic, a sculpture or a painting, a bonsai is never finished as it keeps challenging the aesthetic abilities of the artist. It is not just gardening, but a skill to create a work of living art involving fusion of aesthetic excellence and horticultural techniques.  

While creating a bonsai the growth of the tree should not be overlooked, but guided to get a balanced, mature and an aesthetically appealing dwarf tree.  

Succulent bonsai are easier to create and take lesser time than their non-succulent counterparts. Succulents that can be trained as bonsais are: Sesamothamnus lugardi, Fouquieria splendens, Bursera microphylla, B. fagaroides, Crassula ovata (Jade plant), Operculicaria decaryi, Portulacaria afra, Commiphora mukul, C. wrightii, Senna meridionalis, Bombax ellipticum, Adenium obesum, Cyphostemm juttae, Adansonia digitata, etc.  

Some of the bonsai styles into which succulents can be trained are formal upright, informal upright, twin-trunk, multiple trunk, cascade, semi-cascade, windswept, forest creation, root-over-rock-style, clump style etc.

Unique adaptability and water storage ability of succulents has stimulated interest world over. They have become a natural choice in the creation of bonsai owing to the following factors:

n Ease in transportation and transplantation of mature plants.

n Ease in adaptation and growth.

n Less water requirement and ease in maintenance.

n They need less of root pruning.

n They do quite well even when kept on a windowsill or on a porch. 

— The writer is president of Bonsai Culture Society and president of National Cactus & Succulent Society of India