All kinds of trees, including flame trees, can be dwarfed, Arlene Torres said.
Although she did not have the chance to create — you can’t call it “grow” — bonsai, Torres is fascinated with miniature plants.
One of the island’s green-thumbed residents, Torres said she likes “doing it, but I lack the time,” referring to bonsais.
In her garden and kitchen, Torres has a tiny tree which she doesn’t call a bonsai.
She said it came from her 20-year-old tree and was not crafted from its branch but grew from a seed.
But it’s still a bonsai, according to “The Art of Flowering Bonsai” by Peter D. Adams.
He says creating a bonsai out of a seed is the “slowest” method. The seeds are placed in warm, moist sand for germination which usually starts in two months.
When the seedlings appear, they will require more light and proper care.
That’s exactly what Torres did with her dwarfed tree.
Old or young, a tree can turn into a bonsai by natural dwarfing factors like limited soil, high altitude, weather and damage.
Flame trees and pomegranates are among the ideal trees in the CNMI that can be turned into bonsai.
“You just have to put fertilizer,” Torres said.
One way of creating a flame tree bonsai is through potting and root pruning.
In this method, roots are periodically pruned and the lower, heavier parts of the root system are removed.
Surface roots springing from the lower part of the trunk add age and character to the trunk.
Root pruning rejuvenates the root system but allows it to grow in a slow manner.
To limit the height of the bonsai flame tree and redirect the growth of its branches downward, the apex should be cut.
In cutting the natural apex of the bonsai, the upper trunk branching is kept thin and small. The lower limbs are allowed to become full and heavy. Then, the wood fattens according to the burden of foliage it carries.
The plant’s position is also a dwarfing factor. Ultraviolet light tidies foliage texture. Thinning allows the sun to reach inside branches and keeps the tree “happy.”
