Raising banyan on a table
|
The Ficus variety is an ideal choice for bonsai enthusiasts.
|
BONSAI WONDER: A different banyan.
Think banyan and you think of a sprawling great tree. Imagine raising one of its kind as a table-top entity. But that is just exactly what Molly Cherian, a bonsai maker, has done. Incidentally, this one-foot-tall banyan happens to be all of 10 years of age.
Ms. Cherian has raised this Ficus variety in the crevice of a coral in the Ishitsuki (meaning rock-planted) style of bonsai. “The idea is to present a natural scene,” she says.
It was only six months ago that she replanted the bonsai in coral. The coral rock has been tilted sideways for positional aesthetics. Ms. Cherian has used a large, round and black ceramic container to highlight the beauty of the white coral. In terms of positioning, this banyan bonsai with its aerial roots and oval, leathery leaves is in the semi-cascade style, achieved by winding aluminium wires around its branches for bending it into the curve desired.
Ficus is an ideal choice for bonsai enthusiasts. To get thick growth, pinch the new growing tips, suggests Ms. Cherian. To encourage aerial roots to grow, prick the underside of the lower branches with a sharp needle.
Care should be taken while watering bonsai plants. Use a watering can with a shower nozzle, and water the plant either early morning or evening, and only if the top soil looks dry. Water-spray the foliage too to keep them healthy and fresh. You may cover the soil surface with a thin layer of moss to retain moisture and prevent erosion, suggests Ms. Cherian.
This tiny banyan does spread the shade of serenity. Sums up Ms. Cherian, “Bonsai, unlike other art forms, is never finished because the plants continue to grow.”
HEMA VIJAY
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Property Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Kochi
Malabar
Thiruvananthapuram
