Getting started in the ancient art of bonsai is fairly simple, says bonsai expert Michael Raska. You can buy an already trained specimen for $1,500 to $5,000 or more, or you can buy a plant and pot from a nursery and train it yourself. Bonsai plants are true outdoor plants and need the same things full-size landscape trees and shrubs do: sunshine, good air circulation, regular watering and fertilizer. Because they're grown in relatively small containers, they need protection from extreme cold and drying winds. A number of flowering plants make excellent bonsai specimens. Azaleas and crabapples are good examples. After making a few cuts to get rid of excess branches, begin wrapping copper wire around the tree's trunk to shape it, being careful not to wrap the wire too tightly. Next, wrap the remaining five or six branches with thinner copper wire, bending them slightly to achieve the desired form. Having completed the pruning process, pick a pot, and plant the bonsai. Bigger bonsai plants aren't necessarily older. Although there's a tendency to think of bonsai as plants that must be constantly and carefully nurtured, they're actually pretty tough.
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