How to Grow Merry Berry Bonsai

Use the planting medium and the small pot that come with the Merry Berry Bonsai kit. Otherwise, select a bonsai pot that matches your decor, and place a thin layer of pea gravel along the bottom. Fill the pot about halfway full of loose, loamy potting soil. Scoop the soil into a small mound at the center of the pot.

Remove the small holly shrub from the kit, and check the roots. Use sharp pruning shears to trim off any roots that curl around the perimeter of the root ball, cutting them even with the rest of the root system. Gently spread the roots open with your fingers, and place them over the soil mound. Scoop additional potting soil over the roots, filling the pot to a level about 1/2 inch below the rim.

Using a concave cutter designed for training bonsais, cut back the main leader on the holly shrub to a level even with the highest lateral branch. Snip off the branches along the bottom third of the trunk, leaving this section bare, and creating the appearance of a tree, rather than a shrub. Remove crowded lateral branches and branches that form opposite one another along the trunk.

Cut a length of sturdy, flexible wire that measures about twice as long as the height of your bonsai plant. Insert one end of the wire into the soil next to the trunk. Using a spiraling motion, form the wire into an angle that matches the direction of the top lateral branch, winding the wire around the trunk, and pulling it in the desired angle. This will give your bonsai the windblown, exotic appearance common in bonsai specimens. Keep the wire in place for at least one year to encourage permanent shaping.

Place the little Merry Berry holly in a sunny location, and water every five to nine days to keep the soil slightly moist. Prune the branch end tips late in the winter to continue training the bonsai and to encourage attractive berry formation the following winter. Give this little plant an annual feeding of evergreen plant food every spring.