Can You Keep a Cypress Bonsai Small?

Provide your bonsai with as much morning sun as possible. Many bonsai do well outside with morning sun and afternoon shade, but they can also thrive under adequate artificial lighting.

Provide appropriate water conditions that fit your particular species of cypress bonsai. Most bonsai require permanently moist soil with good drainage to prevent root rot from damaging the plant. Watering once or twice daily may be necessary to maintain moist soil conditions.

Fertilize your bonsai tree every two weeks except during the winter. The point of a cultivating a bonsai tree is to grow it into a shape, but without nutrients your bonsai cannot grow. Mix water and fertilizer at a 50:50 ratio to prevent burning the roots; in the fall, include nitrogen in the fertilizer mix.

Prune your bonsai using special bonsai shears to prevent damaging the delicate bark of the cypress to trim and shape its branches during regular pruning sessions. Use your fingers to trim branches between these major pruning sessions.

Use aluminum or copper wiring to shape cypress bonsai into the style of your choice. Other types of wire may not work well with your bonsai, or they can even damage the bark.

Use caution when practicing branch-shaping techniques such as wiring. The branches of the cypress grow quickly, and you should remove wires to prevent scarring the bark as the tree grows.

Transplant your cypress bonsai tree preferably once a year, and certainly no less than every two years, into a clean, prepared bonsai tree tray. Place the tree in the center of a new bonsai tray prepared with drainage mesh and specialized bonsai soil.

Use appropriate tools during transplants, such as a clean root-trimming knife to trim back long root systems to fit the planter, and a rake to untangle smaller root systems.

Use appropriate soil to cover the roots, leaving no air holes. Bonsai soil is a sandier type of soil that allows excellent drainage while keeping root systems moist.