Bonsai master Mike Hansen, owner of Midwest Bonsai, gives a potted lesson for total beginners in this 2 min, 11 sec video on Expert Village. Mike is a diffident man that has spent most of his life tending to these miniature trees. It is worth listening to his quiet, gentle expertise.

Mike puts the viewer right on three important points. The first is that “805 of bonsai trees that die, die from lack of watering.” It is not being small that kills these little trees, but sheer thirst. Mike points out that bonsai potting soil is quite coarse. It is not meant to retain water. At best, the soil in a bonsai pot will hold water for no more than a day and maybe less at the height of summer.

Another point Mike makes is that many beginner bonsai growers put their little potted trees on the window sill, TV or coffee table and then are disappointed when the tree dies. Mike says: “In fact, bonsai trees are outdoor plants. They would do better on the patio — which is not to say they couldn’t do with some protection.” Mike cautions against “loving your bonsai to death — literally.”

Mike reminds us that bonsai trees are small because they are pruned to be that way, and not because of hunger! “So make sure they have enough water, fertilizer, fresh and air sunshine.”

Wise words about bonsai from Mike Hansen, who is someone that knows.