Finished Product:

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Materials:

• Miniature conifers in varying forms: shown here are Picea glauca 'Jean's Dilly' and Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Tsukumo'
• Small perennial (we used a chartreuse Heuchera)
• Bowl of water
• Liquid fertilizer
• Shallow container with drainage holes
• Fine screen
• Bonsai soil (good drainage mix)
• Chopstick
• Decorative rock
• Gravel
• Sheet moss

Step 1:

Add a few drops of liquid fertilizer to the bowl of water, and soak the conifers' roots for 5 minutes.

Step 2:

Cover the container's holes with a fine screen to retain the soil and prevent clogging.

Step 3:

Fill the bottom of the container with a layer of the bonsai soil mix.

Step 4:

Spread the roots of the conifer, and place the plant on the soil. Gently press soil over the roots.

Step 5:

Continue adding plants, and cover the roots with more soil. Use a chopstick to gently tap around the plants' roots to fill pockets with soil.

Step 6:

Add a decorative rock.

Step 7:

Cover the soil with gravel and sheet moss to keep water from evaporating.