DIY: No-Fuss Bonsai for Beginners

There's no such thing as an effortless bonsai, but we're getting closer. Bonsai revolutionary Kenji Koyahashi invented keshiki bonsai, loosening strict traditions. His book Keshiki Bonsai ($17.05 on Amazon) encourages beginners to choose plants and containers matching their personalities—anything from soup cans to teacups works.

With this modern, relaxed approach, planting bonsai is nearly as easy as potting a houseplant. Here's how:

Everyday plants—shrubs, seedlings, nursery trees—can become bonsai. No need for stately Japanese black pines unless you want them.

Containers needn't be imperial-style. A spare ramekin works. With a drill and diamond tile bit, any ceramic bowl becomes a planter.

Materials:

• Hammer
• Drill
• Safety goggles
• Diamond Tile 1/4 INCH Drill Bit ($12.79 at Hardware Distributors)
• Screen filter (Soil Bug Keeper Stopper Screens, $2 at Target)
• Bonsai Shears ($42.90 at Hida Tool)
• Bonsai wire ($6.90 at Hida Tool)
• Volcanic rock
• Master's Pride Potting Soil ($10.89 at Harmony Farm)
• Chopstick or spoon (for tamping soil)
• Planter and plant of choice

Materials for modern bonsai.

Skip the hunt for a sapling with "tree potential." Instead, use imagination: start with a shrub that already resembles a tree or grassy knoll. I chose Euphorbia balsamifera, a drought-tolerant cushion bush, and a hebe 'Emerald Gem' (like a mini spruce). For moss, I used Australian Astroturf and baby tears—all sun-tolerant for my sunny ledge.

Starter plants: Euphorbia, cushion bush, hebe.

Step 1: Create drainage hole. Flip container upside down, spritz with water, drill at highest speed at 45-degree angle to start groove, then drill straight until hole forms. Go slow, don't press hard to avoid cracking.

Drilling drainage hole.

Step 2: Secure screen mesh with a bit of wire to prevent soil loss and pests.

Screen mesh over drainage hole.

Step 3: Add rock layer, then fill halfway with bonsai soil. I mixed my own (two parts volcanic rock to one part potting soil) after a nursery expert advised it. Volcanic rocks hammered to rice-grain size.

Rock layer and custom soil mix.

Step 4: Remove starter plant, gently shake off soil, rinse roots, and plant off-center.

Cleaning roots before planting.

Step 5: Add moss. Snip sheet moss along center, wrap around base.

Cutting moss for wrapping.

Training a cushion bush to grow long and lanky—the tranquil part of bonsai care.

Five bonsai potted in about an hour. Water and mist daily.

Want more? Explore San Francisco's Bonsai Society, DIY Kokedama Planters, and Japanese Garden Tools.