Fruit bearing bonsai trees, that you can grow easily in tropical places like Kerala and other South Indian states.
Bonsai is really the art form of growing trees in containers, especially with all the features of large trees in nature.
Though originated in Japan about thousand years ago, it is one of the most interesting hobbies of people worldwide.
In addition to that, bonsai is a profitable business in which many people have engaged.
Fruit bearing tropical bonsai trees
Benefits of growing bonsai trees
Firstly, it gives pleasure to our mind and body. Plants always give positive energy to the mind that keep away stress and strain.
In a like manner, bonsai is an art form that needs much patience, and hence it can influence a lot in our character.
Moreover, presence of plants can keep our indoors as well as outdoors lively.
Also they can produce larger quantities of oxygen, which is essential for our general health. Therefore growing a few bonsai trees can serve the purpose.
Many bonsai trees such as ficus, schefflera etc. can absorb toxins from our homes, thereby maintaining a clean environment.
Ficus benjamina, is one of the important plants among those enlisted in NASA’s detoxifying plants. Preferably like the spider plant, snake plant, money plant, jade etc.
Fruit bearing tropical bonsai trees
Attractive features of bonsai trees
Generally we use plants with beautiful leaves, flowers, fruits, conspicuous trunk etc. for making bonsai.
Hanging aerial roots are the specialty of trees that belong to the ficus family.
Indigenous plants that are adapted to particular climates, are usually used for making bonsai.
In tropical places like Kerala and other southern parts of India, there are a lot of such beautiful trees.
For example:
Different varieties of ficus trees, that respond well to various stages of training. Ficus benjamina, ficus microcarpa, ficus ginseng microcarpa, ficus alii, ficus benghalensis etc.
Besides, ficus benjamina is one of the best examples of ornamental trees for small gardens.
Definitely bonsai beginners can choose ficus benjamina or ficus microcarpa for better results.
Likewise, bougainville, cassia fistula, adenium obesum, crepe jasmine, etc. are best examples of tropical flowering bonsai plants.
Let us see a few fruit bearing tropical bonsai trees, that we can grow easily.
Tamarind ( Tamarindus indica )
Undoubtedly, the common tamarind is one of the most suitable plants for this.
Conspicuous trunk with drooping crown like branches, small leaves and flowers in bunches are the attractive features. In addition to the above, it is really awesome to find most of the blooms that turn into fruits.
Of course, it is fascinating that the fruits are actual in size, whereas bonsai is the miniature form of the original tree.
Surely we can propagate the plant through the germination of seeds. Never forget to soak the seeds in water overnight before germination, for speedy sprouting.
Though stem cuttings are fine, it takes much longer time for attaining the required features of a bonsai.
During the rainy season, it is quite common to see saplings that grow beneath large tamarind trees. Therefore by collecting healthy saplings, we can start training our bonsai directly.
Loamy well drained potting mixture enriched with any organic manure is ideal for better growth of the plant.
With proper caring, your tamarind bonsai starts producing fruits within a period of six or seven years.
Fukien tea tree ( Carmona retusa )
Carmona retusa, commonly known as the fukien tea tree is another tropical fruit bearing bonsai. Originally the plant is from the Fukien province of China.
In certain places, different parts of the plant are used for making medicines.
However, it is one of the best fruit bearing tropical bonsai plants.
Small dark green shiny leaves, star like white flowers and definitely small fruits make it really awesome.
Berry like green fruits gradually turn orange and finally deep red. Therefore, we can find fruits with different colours in the same plant simultaneously.
Usually we use stem cuttings for the propagation of fukien tea tree.
Certainly we can grow it as ornamental tree, according to the required height. Mostly like ficus benjamina, papaya, hibiscus etc.that are ideal for home gardens.
Ficus trees – fruit bearing tropical bonsai trees
Small fig like fruits make ficus bonsai trees really attractive. Ficus benghalensis, ficus microcarpa and ficus benjamina are examples for this.
Jam cherry or bakery cherry
Jam cherry also known as bakery cherry is one of the most beautiful tropical plants for making bonsai. Pinkish red fruits in bunches, are the main attraction of the bonsai. Additionally, the white jasmine like flowers make it really fantastic.
However, we should take extreme care while handling the plant, because the sharp thorns may be injurious.
Never forget to use thick gloves while pruning or repotting your jam cherry bonsai.
Ixora
Ixora plants with flowers in different shades, are ideal for making bonsai. Furthermore, they are suitable for hedging and landscaping.
Dwarf species of the plants with pink white and red flowers are common.
Certain varieties of the plants are having medicinal properties.
Usually we use stem cuttings collected from mature mother plants for propagation. Saplings of different varieties of ixora plants are available in most of the nurseries.
Flowers in clusters are really the attractive parts of ixora plants. Very often, we can see fruits that are red or black in colour.
Given above are a few examples of tropical fruit bearing bonsai trees, that you can grow easily.
Doubtlessly there may be more, that are common and easily available in your locality.
Try to grow your own fruit bearing bonsai trees, that can make your garden really amazing.