What should you know before giving a bonsai as a gift?

Choosing a gift is often hard, and there are many things to take into account — especially when we want the gift to be meaningful, symbolic and memorable for the person receiving it. As a rule, a bonsai meets all of these criteria: it is rare and original, and besides being beautiful it usually carries symbolic meaning too.

That is exactly what most people who come to us for a bonsai want: to delight someone close to them with the gift of a miniature tree. In such cases we always give the buyer a word of caution: think about whether the person you are giving it to is ready to give a bonsai the attention it needs.

Caring for a bonsai is different from caring for an ordinary houseplant. For example, while you can draw up a watering schedule for a houseplant, watering a bonsai depends entirely on the weather (in summer it may need water as often as twice a day, while in winter the tree may go 2–3 weeks or so without needing any). That is precisely why in summer a bonsai needs daily attention.

Like other plants, a bonsai can get pests. Frequent checks are needed to prevent that, too.

Many people are short of time and find it hard to keep up with all this properly. For a bonsai’s owner, its care should feel like a pleasure, not a burden. Otherwise, sooner or later, the tree is bound to suffer. Yet with proper care, a bonsai can live for centuries.

Although we give every bonsai a detailed set of care instructions, there are still cases of miniature trees dying from improper care. That is very upsetting, both for us and for the owner.

Before giving one as a gift, it is important to understand what a bonsai is. It is not simply a decorative object to brighten up an interior — many years have gone into its styling. As a rule, it takes a specialist at least 5–8 years to create a beautiful bonsai, and as many as 10–15 years for a refined piece.

So think it over carefully before you decide to buy a bonsai as a gift.