Well, I would like to share with you all my first attempt to make a bonsai tree. I’ve chosen a special plant to do so, it’s a jabuticaba tree (Plinia cauliflora), a Brazilian species that gives a delicious sweet purplish-black black, white pulp, fruit. This fruit can be eaten from the tree or can be made into sweets and liqueurs.

One interesting fact about this species is that it takes from 10 to 20 years for the tree to give its first fruits. So, I chose this, first because I love its fruits, second because I think the long time it takes to give any fruit is a perfect fit for the patience required for bonsai trees and third, because it can be molded into very gorgeous bonsai!

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This particular one, I got to germinate from the seed. It will complete 1 year this December. And the style I’m going for is something like this:

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Right now, this is a young plant, but it is very healthy. This is a picture of it with about 6 months old. Just after a small leaf and root trim (before the Brazilian winter). Since it tends not to grow much in winter, I thought it was a good Idea.

After studding a little more, I decided to let it grow a little bit before I trim again so I can get a thicker trunk. So I transferred it to a bigger pot to give it more space. And now, approaching our spring, it started to grow again. Here it is with about 9 to 10 months:

It is still quite young and I’ll have to wait before I can shape the roots and branches, for now I’ll just let it grow a little bit more to see how it is going to be shaped. So, any tips and criticism is welcome. I’m a real beginner in this art, but I’m happy to share with you guys the progress, share experience and give this little plant a history of its own!

Cheers!