Bonsai for Sale
The Art of Bonsai
The debate over where the art of bonsai originated continues. Historians lean towards the view that it originated in China, where plants were grown in pots for the Emperor's garden. Two Chinese characters exist for the word bonsai - 'bon' meaning 'pot' or 'tray' and 'sai' meaning to plant. The Japanese however were responsible for the introduction of bonsai to the West. We now tend to associate bonsai with meaning 'miniaturized'.
Why is bonsai referred to as an art? In shaping and growing a bonsai, be it a single tree, forest or mountain scene, it takes imagination, skill and creativity. Like a beautifully executed painting or sculpture, you can gaze upon a bonsai with pleasure - and no small amount of awe! But of course we mere mortals cannot aspire to such creativity and anyway, bonsai are very hard to keep. Actually, this is not true at all. Bonsai really do not require any more attention then your other house plants. Correctly watered and positioned, they will thrive.
So if you are thinking of growing bonsai, what do you need to consider? There is a Japanese saying, 'First the trunk, second the branches and third the roots.' This gives a very clear insight into the sequence to be followed in training a tree, in addition to the three separate parts of the tree that must be considered.
In Japan, bonsai are classified by size, shape (of trunk), groupings, settings and habit of growth.
Size
Whilst the exact heights of trees are not strictly laid down, they can loosely be grouped into five categories. Trees less than 5cms high are called thimble bonsai, whilst those up to about 15cms are called Mame in Japan, but are known as miniature in the West. A 'small' bonsai will reach a maximum of 30cm, whilst 'medium' refers to trees of a maximum height of 65cm. Large bonsai are between 65cm and 1.2m and anything over this height are sometimes referred to as emperor or even 'two-man trees' i.e. a tree that will take more than one person to lift and move.
Shape
Bonsai are further classified by the shape of their trunks. Trunk classifications include; formal upright, informal upright, slanting (windswept), semi cascade style, cascade style, broom, literati and clump.
Groups
Group plantings usually consist of two or more trees of the same species. Two different species are very rarely planted together. Groups of trees are traditionally planted in odd numbers; three, five, seven or nine. When two trees are planted together, one tree is usually planted slightly to the front or rear of the 'mother' tree, which will be the dominant tree in the setting. If only two trees are planted in a pot, they will never be planted in line with each other. After all, in nature you rarely see trees growing in neat lines, other than in managed forests created by man.
Styles
Styles of planting include trees growing over rocks, giving the appearance of the tree clinging to or growing out of the rock, or alternatively the tree's roots will be grown over the rock. Another popular style is 'exposed root', found for example when storms remove large amounts of soil from the roots of a tree - leaving the roots exposed.
For the aspiring bonsai grower, inspiration can be taken directly from nature. A visit to an arboretum to study trees is a worthwhile exercise. Take time to study trunk shapes, arrangements of branches on different species of tree and root growth. You are about to enter a world where you will not see instant results - growing, training and pruning a tree takes time - but the rewards for your labour will be immense.
