by George Buehler

What makes a "good" bonsai? How do you make a young plant look like an old tree? When you start working on a 'raw' plant, how do you decide what style to form it into? What are bonsai styles? Where do you keep a bonsai? What is good plant material for a bonsai? These are some of the questions we will try to answer in this Bonsai 101 session and the next several.

WHAT IS A GOOD BONSAI?

First there are no good or bad bonsai, only bonsai that have been manipulated to make them look better. There are, however, bonsai that look better than others. This may be due to the age of the tree or it may be due to the experience of the bonsai artist or perhaps both. It also can be because it is in a more suitable pot or it is planted properly.

Bonsai are supposed to look like old trees. When you go out to the local parks, look at some of the old trees there and compare them to more recently planted trees. When this is done, the older trees generally have their branches growing or bending downward, due to more foliage or from the weight of snow and ice in the wintertime. Younger trees have their branches growing upward toward the sun. Therefore a bonsai can be made to look older by wiring a branch in a somewhat downward motion. Since the oldest branches are generally in the lower sections of a bonsai, these are the ones that should be wired downward. The branches in the upper part of the tree, even old ones, typically grow in a more upward direction.

As young trees grow in natural settings, they try to grow straight up toward the sun. However, they may be growing under another more mature tree and they 'bend' so that they can get more sunlight. During a storm, because they have fewer roots than a more mature tree, they may be bent partially out of the ground and then continue their upward growth. They may be exposed to a constant wind, and they twist and bend. There are many natural reasons for a young tree to bend. As the natural tree ages, it generally stays in this bent form. If you want a new bonsai to look older, it can be wired in a bent fashion and it will look older. This bending of both trunks and limbs is called movement.

Once again in the parks, notice that some of the older trees may have dead limbs in them. Some may have parts of the trunk torn out. Either of these may have been caused by a number of things - ice and snow breaking off part of the branch or perhaps the limb was completely broken off the tree by the weight of the snow/ice. Perhaps a severe storm occurred and the branch was twisted, and some of the trunk was torn off. A new bonsai can be made to look older by selecting a branch and manipulating it to 'kill' part of it. This resulting broken branch is referred to by the Japanese term Jin. To simulate part of the trunk being torn off, a new tree can be carved or hollowed out – creating a Shari.

Unfortunately, there are some things that only a mature tree exhibits and the bonsai artist has to wait for. The first is trunk taper – a tree with a wide trunk at the bottom that narrows as it goes up the tree. The second is large surface roots. Up to a point neither of these can be manipulated by the bonsai artist. However, you can speed up the growth process of both the trunk and roots by planting the tree in the ground for several years.

All of the above give the appearance of an older tree and, therefore, a better looking bonsai.

BONSAI STYLES

There are a number of styles in bonsai. The most common are:

• Formal Upright – Straight trunk to the top with the apex (the very top of the tree) directly above the base. The trunk has a uniform taper from the base to the apex, and it has branches roughly the same on all sides
• Informal Upright – The most common of all bonsai styles. The trunk has one or more curves, which diminish in scale as the trunk winds upward. The apex is normally over the base
• Slanting – Curved or straight trunk tilted so the apex is not over the base
• Semi-cascade – The main part of the tree, which may be a large branch, is over the edge of the pot and at or slightly below the level of the top of the pot
• Cascade – The main part of the tree cascades over the edge of the pot often reaching below the bottom of a tall pot
• Broom – Upright trunk with a fan of branches forming an umbrella of foliage
• Windswept – Most of the branches are growing in one direction as though the wind forced them to grow that way. The trunk is generally leaning in the same direction
• Literati – A long, thin trunk with an interesting line and few branches, having a small amount of foliage, all at the top of the tree
• Forest – A design where a number of trees are planted in a single pot. Normally, all the plants are of the same species. The number of plants in a pot is always an odd number and generally starts with 5 and can go up to 21, 23, or more. The plants are typically of varying age with the trunks having various diameters. Typically there is one tree that has the largest diameter, and two or three having lesser diameters.

In addition, other styles are:

• Root over rock – Tree is sitting on top of a rock with the roots descending around the rock into the soil
• Planted in a rock – Similar to a miniature landscape but generally only a single tree. A large rock having natural cavities has a tree planted within the cavities
• Exposed roots – Similar to the root over rock without the rock. Between the soil and the trunk are some roots which are exposed Clump – Several trees growing out of the same base or root stock
• Double trunk – A two trunk planting where one of the trunks is larger than the other and the two trunks are joined at the base
• Raft – This style simulates a fallen tree that has taken root from the branches on the side on the ground.

There are also combination styles such as a cascade planted in a rock. Styles and their characteristics will be featured in more detail in future Bonsai 101 series.

HOW IS A STYLE CHOSEN?

When a new plant is obtained, one of the first things that has to be decided is the style of the tree. The plant must be examined to determine if the main trunk is straight and can be formed into a formal upright style or if it already has a natural bend so that it can be formed into an informal upright or a slanting style. If you carefully examine the plant, you may determine a natural style. By that, I mean the plant may be growing in a specific style due to the way it was handled by the grower. Also, as the plant is cleaned up and branches are removed, styles sometimes become evident.

Some plant materials are not suitable for certain styles. Conifers, for example, are not suited for the broom style but are naturally suited to formal upright, informal upright or cascades. Other species, like beech or maples, are normally not styled into cascades but can be informal upright, windswept or slanting styles. Shrubs like azaleas, have fewer restrictions in style; however, it is best to base the plant design on the way the plant grows in nature.

Books or magazines should be studied to see what a style looks like. The pictures can be compared to a new plant to see if it can be styled in a certain fashion.

WHERE SHOULD BONSAI BE KEPT?

All plants generally grow outside. Therefore when a plant is converted into a bonsai, the bonsai artist must consider where the plant grows in its natural environment. Bonsai are generally NOT indoor plants! Some plants are more susceptible to cold temperatures than others and must be treated differently. Some plants must be exposed to cold temperatures in order to go through their natural dormant cycles. When a plant is chosen to be made into a bonsai, the temperature requirements of the plant must be determined either through the plant supplier or through research.

Plants like pines or junipers (conifers), or maples and elms (deciduous) must receive a cold treatment to go into dormancy. If they are kept in a location where they do not get this cold treatment once a year, they will certainly die.

Other plants, like ficus, gardenias, or serissa (tropicals) would die if they get too cold or are exposed to a frost. Therefore, they must be protected when the temperature goes to lower levels – approximately 50 to 60 degrees F. When the temperature does start falling in late summer or early fall, these trees should be put under grow lights inside or in a sunny window. When the outside temperature goes up in the spring, these plants should be put outside to enjoy the heat and sun.

Others, like pomegranate, need a 'touch' of cold to go into dormancy but can not withstand extended periods or extremely cold temperatures. Once again, the species requirements should be researched to find out how the plant should be handled and stored. It is best to determine these requirements before the plant is purchased to ensure that you can give the tree the type of temperature and light that it needs to survive.

No bonsai can survive for extended periods of time on the coffee table or atop a television inside a house. Many new bonsai artists are under the assumption that a bonsai can be grown inside year around. Conifers and deciduous trees certainly wouldn't last long growing indoors year around. Even tropicals, although they can be grown indoors using special conditions, thrive in the summer heat.

WHAT IS GOOD PLANT MATERIAL FOR BONSAI?

Almost any plant can be made into a bonsai. The main requirement is that the plant has small leaves (or it can be 'trained' to have small leaves). Some plants like burr oaks, wouldn't make good bonsai since they have exceedingly large leaves. Other plants, like hostas, although they have large leaves naturally, can be trained to have small leaves within a short time.

Although there are always favorites among bonsai artists, junipers and ficus are probably the most used plants for bonsai. They are easy to grow, maintain, and style. Some plants like pomegranates or crabapples are more difficult to maintain.

Consulting with a local member on what plant material to choose is highly recommended before a lot of time is spent working on a plant that will never be a good bonsai.