by George Buehler

When I started this article, I was looking for 'filler' for a blank column and I found an article on sizes of bonsai that I thought would fill the space and hopefully be useful for the membership. As is my normal practice, I decided to check the accuracy of the information presented. What I found was that when it comes to size classification, there is a large difference between authors as to the height requirement for a particular category. What is presented below is my categorization of bonsai sizes based on information found from a number of sources. There is some overlapping of height size due to averaging of information. - Ed.

BONSAI SIZES
Bonsai are classified not only by style but also by size. Unfortunately, size classifications are not absolute and they are variable. One 'expert' may classify a particular tree into one category, while another would put it into another. To further complicate the nomenclature, size names are often listed by different names or are considered subcategories of each other. Older references did not have all the categories listed below. For instance, Mame was originally any tree less than about 12 inches tall. Even today some authors, when referring to one size, use the older nomenclature or they list a size using their own classification system.

SHITO
Shito is the smallest size of bonsai. It typically measures 1 to 2.25 inches. These trees are in thimble sized pots. Due to their small size, they often have very little branch development and ramification. They are sometimes called fingertip bonsai.

MAME
This name is often interchanged with the next category - shohin. This size measures 5 to 8 inches. This class has more branch and ramification than the Shito class but not as much as the shohin.

SHOHIN
Under the generally accepted size classification, this size category is 6 inches to less than 10 inches. However, some shohin are as much as 11 inches. Pictures of trees in this class are easily mistaken for their larger counterparts when no measurements are given. This class is sometimes referred to as one handed bonsai.

The next three categories are grouped together as one group by some authors. Some authors group only the next two categories together, while others group the next four categories together. I decided to list the individual categories. However, it probably would be better to list the following three as one group and simply call it normal bonsai.

SMALL
This group is those trees that don't quite fit the shohin category but are on the small side of regular bonsai. They fit into the 10-14 inch size range.

MEDIUM
This group has trees that are the most common in most collections. They measure 12-18 inch. They are sometimes called one-handed bonsai. The Japanese classify these as Katade-mochi.

MEDIUM - LARGE
This group measures 15-24 inches. Due to the overlap in size with the medium, they also fit into the Japanese category of Katade-mochi.

LARGE
This group measures 24-35 inches. They are in the two-handed group and fit into the Chiu or Chumono Japanese category.

VERY LARGE
This category has trees 30-47 inches. They are the four handed type - they need two people to move them. The Japanese category would be Dai or Omono.

IMPERIAL
This is the largest class that I could find that is considered a bonsai. Trees are greater than 48 inches and require three or more people to move them. Typically only the Japanese would have trees this size.