by Dave Bogan

This short article, written by Dave Bogan appeared in the June 2007 newsletter of the Greater Evansville Bonsai Society and is used with permission. Dave often writes about the basics of bonsai and presents a lot of information in a short concise manner. If you could see Dave's bonsai, you would know he practices what he preaches (and writes about) - ED.

Probably the most often asked question is how to learn styling of Bonsai trees from scratch. There will never be a perfect answer or a simple way of teaching this subject. To put it in perspective, consider the art of painting. A teacher could never teach you to paint a picture in one or two lessons. Sure, they can tell you all the rules and basics, but you must develop your own style and eye for style. In Bonsai, we must be able to take a rough overgrown tree or shrub and change it into a potentially beautiful bonsai. I say potentially because our art is a living or continually changing art form. Actually, bonsai is easier and much more forgiving than painting a picture. But, it can also be more confusing. In bonsai styling, we must decide on the present view plus its future.

To initially style a tree we must take the following steps. The following are assuming you have started with a healthy tree and you know its characteristics and of course its short comings.

1. Trunk, Nabari & Root system. For its future styling, we must first look at the surface and below ground root system.

Start by cleaning out the root system. No need to cut yet, we simply need to know its strengths and weaknesses. In the perfect world, we want a root system which is full and the surface roots radiate equally from the base of the trunk. Of course, this is not a perfect world. Let's work with what we have. String roots on one side will show you where the strength of the tree is. We need to try to equalize the roots system. If you have a large root and no others, you might consider disregarding the tree or use other techniques to increase or change the roots. IF we find nice roots, they will never be perfect, so try to find the best side. The best side will be the one which after maybe removing a few large or small roots, they seem to be equal in size and location. Next, keeping the surface root areas in mind, look at the lower 1/3 of the trunk area. Typically one area will look best. One side may look fuller, stronger, or have better bark or taper. Now, keeping in mind the surface roots, make a decision on the best overall front. Yes, you may need to compromise between the two areas. If there's doubt, choose the area of trunk which looks best. There are techniques to change the roots.

Now, you should have a good idea of which side on the tree will become the front.

2. Keeping the above in mind, let's continue up the trunk into the branch areas. You need to determine a final height of the tree. This will be based on the trunk size. Keep all in proportion. With an idea of the final height, start following the trunk line up through the tree. Once of the most important or most desired factors is taper. As you move up the trunk, follow the taper. Change the trunk direction slightly by using upward growing branches. Keep in mind that eventually we will want the apex area to be centered over the trunk and also that it leans forward toward the trees' front. Once you reach the desired height, go back down the trunk, marking it with white chalk. Now look again at the path to make sure it is the best and has taper all they way to the apex. Once we have this, we again go back and look at the trunk base and the surface root area. If they all don't match, you may be forced to decide which attributes hold the most importance. You may have to sacrifice a good surface root area for the best over all front. Once you have this, you can now start choosing branches. Branches can be bent into desired locations. The trunk can rarely be changed. Another point while you're viewing the tree is to find areas that look bad or detract from the overall design. If it looks out of place, it will probably need to be removed.