Bonsai - History

Bonsai (盆栽, "tray gardening", in Japanese) is the art of growing trees and plants, kept small by being grown in a pot and by the use of skilled pruning, formed to create an aesthetic shape and the illusion of age, although many bonsai trees are quite old and simply show their age in miniature form. The Chinese art of penjing is very similar to and is the precursor of the Japanese art of bonsai. Bonsai is pronounced "Bone zai" - each syllable with equal emphasis. Bonsai - History. Sketches of trees grown ...

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• Bonsai - History
• Bonsai - Cultivation
• Bonsai - Artistry
• Bonsai - Common styles
• Bonsai - Techniques
• Bonsai - Bonsai care
• Bonsai - Bonsai Tourism

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Sketches of trees grown in pots, apparently used for decorative purposes, occur in Egyptian tombs, dated over 4,000 years old. Subsequently, caravans were known to transport trees in containers of various kinds throughout Asia. The trees were sources of chemicals used medicinally by healers in the caravans and places visited along the way. The modern-day art of bonsai originates from China over two thousand years ago, where it has been called penzai and written in the same Hanzi that gave rise to the Kanji above. It was brought ...

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Bonsai, Bonsai - History, Bonsai - Cultivation, Bonsai - Artistry, Bonsai - Common styles, Bonsai - Techniques, Bonsai - Bonsai care, Bonsai - Bonsai Tourism

Read more here: » Bonsai: Encyclopedia II - Bonsai - History

Because of their relative lack of protection from the elements, bonsai care can be quite difficult. The shallowness of bonsai containers affords roots little protection and certainly little water and nutrient reserve. Consequently, proper watering of bonsai is practically an art in itself. Some species can handle and even prefer short dry periods, while others require near-constant moisture. Heavy watering does however make the trees more susceptible to fungal infections and "root rot". Sun, heat and wind exposure can quickly dry a bonsai tr ...

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Bonsai, Bonsai - History, Bonsai - Cultivation, Bonsai - Artistry, Bonsai - Common styles, Bonsai - Techniques, Bonsai - Bonsai care, Bonsai - Bonsai Tourism

Read more here: » Bonsai: Encyclopedia II - Bonsai - Bonsai care

Bonsai collections are open for public viewing in many cities around the world. The National Arboretum in Washington, DC has an impressive collection of trees, some of them gifts from the Nation of Japan. The Montreal Botanical Garden has an amazing indoor bonsai facility that can be viewed year round. The Arboretum in Des Moines, Iowa has a modest bonsai collection, as does the Como Park greenhouse in St. Paul, MN. Visitors to Tokyo are encouraged to take a short train ride to the northwest to the city of Omiya, where an artisanal vi ...

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Bonsai, Bonsai - History, Bonsai - Cultivation, Bonsai - Artistry, Bonsai - Common styles, Bonsai - Techniques, Bonsai - Bonsai care, Bonsai - Bonsai Tourism

Read more here: » Bonsai: Encyclopedia II - Bonsai - Bonsai Tourism

Shaping and dwarfing are accomplished through a few basic but exacting techniques. The small size of the tree and the dwarfing of foliage are maintained through a consistent regimen of pruning of both the leaves and the roots. Various methods must be employed, as each species of tree exhibits different budding behavior. Additionally, some pruning must be done seasonally, as most trees require a dormancy period and do not grow roots or leaves at that time; improper ...

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Bonsai, Bonsai - History, Bonsai - Cultivation, Bonsai - Artistry, Bonsai - Common styles, Bonsai - Techniques, Bonsai - Bonsai care, Bonsai - Bonsai Tourism

Read more here: » Bonsai: Encyclopedia II - Bonsai - Techniques

In the art of bonsai a sense of aesthetics, care, and patience come together. The plant, the shaping and surface of the soil and the selected container come together to express "heaven and earth in one container" as a Japanese cliché has it. Three forces come together in a good bonsai: shin-zen-bi or truth, essence and beauty. Traditional subjects for bonsai are pine, maple, flowering apricot, japanese wisteria, juniper, flowering cherry, and larch. The plants are grown outdoors and brought in to the tokonoma at special occasions when ...

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Bonsai, Bonsai - History, Bonsai - Cultivation, Bonsai - Artistry, Bonsai - Common styles, Bonsai - Techniques, Bonsai - Bonsai care, Bonsai - Bonsai Tourism

Read more here: » Bonsai: Encyclopedia II - Bonsai - Artistry

There are many different styles of bonsai, but some are more common than others are. These include formal upright, informal upright, cascade, semi-cascade, raft and literati. The formal upright is just as the name suggests, and is characterized by a tapering trunk and balanced branches. The informal upright is much like the formal, but may bend and curve slightly, although for aesthetic quality the tree should never lean away from the viewer. Cascade and semi-cascade are modeled after trees that grow over water or on the sides of mountains. Semi-cascades do not le ...

See also:

Bonsai, Bonsai - History, Bonsai - Cultivation, Bonsai - Artistry, Bonsai - Common styles, Bonsai - Techniques, Bonsai - Bonsai care, Bonsai - Bonsai Tourism

Read more here: » Bonsai: Encyclopedia II - Bonsai - Common styles