How Bonsai Works

This describes the complex relationship between the bonsai tree and its container because the right container contributes to the visual harmony the bonsai artist is trying to create.

How bonsai works. It s about training the living tree. It is the vision of the bonsai artist applied to a tree shrub or plant. The pot and tree work together to create the bonsai design and although a bonsai tree may be planted in many pots during its life each pot helps create balance and harmony in the overall design. Bonsai is not a race nor is it a destination.

In japanese bonsai literally means a plant in a tray source. Bons ai is the ancient art of discovering and honoring nature by rendering it in miniature. Move the tree into a sunnier location gradually. This is the way that the bonsai artist works in harmony with nature to create a unique and satisfying plant but to be successful he must have a plan.

Unlike model trains or dollhouses bonsai is a living landscape. The goal of bonsai is to create a pleasing specimen that reflects nature as much as possible. In styling bonsai scale is important as are perspective and symmetry. After choosing a specimen potting the young tree is the first step in transforming it into bonsai.

Your best bet to find a good bonsai tree is to visit a respectable nursery. Pruning is crucial in keeping trees miniaturized as well as to shape them. In spring there are many. It is a never ending journey.

This can be an idealized view of nature or a vision of a more matured weathered tree that has survived for many years. There are many good candidates for bonsai at any tree or plant nursery but it may take years if not decades to achieve the desired results. Pruning and shaping isn t just about getting rid of the bits you don t want and wiring branches in place. The goal is to create a bonsai that resembles nature as close as possible.

This process can take many years and in the case of some deciduous trees requires the removal of all of the foliage from time to time. Start with a couple of hours of morning sunlight about a week after potting and work up from there. In bonsai design a tree s branches provide symmetry to the whole and are manipulated through wiring and pruning to realize that original vision both in scale and proportion. Let s begin with the single most important technique to bonsai.

Hoang dinh nam afp getty images. Tray planting pronounced boɰ sai listen is an east asian art form which utilizes cultivation techniques to produce in containers small trees that mimic the shape and scale of full size trees. Creating the right conditions.