Bonsai Plants & Trees

Bonsai General Information and Helpful Links

Bonsai is the art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees by growing them in containers. While mostly associated with the Japanese form, "bonsai" originated in China and was originally developed from Chinese penjing. In Western culture, the word "bonsai" is used as an umbrella term for both Japanese bonsai, Chinese penjing and Korean bunjae.

View our article on Bonsai care tips.

Bonsai Types of Trees - Video Clip

Bonsai Common Styles

There are many different styles of bonsai, but some are more common than others. These include formal upright, slant, informal upright, cascade, semi-cascade, raft, literati, and group / forest.

• Slant style bonsai are similar to the straight trunks of formal upright trees, but the trunk emerges from the soil at an angle, and the apex of the bonsai will extend to the left or right of the root base.

• Cascade style bonsai are modeled after trees that grow over water or on the sides of mountains. The apex, or tip, of Semi-cascade style bonsai extend just beneath the lip of the bonsai pot, whereas the apex of a (full) cascade style will fall below the base of the pot.

• Raft style bonsai mimic a natural phenomenon that occurs when a tree that has been toppled (typically due to erosion or another natural force) and branches along the exposed side of the trunk form a group of new trunks. Sometimes, roots will develop from buried portions of the trunk. Raft style bonsai can incorporate other treatments, such as sinuous, straight-line, slanting styles. These all give the illusion of a group of trees, but are actually the branches of a tree planted on its side.

• The literati style is characterized by an emphasis on the bare trunk line, with branches reduced to a minimum, typically placed higher up on a long, contorted trunk. Their style is inspired by the Chinese brush paintings, like those found in the ancient text,The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, depicting pine trees that grew in harsh climates, struggling to reach sunlight. In Japan, the literati style is known as bunjin-gi. (Bunjin is a translation of the Chinese word wenren meaning "scholars practiced in the arts" and gi is a derivative of the Japanese word, ki, for "tree").

• A group or forest style comprises a number of trees (typically an odd number if there are three or more trees) planted together in a pot. The trees are usually the same species, but a variety of heights are employed to add visual interest and to reflect the age differences encountered in mature forests.

• The Root over rock style where the roots of a fig tree (mostly) are wrapped around a rock. The rock is at the base of the trunk, with the roots exposed to a certain extent.

• The Broom style is suited for trees with extensive, fine branching. The trunk is straight and upright. It branches out in all directions about 1/3 of the way up the entire height of the tree. In this manner the branches and leaves form a ball-shaped crown which can also be very beautiful during the winter months.

• The Multi Trunk style  - All the trunks grow out of one root system, and it truly is one single tree. All the trunks form one crown of leaves, in which the thickest and most developed trunk forms the top.

• The Growing in a Rock - In this style the roots of the tree are growing in the cracks and holes of the rock. This means that there is just not much room for the roots to develop and take up nutrients. Trees which grow in rocks will never look really healthy, thus it should be visible that the tree has to struggle to survive.

Purchase Bonsai Plants, Trees and Accessories

Tropical Treasure House features over 300 bonsai trees and related products for online purchase at competitive pricing.  We are a member of BonsaiSite.com, where you will find helpful information about bonsai plant profiles, care and maintenance.



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