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Bonsai is an ancient gardening art form going back centuries in China when dwarf plants were taken from their natural environment for urban and interior use. The word bonsai refers to a plant "in a tray". Gardeners from ancient days held hight esteem for the elegance of these plants' structures, their natural design. In raising bonsai, the restriction of a plant's roots yields growth of the trunk but dwarfing of the overall branch growth to yield a miniaturized depiction of the plant as it was in native surroundings. Bonsai Boy of New York is the best outlet you'll find for these elegant varieties. The miniature masterpieces that we call bonsai and penjing are the pinnacle of gardening skill. Japanese bonsai, and its precursor, Chinese penjing, are rooted in the traditions of Asian culture. All elements of bonsai - including placement of branches, styling, and the pot itself - convey deep symbolism and reverence for nature. According to the USDA Agriculutural Research Service, "Masters of Japanese bonsai and Chinese penjing techniques are gardening artists. The tiny trees they meticulously shape - ranging in age from newborn to centenarian - create a sense of full-grown trees in their natural surroundings while taking up only the space of a coffee table. Perfecting such miniature masterpieces is truly the pinnacle of gardening skill. "A well-trained bonsai or penjing specimen should give the impression of being a tree, not a shrub. Trees have well-defined foliage layers with open areas between them, while shrubs are masses of foliage that need pruning to define and improve their branch structure. Though many people believe such trees are simply dwarfed versions of natural trees, the truth of the art form lies in the creation of the image. Masters manipulate potentially full-sized trees and mold them into beautiful pieces of art that, with proper care, can last for generations—sometimes centuries. But take a bonsai or penjing tree out of its pot and plant it in the ground, and it'll reach its full, normal height. "Penjing is the Chinese word referring to the tree-shaping art of creating miniature container-grown trees or landscape groupings. Masters coax the roots of penjing specimens over large rocks placed at the base of young trees or shrubs in training. The roots of penjing plants often rise in sculptural shapes above the stones. A penjing worth noting is the Trident maple (see above), an example of this "root-over-rock" style. It has been trained, or molded, into the shape of a dragon, with one of its larger branches looking like a head and another, a tail. "Creating a bonsai from seed can be tricky. So one popular way is to start by choosing a nursery tree, shrub, or even a vine, then potting and beginning to style your bonsai—a step called "pre-bonsai" or "bonsai in training." This process of training a plant in a pot takes several years. With proper care and the appropriate techniques, one day it may earn the title of "masterpiece." While training a plant, you may need to replace the original pot as the tree gets bigger, and special attention needs to be given to drainage and soil mixes so that the tree remains healthy. "Once fully formed, a bonsai will have a thick trunk, a shape like the normal-sized tree, branches of the right size and in the right place, leaves that are as small as they can get, and a pot perfectly matched to the style and color of the tree. This maintenance process requires years of trimming and restyling, but it's very satisfying to the owners and gives a deep sense of artistic pleasure." |
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