Summary:
Step by step introduction to bonsai. This article covers everything from selection to wiring, potting and refining. It´s basic and a good starter article for a hot subject.

Details or Sample:
Bonsai is probably one of the most exciting forms of ornamental gardening in the United States today, since it combines both art and horticulture. The art of miniaturizing trees was developed in Japan, but it has become popular throughout the Americas since the 1940s, and the term "bonsai" has become a fairly common word in our language. Still, its technical meaning is not understood by many Americans.

In essence, bonsai reflects nature in miniature. It is enjoyed by its owner much like a piece of sculpture. It might be a twisted old pine, a grove of white birches, a windswept juniper at the seashore or even a distant landscape of spruce.

Many books and articles on bonsai have appeared since the late 1950’s. Some of the literature, although excellent, is difficult to understand because it was written by Japanese bonsai growers or their students who made little attempt to translate the information and techniques into American terms and conditions.

Several factors may overwhelm a neophyte starting in bonsai, beginning with the name itself. The Japanese "bonsai" is derived from two Chinese symbols, bon meaning a tray or pot, and sai meaning to plant. It is a three-dimensional art form unique in sculpture because it uses living plants, woody or semiwoody. Each tree, like a sculpture, is trained in a meaningful form.
Each is grown in a specially chosen container.

A facet of the art that frightens beginners is the appearance of a finished bonsai. It seems very old, as if it must have taken years to bring to such a point. This is not true and should not make a beginner shy away. Yes, bonsai must be artistically pleasing, and should appear to be old, but there are quickly mastered ways of achieving this result.

Inspiration for bonsai comes from nature. Look at mature trees for their basic shapes; observe the outline of trees on a distant hill or the distinct shape of a gnarled apple in a pasture. Notice the three dimensional forms of trees-some rounded, some pyramidal, some tall, others short and thick. These are characteristics you will want to reproduce.

Only five requirements are basic for beginners in bonsai. If you understand them, you can get satisfactory results with your first tree:
First, select proper material. Second, prune for style and design.
Third, wire for shape. Fourth, select a complementary container.
Fifth, constantly refine the tree.

1. Selecting.

Selecting the proper plant is the most important factor. Leaves, twigs, branches, trunk and surface roots should be in scale so the bonsai will look like a mature tree in miniature. Select stock with naturally small leaves or needles. Select material with solid trunks and large leading branches. The trunk line and heavy limbs should have interesting shapes that can be used in the final design. Height is not as important as other factors, since that can readily be decreased by pruning if desired, or increased by turning the tip up with wire. The trunk ´should taper from base to top, thick at the bottom, and leading from heavy branches to small twigs at the apex.

2. Pruning.

The first pruning for basic shape frightens many beginners, accustomed to outdoor pruning done to induce dense foliage. In bonsai, however, you want the trunk line and the first three bottom

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