Bonsai defined

The word “Bon-sai” (often misspelled as bonzai or banzai) is a Japanese term which, literally translated, means “planted in a container”. This art form is derived from an ancient Chinese horticultural practice, part of which was then redeveloped under the influence of Japanese Zen Buddhism.It has been around for well over a thousand years. The ultimate goal of growing a Bonsai is to create a miniaturized but realistic representation of nature in the form of a tree. Bonsai are not genetically dwarfed plants, in fact, any tree species can be used to grow one.

What is a Bonsai tree exactly?

Techniques such as pinching buds, pruning and wiring branches, and carefully restricting but not abandoning fertilizers are used to limit and redirect healthy growth. Most commonly kept under four feet (or about a meter) in height, Bonsai are not genetically dwarfed plants. However, plants with smaller leaves do make these compositions easier to design. In fact, any plant species that has a woody stem or trunk, grows true branches, can be successfully grown in a container to restrict its roots/food storage capability, and has smaller or reducible-leaves can be used to create a Bonsai.Look around at your trees, bushes, hedges, the copses in your yard or park, plants in the nursery or wild landscape - essentially any of those can be starter material. Carefully collected during the appropriate growing or dormant season with proper permission, your composition is begun. Most native plants can be grown outdoors; material from more tropical climates needs at least some protection from the elements in the temperate zones. In our Bonsai tree species guide you can find more information about specific care per species. Or use this guide to identify your Bonsai tree species in two steps.

Bonsai size classifications

The ultimate goal of Bonsai is to create a realistic depiction of nature. As a Bonsai gets smaller (even down to a few inches/centimeters) it increasingly becomes abstract, as opposed to resembling nature in a more precise way. Several classifications of Bonsai have been put forward, and although the exact size classifications are disputed, they help to gain understanding of the aesthetic and botanical aspects of Bonsai. The classifications are originally based on the number of men needed to lift the actual tree.The size classifications, increasing in size Keshitsubo: 1-3" (3-8cm) Shito: 2-4" (5-10cm) Mame: 2-6" (5-15cm) Shohin: 5-8" (13-20cm) Komono: 6-10" (15-25cm) Katade-mochi: 10-18" (25-46cm) Chumono / Chiu: 16-36" (41-91cm) Omono / Dai: 30-48" (76-122cm) Hachi-uye: 40-60" (102-152cm) Imperial: 60-80" (152-203cm) Read more about the smallest trees in the Shohin and Mame Bonsai article.Bonsai for sale in a market, Japan.

Bonsai definition

The Chinese characters for their older dwarf potted tree landscapes were adopted to name the Japanese art-form. Bonsai in Japanese is written as: 盆栽. In short, the definition of Bonsai can be explained as:“Bon” [left character] is a dish or thin bowl (“a modified vessel which has been divided or cut down from a deeper form”).“Sai” [right character] is a tree or other growing plant which is planted - “planted,” as would be a halberd or spear or pike stuck into the ground.“Bonsai” thus means or denotes “a tree which is planted in a shallow container".

Bonsai meaning

We now know the literal translation of Bonsai is "tree in pot", but what is the meaning of a Bonsai tree? A Bonsai tree is a replication of nature, in the form of a miniature tree, without displaying the human intervention too clearly.The connotations or added/...

Horticultural practice, or art form?

Bonsai-in-training (also known as “potensai,” potential Bonsai) should point to a future, more mature creation which the artist, at least, has somewhat in mind. And because these are made with living, growing things, those future piece are never complete or...

Containers for Bonsai

The containers for these trees can be an interest in themselves. Traditionally made in China and then Japan, these shallow containers of mostly fired earthenware are increasingly crafted by both professional and amateur artisans around the world. The matching up of a pot to a designed tree can be a wonderful challenge, for the pot must support the tree as well as be an attractive but non-intrusive frame to the Bonsai's picture. Earth tones and not-so-garish decorations distinguish traditional Japanese pots from the Chinese models. And containers for cascading trees are the one exception to the shallow pot rule: these tall, narrow containers must provide adequate space for roots and a balanced center of gravity for trees designed to appear to be hanging down from the side of a mountain or cliff. More info about Bonsai pot selection here.Prince Zhang Huai tomb mural (AD 706), with miniature trees. Source: Ritsumeikan University

Closely related arts

While “Bonsai“ specifically refers to dwarf potted trees based on the Japanese model, it is also used as a generic term for related art-forms in other countries, which include but are not limited to the following: Penjing are the older and original fo...