Unique Bonsai Trees

Bonsai & Haiku
by Dave Burke, Plymouth, Indiana

Here is an example of a haiku about bonsai. It expresses what I saw and felt one autumn afternoon and helps me remember the experience.

leaves yellow and red
float downward toward the earth
rest in my bonsai

A few years ago I ran across an article about bonsai and haiku in an back issue of the BONSAI Clubs International magazine (September/October 1992 - "Haiku and Bonsai: Complementary Arts" by George Knox). This article, with its discussion and examples, encouraged me to give haiku a try just as an article about bonsai in a 1989 issue of Scientific American encouraged me to give bonsai a try. (My thanks goes to those who stimulate enquiry.) Haiku is a Japanese poetry form traditionally adhering to strict rules requiring 17 syllables arranged in 3 lines having 5, 7,and 5 sounds respectively. Many haiku, however, do not quite follow these rules, form being less important than content and language, with the result that the syllable count might differ somewhat from 5, 7, 5. Content is focused on a single, simple idea, often relating to some aspect of nature that has moved the poet. Language is sparse, simple, and direct, free of metaphors and similes, with few adjectives, incomplete sentences, and no rhyme.

One evening, when Willie, our miniature Schnauzer, was exhibiting his strong inclination as a pack animal, I composed this non-bonsai example:

draped over my lap
paw resting on my wrist
Willie sleeps

One of the challenges of bonsai for many of us is working out design strategy. Faced with the irreversibility of pruning cuts, we struggle with indecision.

pruning my bonsai
which to keep, which to lop ...
(sigh) can't decide

Before wiring a branch, we often move it about a bit to find the best position.

positioning the branch
bending it here ... now there
Oops! ... accidental pruning

Last fall as I was looking through my plants, there was a little frog sitting beside my bald cypress bonsai in the humidity tray enjoying the same water that I provided to bottom-water the bald cypress. It was a delightful sight that I later regretted not photographing. However, I did write a haiku to remember the moment.

beside my bonsai
completing the composition
sits my accent frog

Bonsai and haiku have some distinct similarities, it seems to me.

pruning the tree / pruning the verse
removing unneeded twigs / removing unneeded words
creating bonsai / creating haiku

Some things in nature can't be improved by design techniques.

Japanese maples
five finger leaves, red or green
delicate beauty

My bonsai are put into covered pits in the ground for winter protection.

safe beneath the ground
my bonsai hide from winter
resting until spring

I am always very happy to see them again in the spring.

I greet my bonsai
after their long winter's rest
“Oh frabjous day!”*

My hope in this article is that you who read this find some enjoyment in doing so and that you are inspired to write some haiku yourself. Also, just as you exhibit only your best bonsai, you can share only those haiku you really like.

source: http://mababonsai.org

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Elegant Bonsai

FROM THE TOILET TO THE TOP – A life times journey
Having been involved with bonsai for nearly 20 years now I am beginning to think one lifetime is barely sufficient to produce a great bonsai. However before you throw all your trees up for sale please allow me to illustrate my point with the story of a tree that taught me a great deal.
The story concerns a privet (ligustrum ovalfolium), and began way before I was born…in fact way before my parents were born, in a small seaside holiday resort around the turn of the last century. The tree had made up part of a small hedge that screened a toilet block from view. My first contact with the tree was in spring 1994 just prior to bulldozers clearing the site for re-development. The tree was growing in dry sand and in this circumstance privets tend to grow very slowly. The tree was 85-100 years old at that time.

After crudely collecting I planted the tree in a wooden box and waited impatiently for it to grow. The old stump looked pretty uninspiring and had certainly taken a few knocks with the ugly stick. My initial plan (inspired by the books of Mr Kimura’s work) was to create a great deal of deadwood with just a small amount of foliage. However my imagination outpaced my practical skill and the tree remained untouched…..thankfully.

As is their way, my privet grew very strongly and after two years I re-potted the tree into a terracotta training pot following a very heavy root prune. I also applied a little wire to shape the new straight shoots. At that point I had chosen a front with the trunks sloping to the left. There were some ugly lumps on the other side which I did not know how to deal with so, I thought ‘out of sight, out of mind’.

By 1999 the tree had become a bush with copious growth and long shoots covering the whole tree. In spring 2000 it went into a mica training pot following a smart haircut. By that summer I was quite proud of my efforts. Careful pruning and a little wire conspired to make a reasonable looking bonsai. There were however still problems that needed attention and sensing that the tree was going to become a significant bonsai I decided to seek expert help.. my friends have been telling me I need expert help for years! Later that year I headed off to Kevin Willson’s place.

I sensed that Kevin was not exactly keen on the species but, being a professional, he knuckled down and got to work. Firstly I wired the entire tree. Kevin then turned my carefully crafted front to the back and began to carve the ugly parts of the tree that had caused me so much anguish in the past. By the end of the day it became evident that I would indeed end up with a significant bonsai in time.

Over the next few years my experience and skill improved and as a result my trees began to do the same. The privet grew like wild fire every year, branches thickened and callous tissue formed very nicely. Every year enabled me to prune several times and so the trees ramification built up rapidly. During this time the tree went through several ill-fated matches with various pots.

Fast forward to 2004 when I decided to present the tree in exhibition for the first time at John Hanby’s Newstead. Over the winter the tree was fine wired and pruned in preparation for the coming seasons growth. The pot was changed again for a much smaller Chinese unglazed grey rectangle and, come September the tree looked very well indeed. Much to my surprise and delight the tree was chosen for entry into the Ginkgo exhibition for the following year.

To the best of my knowledge this was the first privet of its kind exhibited at the Ginkgo exhibition. The tree behaved itself very well and was displayed at the show in a tokonoma, again much to my surprise! Over the weekend I began to wonder what course of action I should take in continuing the trees progress. This turned out to be a mute point because, following a little heart searching on my part the tree left to live in Italy where it became the ward of my good friend Mauro Stemberger. The following spring he displayed the privet at the famous U.B.I where it received an award of merit.

So going back to my original point, the story of this nice little tree spans almost 100 years. The resulting bonsai is the sum total of a great many influences both natural and human. It narrowly avoided destruction at the hand of developers. It then had to put up with my inept fumblings before finally showing it’s true beauty. Over the years I learned a great deal from this tree.

I believe it to be important when crafting bonsai that we be sympathetic. Taking careful note of the special character of our material and incorporating it’s unique features into our work. It is also important to consider the opinions of others and remain open minded about our plans and the direction we hope to take. Working quietly with patience and skill over time will bring great rewards. I now believe that bonsai are our masters and that we are just gardeners, slaves to our desire to create beautiful things.

source:
Graham Potter
www.kaizenbonsai.com

Understanding the Outdoor Bonsai Plant

Bonsai trees and plants are basically trees and plants that are pruned and trimmed to keep their size minimal. The trees and plants relish the practise because they get a lot of care and attention and have a lifespan similar, even greater in some cases, than their wild counterparts. Indoor Bonsai can be bought from virtually anywhere in the world and the increase in popularity has seen a large increase in the number of specialist shops dedicated to the growing and caring of Bonsai.

Outdoor Bonsai can be grown in a small area of your garden, and some of the most healthy Bonsai in the world are outdoor Bonsai. However, it is important that you should try to buy outdoor Bonsai from a shop close to home, thus ensuring that your specimen can cope with the conditions you are going to force it to endure. If you live in a baking hot state in America and are considering buying over the Internet, you shouldn't be buying a Bonsai from a cold climatic country, as there is a good chance it will not thrive in your area.

Do outdoor Bonsai need less care than indoor Bonsai?

Just because you are growing your Bonsai in a small area of your garden doesn't mean you should or indeed can forget about them and just expect them to maintain their miniature height or grow at all. A Bonsai that isn't trimmed and cut will cease to be a Bonsai and will simply become a tree, presuming there is room for the roots to grow; it's amazing exactly where your roots will dig to, they will often find a way through or around concrete, rocks and even other plants and trees so be very careful where you situate it.

If you are growing your outdoor Bonsai in a pot, which is the most common and sensible way to do it, then you should never bring it indoors. No matter how ill it looks it will undoubtedly not enjoy the sudden change in conditions and even the most healthy and hardy of Bonsai can only withstand a day, possibly two at the very most, indoors as a centre piece. It is very important to remember this, do not bring an outdoor Bonsai indoors for longer than one day every season. Bringing your Bonsai in during the winter and putting it next to the blazing hot heater is undoubtedly going to scorch the leaves and the roots, and your plant will probably die from dehydration. The reverse is also true, bringing a Bonsai in from the heat and leaving it next to the Air Conditioning unit is the equivalent of a shock frost in summer and will also kill your Bonsai.

source: http://www.id.articlesphere.com