ORIENT: Bonsai

Bonsai: Nature's Living Work Of Art
by Ted Flagg

Bonsai, the Japanese art of training and growing trees in small pots, has its roots in antiquity. It is historical fact that the ancient cultures of Egypt, the Mideast and the Mediterranean relied on the practice of confining plants to containers.
From a practical point of view, doctors and cooks had the convenience of fresh ingredients when needed---even while travelling. From a more aesthetic outlook, a fruiting tree indoors brought a lilt to the spirit and a jog to the senses. Halfway around the world the literati, or "learned ones," of China depicted the sublime moments of nature in their landscape paintings and then miniaturized them for indoor contemplation through the use of rock and plant groupings. We know this practice today as penjing, and it is the forerunner of the art of Bonsai.
It is believed that sometime in the eighth century A.D., when cultural exchange between China and Japan was at a high point, this craft made its way into Japan where it was embraced by noblemen and commoners alike. For the Japanese it allowed a retreat from the rigors of their meticulous social code and an outlet for their awe of nature and its extremes. Penjing was a tangible diorama of nature's austerity with its lineage deeply influenced by the great landscape paintings of the time. Bonsai, however, like so many other Chinese arts absorbed by Japan, became formalized and refined---the crystalline heart of the original. The oldest record of the art, a pictorial scroll dated 1310 A.D., attests to this fact. Perhaps an outgrowth of the precisely manicured gardens of the two countries, the scroll depicts not shrubs in pots, but formal, trimmed and trained specimens, exquisite in form and composition. Six centuries later this pastime reached Europe and consequently North America, for it has only been since the turn of the century that westerners have pursued the techniques of creating these miniature wonders of nature.
Whereas Japan has had centuries to create and refine many old trees, we in the west must start from the ground up, as it were. There are several options for obtaining bonsai stock, and the fancier must weigh the pros and cons of each. The most obvious, of course, is to buy a bonsai, imported or otherwise. Dependant only on the size of ones pocketbook, there is immediate gratification, an idiosyncrasy peculiar to the west, and an item of beauty for friends and family to enjoy.
Another method, ultimately favored by purists, is to grow a bonsai from seed. This allows the artist to prune and shape the tree into an exact, pre-determined style as it grows, and in twenty to thirty years to be in possession of a masterpiece. But for those enthusiasts who have joined the game in the autumn of their lives, the wager with time may be a bit too one-sided.
A more reasonable approach, and one favored by serious Japanese bonsaimen, is collecting from the wild. As opposed to an artificially dwarfed tree created over years of specialized root and shoot pruning, naturally dwarfed specimens occur in nature due to the ravages of terrain and environment. These make excellent bonsai in a short period of time, but the rigors of locating and transplanting them can be a logistical and physical nightmare.
The method with perhaps the most options is to purchase a plant from a local nursery. These are available in various sized containers and are hardy and well-tested cultivars especially grown for their consistency and trueness of form. By using accepted shaping methods developed by experts over the years, these trees can result in very attractive bonsai in one or two growing seasons, and will soon justify the pride of their owners.

As in other pursuits, certain initial qualities can lead to more successful results. When undertaking the creation of a bonsai, where there are constant negotiations between a human, a plant and the clock, many stumbling blocks can be eliminated by selecting a tree which possesses special qualities early in its career. Experience is always the best guide, but even a novice can learn to recognize certain characteristics. Of primary importance is good root spread and balance. Roots can go farther to give the illusion of a mature tree than anything else, and are the only flaw that cannot be easily corrected save by air-layering to create an entire new set. Small leaves with short distances between them will result in the illusion of size, also. In the future bonsai, two or three leaves may have to represent an entire branchful. The trunk of the tree must have an interesting shape, and should taper gracefully from soil to apex. The bark should have good texture, although many trees do not develop their rugged look until they pass a certain age. Finally there must be an adequate number of branches that spiral up the trunk. Many of the existing branches will be pruned away, but it is difficult for the hobbyist to grow a new one precisely where he wants it.
All of these qualities dictate the final design of the bonsai which will fall into one of the basic styles, which are neither too tight nor too loose in concept. The art of bonsai is a personal impression of nature, and the artist must strive to make it unique. The creator of a bonsai begins by viewing the tree from all sides at eye level so as to determine its very best silhouette. All future pruning, potting and composition is made with this profile in mind, because every bonsai has a "front." A decision is made on the final size, for unknown to most, bonsai can range from several inches to well over five feet tall. Will it grow over or even clasping a rock? Will it stand singularly or amid a cluster of its kind representing a forest setting? The answers to questions like these are determined by the artist and the characteristics of the tree before a final style can be chosen.
Here in the west we take a more "freestyle" approach to bonsai because we do not always have the same plant material venerated by Japanese masters. Our landscapes have been shaped by a different set of environmental forces, and so we represent nature according to our own conditions. Nevertheless, the final shape of all trees will fall into one of the following styles:
The formal upright style mimics a tree that has grown to perfection in the middle of a field with equal access to the forces that shape it---sun, wind, rain and nutrients. It stands straight and proud with its apex directly over its base. The informal upright is a tree that has responded to the whims of nature. It has altered its direction due to floods, droughts and winds, yet continues its upward reach when conditions allow. The slanting style represents a tree that has been forced by strong prevailing winds to angle its way toward the sun. Sometimes its branches occur only on the lee side of the trunk due to the unrelenting pressure of the wind. The semi-cascade style begins to approximate the old Chinese landscape paintings. It is a tree that has grown on the side of a cliff or under an overhang, where the growth pattern is forced downward in search of light and moisture. The full cascade style is a more extreme form, and most of the trees greenery is well below the surface of the main trunk. It hangs on precariously---it is a survivor. The final style, and certainly the most unique, is the literati. Named after the scholars of ancient China it ascends in meteoric fashion only to reverse direction and assume the oddest and yet most graceful of curves. It is an old philosopher leaning to examine an all too familiar prospect from yet another viewpoint. It is a grandfather bending his head to better hear a child's observations. To many, the literati style is the very soul of Bonsai.
After styling the plant is afforded meticulous and loving care. It will have its new growth selectively pruned and pinched back to develop thick, luxuriant flourishes of greenery. Some branches will have discreet lengths of wire wrapped around them to coax them towards their final design. Its larger roots will be selectively shortened to encourage the growth of small feeder roots, so necessary for small container life. It will be matched with an appropriate container---just the right shape and size, just the right depth for its nutritional needs---and planted in such a way that the balance and harmony of nature are mirrored in miniature. What remains is the pure enjoyment and tranquility of contributing to a living work of art, for the ultimate joy to the hobbyist rests in the creation rather than the possession.

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