Bonsai Dreams » Bonsai Styles

3 Steps to Shaping Bonsai Trees

Bonsai Dreams — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:41:43 +0000

There are 3 steps to shaping a bonsai tree. How to make a bonsai tree is easy. Before shaping a bonsai tree, decide what the best attitude is for the tree. Match the potential of a tree to the style that fits it best.

Nursery plants are often overgrown and need much pruning. You can control bonsai growth and form by pruning and removing excess foilage and ugly limbs. Remove all crossed brances until the tree takes on the form you selected.

1) Bonsai Tree Pruning

Bonsai nursery plants are often overgrown and need much pruning. You need to make all cuts above a bud, a side branch or main fork of the tree.

Leave stubs flush with the stem.

Avoid cutting back too far – you may weaken the main branches.

2) bonsai Tree Trimming

Shaping is done by trimming (nipping). This helps shape and develops the trunk and control the size of the bonsai plant. Trimming a bonsai tree will develop more luxuriant foliage.

3) Bonsai Tree Wiring

Wiring and bending of bonsai branches gives the bonsai its shape. Wiring is done after pruning – when the bonsai tree has been thinned to essential branches. Do not water the plant the day before you plan to wire it.

You can learn how to make a bonsai tree by practicing these bonsai shaping techniques.

1) Bonsai Tree Pruning

2) Bonsai Tree Trimming

3) Bonsai Tree Wiring

Use the ‘rule of thirds” – this assures you of getting the proper division of space. The total space is divided into thirds both horizontally and vertically.

Use the ‘rule of thirds” – this assures you of getting the proper division of space.

Please go to Essential Bonsai for great bonsai books, bonsai trees and bonsai tree accessories.

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5 Bonsai Tree Styles

Bonsai Dreams — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:17:57 +0000

Basic Styles

There are five basic styles for bonsai trees: formal upright, informal upright, slanting, cascade, and semi-cascade. These classifications are based on the overall shape of the tree and how much the trunk slants away from an imaginary vertical axis. The numerous Japanese bonsai styles are principally variations of these five basic styles. The single trunk style is the basic design that is simplest to shape because the one trunk determines the overall composition.

Formal Upright

The formal upright style has classic proportions and is the basis of all bonsai. It is the easiest for a beginner bonsai to develop because it requires the least experimentation, avoids the problem of selective bonsai tree pruning, bonsai trimming and should almost immediately become a displayable bonsai plant.

In this style, the form is sometimes rounded and the bonsai tree has an erect leader and horizontal branches. One of the branches is lower and extends a little farther from the trunk than the others .

Bonsai in the formal upright style look best in bonsai pottery that are oval or rectangular. Do not center the plant when placing it in the container. Plant it about a third of the distance from one end.

Informal Upright

The informal upright bonsai style has much the same branch arrangement as the formal upright style, but the top — instead of being erect as in the formal upright style — bends slightly to the front. This bend makes the bonsai tree’s branches appear to be in motion and enhances the look of informality

The informal upright style looks best in an bonsai pottery that is oval or rectangular. It should be planted, not in the center of the container, but a third of the distance form one end.

Many bonsai nurseries trees are naturally slanted. This makes them well suited to the informal upright style.

Slanting

In the slanting bonsai tree style, the trunk has a more acute angle than in the previous styles. The lowest branch should spread in the direction opposite to that in which the tree slants. The top of the tree is bent slightly toward the front. Slanting trees in nature are called “leaners” — trees that have been forced by the wind and gravity into non-vertical growth. The attitude of the slanting style falls between the upright and cascade styles.

Cascade

In the cascade bonsai tree style, the trunk starts by growing upward from the soil, then turns downward abruptly, and reaches a point below the bottom edge of the container. For this reason, the bonsai pottery container should be placed on the edge of the table, or on a small stand. This bonsai style is representative of a natural tree that is growing down the face of an embankment.

Training a tree in the cascade style takes longer than in the slanting style. Choose a low-growing bonsai species instead of forcing a tree that normally grows upright into an unnatural form. The cascade bonsai tree looks best in a round or hexagonal bonsai pottery container that is higher than it is wide. The tree should be planted off-center from the cascading side.

Semi-Cascade

The semi-cascade bonsai style has a trunk that is allowed to grow straight for a certain distance, and then is cascaded down at a less abrupt angle than in the cascade style. The cascading branches are thought of as the front of the tree, and the back branches are trained closer to the trunk than in the other bonsai styles. The semi-cascade bonsai should not reach below the bottom of the container, but should go below the level of the soil surface.

No matter what style you choose — whether single trunk specimens or groups of bonsai trees from single roots — everything depends on your selection of bonsai plant material, and your ability to visualize the bonsai’s final form.

Everything depends on your selection of bonsai plant material, and your ability to visualize the bonsai’s final form. You can see bonsai trees and accessories at Essential Bonsai

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12 Bonsai Basic Styles

Bonsai Dreams — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:48:26 +0000

Image via Wikipedia Zelkova serrata, favored for Broom style.

Bonsai, as a Japanese art form, is more regulated than itís Chinese counterpart, the penjing. bonsai attempts to achieve the ideal tree, while penjing attempts to reproduce nature. This is why perfect styling exists in bonsai if you obey the ërulesí, while penjing leave you free to your creation. As a result these are the basic styles :

Broom (Hokidachi or Hoki-zukuri)

A very harmonious style, this form has branches that develop at a certain height, forming an upside broom. This styling is mainly achieved through a technique called the ìVî cut. The trunk is chopped where you want the branch to start to develop and then a deep V cut is performed on the remaining trunk. This will induce buds to break near the cut. Zelkova serrata are notorious for this styling but maple and other deciduous species can easily be styled that way.

Formal Upright (Chokkan)

A tree styled the ìchokkanî way has a straight trunk tapering graciously from bottom to top. The first and biggest branch is often situated at 1/3 of the desired height of the tree and is on the right or the left. The following branch is situated on the opposite side, while the third is in the back creating the perception depth. As we look at the branch structure from bottom to top, the branches are getting thinner, creating a pyramidal shape.

Informal Upright (Moyogi)

This style is very similar to the previously mentionned style as the same rules of design apply, however, the trunk is not straight but rather forms a sinuous shape while remaining tapered. This style is commonly used with conifers.

Slanting (Shakan)

Once again, this style is the same as the formal upright except that the trunk is leaning on one side. Branches are grown uniformly on the trunk like the formal/informal upright styles but the apex is tilted to the opposite side of the trunk giving a visual balanced effect.

Cascade (Kengai)

This styling requires an inclined trunk that is preferably at a 45 degree angle. The major portion of the foliage is below the pot line and sometimes goes beyond the pot itself. It often represents a tree growing on the side of cliff. A deep pot is used for this style.

Semi-cascade (Han-Kengai)

Similar to the Kengai style, this style also has an inclinated trunk. However, the foliage remains at the height of the pot line. In nature, we can see this style near a waterway, the foliage having grown on the side and leaning towards the water. While the cascade style uses a deeper pot, this style uses a medium depth pot.

Windswept (Fukinagashi)

A ìwindsweptî tree represents a tree that has been growing in a certain shape due to natural elements . Often caused by strong wind, the trunk is always inclinated in a certain direction and all branches have grown on the same side.

Literati (Bunjin)

This styling is often represented in Japanese paintings. It is a tree with a tall and sinuous trunk. The foliage only grows near the summit of the tree. This styling is somewhat an exception to the rigorous rules of bonsai because it does not have specific rules. It represents what the bunjin movement is in Japan: the search for liberty.

Group/Forest (Yose-ue)

This styling often represents a forest or a small cluster of trees. It is supposed to be styled in a way that will clearly represent the growing habits of trees in a group. Many techinques can be used to achieve this styling and many perception techniques are used to create the illusion of a forest, or as Naka would say, ìhaving the quality of the invisible beauty of natureî. To respect the Japanese art form, an odd number of trees is prefered for this styling.

Raft (Ikadabuki)

The same rules of the group planting apply to this style. However, all of the trunks emerge from one common trunk. This technique is often achieved with a branch placed verticaly in the soil. The roots form this branch and the upper part of the vertical branch develop secondary branches that will eventually become the trunks.

Multi-trunk Style (Sokan – Sankan)

This multi-trunk style has different possibilities. The first, which is called ìSokanî, consists of two trunks emerging from the same visible roots (nebari). The styling of the upper part of the tree must respect the same rules as the formal / informal upright styles previously described. Another variance consists of the same but with three trunks emerging from the visible roots. This is called ìSankanî. You can also have more than three trunks but to respect Japanese bonsai, it is prefered to have an odd number of trunks.

Roots Over Rock (Ishitsuki)

This styling has the specific charactreristics of having many visible roots growing over a rock and finding their way to the pot/soil.

Patrick from

http://www.mishobonsai.com

Bonsai, as a Japanese art form, is more regulated than itís Chinese counterpart, the penjing. Bonsai attempts to achieve the ideal tree, while penjing attempts to reproduce nature.

This is why perfect styling exists in bonsai if you obey the rules, while penjing leaves you free to your creation.

As a result these are the basic styles :

Broom (Hokidachi or Hoki-zukuri)

A very harmonious style, this form has branches that develop at a certain height, forming an upside broom. This styling is mainly achieved through a technique called the ìVî cut.

The trunk is chopped where you want the branch to start to develop and then a deep V cut is performed on the remaining trunk. This will induce buds to break near the cut. Zelkova serrata are notorious for this styling but maple and other deciduous species can easily be styled that way.

Formal Upright (Chokkan)

The following branch is situated on the opposite side, while the third is in the back creating the perception depth. As we look at the branch structure from bottom to top, the branches are getting thinner, creating a pyramidal shape.

Informal Upright (Moyogi)

This style is very similar to the previously mentionned style as the same rules of design apply. However, the trunk is not straight but rather forms a sinuous shape while remaining tapered. This style is commonly used with conifers.

Slanting (Shakan)

Cascade (Kengai)

Semicascade (Han-Kengai)

Like the kengai style, this style also has an inclinated trunk. However, the foliage remains at the height of the pot line.

In nature, we can see this style near a waterway, the foliage having grown on the side and leaning towards the water. While the cascade style uses a deeper pot, this style uses a medium depth pot.

Windswept (Fukinagashi)

A windswept tree represents a tree that has been growing in a certain shape due to natural elements. Often caused by strong wind, the trunk is always inclinated in a certain direction and all branches have grown on the same side.

Literati (Bunjin)

This styling is often represented in Japanese paintings. It is a tree with a tall and sinuous trunk. The foliage only grows near the summit of the tree.

This styling is somewhat an exception to the rigorous rules of bonsai because it does not have specific rules. It represents what the bunjin movement is in Japan: the search for liberty.

Group/Forest (Yose-ue)

This styling often represents a forest or a small cluster of trees. It is supposed to be styled in a way that will clearly represent the growing habits of trees in a group.

Many techinques can be used to achieve this styling, and many perception techniques are used to create the illusion of a forest, or as Naka would say, “having the quality of the invisible beauty of nature.”

To respect the Japanese art form, an odd number of trees is prefered for this styling.

Raft (Ikadabuki)

The same rules of the group planting apply to this style. However, all of the trunks emerge from one common trunk. This technique is often achieved with a branch placed verticaly in the soil.

The roots from this branch and the upper part of the vertical branch develop secondary branches that will eventually become the trunks.

Multitrunk Style (Sokan – Sankan)

This multi-trunk style has different possibilities.The first, which is called sokan, consists of two trunks emerging from the same visible roots (nebari). The styling of the upper part of the tree must respect the same rules as the formal/informal upright styles previously described.

Another variance consists of the same but with three trunks emerging from the visible roots. This is called sankan. You can also have more than three trunks, but to respect Japanese bonsai, it is prefered to have an odd number of trunks.

Roots Over Rock (Ishitsuki)

This styling has the specific charactreristics of having many visible roots growing over a rock and finding their way to the pot/soil.

Shohin bonsai – Big Deal About Small Trees (matsubonsai.com)

Bonsai Dreams » Bonsai Styles

3 Steps to Shaping Bonsai Trees

1) Bonsai Tree Pruning

2) bonsai Tree Trimming

3) Bonsai Tree Wiring

5 Bonsai Tree Styles

12 Bonsai Basic Styles

Broom (Hokidachi or Hoki-zukuri)

Formal Upright (Chokkan)

Informal Upright (Moyogi)

Slanting (Shakan)

Cascade (Kengai)

Semicascade (Han-Kengai)

Windswept (Fukinagashi)

Literati (Bunjin)

Group/Forest (Yose-ue)

Raft (Ikadabuki)

Multitrunk Style (Sokan – Sankan)

Roots Over Rock (Ishitsuki)

Patrick from http://www.mishobonsai.com

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