BonsaiA.

origin
Timeline
 The Japanese perfected the
art as we know it today.
Today the art of bonsai is a
popular hobby in the U.S.
Bonsai can be the source of
immense pleasure and
inspiration.

1200
yrs ago
700
yrs ago

Bonsai originated in China as a

way of putting woody plants in
containers in courtyards. As the
plants became dwarfed in the
containers, they became more
highly prized
 B. S tyles AND steps
Informal Upright Style
This style is probably the most popular one in
the bonsai. It depicts a tree in nature that has
suffered from the elements, with a trunk line
showing contortion and branches that sag.

Chokan Shakan

Moyogi

Formal Upright Style Slanting Style

The bonsai of this style are reminiscent of
trees growing in nature in an open location
without stress.The trunk line is vertical with
the apex located over the center of the trunk
base, and must taper from base to apex.
Looking at trees in nature, one often
sees individuals that have been
tilted to one side by the forces of
wind or water, or ones that lean at
an angle reaching for sunlight.
Semi-Cascade Style
This style is meant to depict a tree
hanging from the side of a cliff by the
seashore or a stream. The tree grows
over the edge of the pot, and the trunk
bends downward beyond the rim of
the container but not below its base.

Kengai
Han-
Kengai
Full Cascade Style
This bonsai style follows the rules of
semi-cascade except that the
cascading line falls below the base
of the container. .
 In nature, rain and weather can This style depicts a tree with two
erode soil from the base of a trunks. The trunks, usually of two
tree, slowly exposing its roots trees of different diameters, have
over the years. Bonsai artists grown together at the base, and
like to exaggerate this effect the two trees are styled as one.
and show a great deal of root No branches are permitted to
structure. grow between the trunks.

Broom Exposed Root Over Double

S tyle
Broom-style bonsai resemble
the old trees found along city
streets or in orchards. A
deciduous species is groomed
to form a crown of radial
branches that show a great
deal of ramification
(branching twigs), thereby
creating a beautiful reflection
of an old tree.
Root S tyle Rock S tyle Trunk S tyle
When a seed lands in a crack in a
rock and finds enough soil to survive,
the plant’s roots may eventually
grow to spread among the thin
layers of soil and moss across the
rock. In another scenario, the roots
slowly grow over and around the
rock to the soil below, partially
encasing the rock.
 When a cone or fruit The literati style of bonsai is
containing several seeds meant to show the essence of a
falls in fertile soil and tree. A literati has a beautiful,
several trees grow at the thin, and unique trunk line.
same time, they may merge Branches are kept to a minimum.
to form a tree with multiple This style is often thought to be
trunks. Each trunk naturally the most difficult to achieve.
bends outward from the
group to reach for the light.

Clump Literati
Raft S tyle Forest S tyle
S tyle S tyle
a one-sided tree is wired and
Using five or more
laid horizontally on soil,
trees, artists can
branchless side down. By
create bonsai
nicking the bark to expose the
resembling small or
cambium layer on the underside
large forests.
of the trunk and dusting it with
Sometimes the forest
rooting powder, the growth of
is styled to look as if it
roots is facilitated. A straight
reaches far into the
trunk usually forms a straight
distance.
line of trees.
 Weeping
S tyle
In nature, weeping trees like
willows are often found in damp
areas and along streams and
Multitrunk
lakes. Bonsai artists replicate
this vision by the careful use of
style
wire to train a tree like a willow In theory the multi trunk style is
or weeping cherry. the same as the double trunk
style, but with 3 or more trunks.
Windswep All trunks grow out of a single
root system, and it truly is one
style single tree.
The windswept style also is a
good example of trees that
must struggle to survive.The
branches as well as the trunk
grow to one side as if the wind
has been blowing the tree
constantly in one direction.
THE END