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Bonsai is not the art of stunting a tree's growth, as some people believe. "Bonsai" translates roughly to "pot" and "to plant." Bonsai is the art of growing trees in a confined space to simulate certain environmental conditions such as great age, extreme weathering, twisted or contorted form, landscape, or other factors.
Bonsai should simulate age. One of the goals of bonsai is to produce the appearance of maturity in your tree. Although the tree may only be ten or fifteen years old, you can make it look as if it has been growing for decades or even centuries. Two features that give the appearance of age to trees are the caliper of the trunk and the degree of taper of the trunk. The trunks of bonsai (in most styles) will be very wide at the base and taper very smoothly to the top of the tree (the apex).
When you are ready to work on your first tree you should start with a species that is easier for the beginner. One of the most often recommended is the Juniper procumbens nana, a dwarf garden juniper. They are readily available, take pruning well, can be worked on most of the year, and are generally inexpensive.
Bonsai requires very few tools. Tools, however, make certain jobs or tasks easier and quicker. Some tools you must have are:
Shears. You need a pair of scissors to do the fine work of trimming in a small space. The scissors should be sharp and you should only use them for bonsai work. You may want to try a small set of pruning shears to start with. Eventually, you will want a pair of shears made especially for bonsai work.
Concave cutters. This is probably the most important piece of equipment you can purchase. Concave cutters allow you to cut branches off of the tree and leave behind a concave wound. The wound will heal much faster than a straight cut, and will callous over in such a way as to make it very difficult to tell a cut has been made at all. These cutters are an essential part of your collection.
Wire cutters. While you will not need them immediately, I suggest purchasing a pair of bonsai wire cutters. If you put wire on, you will eventually have to take it off. These wire cutters allow you to cut the wire right up to the tree's bark, without harming the tree.
What are the basic styles of bonsai?
When shaping a tree, you must first decide which style is best suited to the tree's natural design. There are complex array of different shapes and styles to choose from. There are, however, five styles that seem to be agreed upon basic or fundamental designs.
Formal Upright (Chokkan)
For a tree to be a formal upright, it must have a very straight trunk and a very balanced distribution of branches. The goal is to develop a sense of balance, but not strict symmetry.
Informal Upright (Moyogi)
Informal uprights are one of the most common styles. This is the most basic design in that it follows the natural structure of the tree's trunk. The goal is to develop a single line of the trunk, reaching from the roots to the apex while producing a natural structure of branches and foliage.
Slanting (Shakan)
The "slanting" of this style refers to the direction of the movement of the tree's trunk. A Shakan bonsai will have a very distinctive slant, often time balanced out by very strong rootage on the opposite side of the trunk. The goal of shakan is to balance the movement of the trunk with the placement of the branches so that the tree does not appear to be lopsided.
Cascade (Kengai)
These trees give the appearance of a waterfall or cascade of foliage which spills over the pot and down toward the ground. The casade should have a small crown above the top of the pot and a long cascading main branch that flows from the lower portion of the trunk to the apex. Ideally, the tip of the cascade should line up with the line of the trunk.
Windswept (Fukinagashi)
This style simulates the effect of sustained exposure to strong winds. In this design, each of the branches appears to be "swept" to one side, as if being blown by a strong wind or having large portions of foliage and branches stripped by environmental conditions.
Bunjin (literati Style)
This style is the most unconventional of them all. Bunjin often have long thin trunks which curve back around toward the front at the top, displaying the tree's foliage in a cascading form. It is not uncommon to see Japanese Red Pines shaped in this style. This style technically "breaks the rules" in a number of ways, but also imitate trees in nature that have been forced to contort themselves to survive.
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