My First Bonsai Blog - Rosewood Bonsai
Inspired by the following blog post of Laser Beam Bonsai, I have my own take on this.
bonsai rules?
Of course it does ;)
Okay, what I mean to say is The Rules of Bonsai
Or more accurately Bonsai Considerations
1.The tree will appear in a formal container, relatively small compared to the tree. Now, I don't disagree that presentation is key, however many of my containers as of today are considerably less-than-formal and with developing trees it can be beneficial to hold off on too small of a container. This is true for me anyway.
Or more accurately Bonsai Considerations
1.The tree will appear in a formal container, relatively small compared to the tree. Now, I don't disagree that presentation is key, however many of my containers as of today are considerably less-than-formal and with developing trees it can be beneficial to hold off on too small of a container. This is true for me anyway.
Rosewood Bonsai: My take on this is the character of the container must harmonize or compliment the plant. Notice I said container, not pot, and plant not tree. Beautiful formal Japanese bonsai take an enormous amount of discipline, time and care to create and maintain, and I admire and hold these as an ultimate example, something to work toward.
In the meantime, here in Rosewood (the part of Columbia, South Carolina where I live), we have to make the best of what we have. What we have is a huge number of tree seedlings coming up everywhere I look, in my yard, in the grocery store parking lot, and the parking lot of the nearest pharmacy as well. Until I dig them up they are weeds - maples, elms, mulberry, sweetgum, nandina, and others. When I offer to remove them, almost invariably people say "Please, be my guest"!
It also so happens that I love forest plantings. I've discovered that these should be of a single species (and a single variety of a species). Invariably when I've tried growing more than one type of plant in a pot, one or another always suffers, because one plant will always grow better in the conditions present and over-compete for root space.
Forest plantings are best displayed in very low wide trays, created for this purpose.
In Chinese Pensai plantings and Vietnamese landscapes called Hon Non Bo, special areas are created to make sure each plant has its own place, where the roots won't have to compete for space.
I also love root on rock plantings, and have created quite a few, though I have a shortage of actual rocks, so sometimes I use a good-looking piece of broken cement or even (as a joke) a red brick. Surprisingly the privet I placed on the brick is outgrowing all the other plants in this style, and I have no idea why.
I will be taking a pottery course soon and hope to be able to make decreasingly amateurish-looking pots as I go. The internal excitement is mounting as I anticipate the coming first class next Monday!
2. Except for the tree(s) and optional patches of moss, no other plant should appear in a bonsai container. I don't know why this should be the case except for emphasis. What about harmony and expression of nature. I sometimes allow grass to grow in my bigger pots because I just enjoy it as I also do enjoy moss. Why not?
Rosewood Bonsai: Except for actual moss, almost all the other plants that I have used as surface plantings in my bonsai have hurt the health of the tree, including the tiny grass-like Irish Moss and microscopic Pennywort. I think their presence actually may make the potting media break down faster, and I know they rob nitrogen from the main tree. I have also had to be cautious about planting course aggressive mosses which can actually eat into the trunk of slow-growing trees. It tends to be light green and each fiber is about the size and shape of a grain of rice. For lack of a better name I've called it Rice Moss or Trunk-eating moss. This kind of moss doesn't seem to bother fast growing plants such as Privet (Ligustrum).
3. Except for the vegetation, soil, and natural-looking rocks, no other object should appear in a bonsai container. This I agree with to some extant although I did have a little plastic dinosaur that would find its way into one of my pots from time to time. I enjoyed the irony of the dinosaur being plastic and also it was an aquatic plesiosaur[sic] which, in life, would have probably never left the ocean. I am delighted by dinosaurs! The dinosaur does not appear in any of my photos because of extinction on its part.
Rosewood Bonsai: Jokingly, I have in the past put whimsical things in my pots as a conversation starter, but would not do so for a bonsai show. I think it's good to keep my sense of fun, whimsy or even silliness, because, God-knows, I can sure take myself WAY TOO SERIOUSLY at times!
4.The tree will have a distinct "front" from which it is intended to be viewed. Ha! Why not multiple fronts? I know I'm not the only one thinking this. Or even a 360 degree tree, viewable from all sides?
Rosewood Bonsai: Part of the beauty of bonsai is creating a sense of age and depth in the tree or trees. This illusion is hard enough to achieve from one vantage point, never mind many. However, the beauty of the tree should be able to be seen from any angle - sides, front, back and even the top - but BEST viewed from a designated FRONT (or FACE of the tree as a few people say).
5. The trunk should taper significantly from base to top. I have tried to challenge this notion in my mind. In general it seems to hold true depending on what you consider "significant" in terms of taper.
Rosewood Bonsai: I agree, but this varies from tree to tree and species to species.
6. The tree's rootage should be exposed at the base of the trunk and should flare wider than the trunk as it enters the ground. Trees in nature seem to usually do this.
Rosewood Bonsai: Well many or most trees do this in nature, but some such as the famous but now endangered Baobab trees, never do.
7. No visible roots should cross each other. why not? In nature this happens.
Rosewood Bonsai: Yes, but they are often ugly and it does effect the health of tree in certain circumstances.
8. Branches should begin about one-third of the way up the trunk, and be continuous from there to the tip of the trunk (this guideline is specifically broken for the literati, or Bunjin-gi, style). I still think the branches can start lower on many trees. Makes them easier to climb.
8. Branches should begin about one-third of the way up the trunk, and be continuous from there to the tip of the trunk (this guideline is specifically broken for the literati, or Bunjin-gi, style). I still think the branches can start lower on many trees. Makes them easier to climb.
Rosewood Bonsai: As a general guideline, yes, but I've seen it broken a number of times with good effect.
9. Branch size should diminish from the base to the top of the tree. This is true but one or two branches should go against this rule in my opinion. This will make the image look more natural and less bonsai.
9. Branch size should diminish from the base to the top of the tree. This is true but one or two branches should go against this rule in my opinion. This will make the image look more natural and less bonsai.
Rosewood Bonsai: It is important in general to make sure that the branches appear to be more slender than the trunk from where they arise. The opposite looks very unpleasant to me.
10. No major tree branch should cross the trunk when viewed from the tree's "front".
10. No major tree branch should cross the trunk when viewed from the tree's "front".
Rosewood Bonsai: Yes, at least in the bottom two-thirds of the tree. I have sometimes seen a smaller branch cross lower than this, in order to hide a scar or reverse taper in the trunk.
11. Branch ramification, particularly in deciduous trees, should increase towards the tip of each branch. I don't know about this one, it seems to make sense but I just don't know.
11. Branch ramification, particularly in deciduous trees, should increase towards the tip of each branch. I don't know about this one, it seems to make sense but I just don't know.
Rosewood Bonsai: It doesn't usually work any other way, since the tips of most branches is where the most light hits.
12. Branch shape should reflect the weight of age, particularly in conifers, and branches may be shaped to tend downwards toward the tip in support of this practice.
12. Branch shape should reflect the weight of age, particularly in conifers, and branches may be shaped to tend downwards toward the tip in support of this practice.
Rosewood Bonsai: Yes, but there are species which naturally break this. In Florida's swamps the young bald cypress trees (Taxodium disticum) are cone-shaped (conical) and as the trees age they grow most branches upward, not outward.
13. The trunk may be a straight vertical shape or may be contorted in different directions over its length, but in styles where the tip of the tree is above the container, the tip should tilt slightly forward at the top (toward the viewer). Ok sure, so it looks like you're looking up at the tree?
13. The trunk may be a straight vertical shape or may be contorted in different directions over its length, but in styles where the tip of the tree is above the container, the tip should tilt slightly forward at the top (toward the viewer). Ok sure, so it looks like you're looking up at the tree?
Rosewood Bonsai: Most good bonsai (especially the larger onese) lean toward the view slightly, with arms (main branches) extended toward the viewer, in greeting, as if to hug the person. This is the way my instructors described it to me and I certainly like this idea.
14. Foliage (leaves or needles) should be small and to scale with the tree and its branches. This is the one I hate the most. Especially in mini-bonsai I believe that out-of-scale leaves are just fine. Even in large ones I feel that if the leaves are out of proportion the essence of a tree can still be conveyed.
14. Foliage (leaves or needles) should be small and to scale with the tree and its branches. This is the one I hate the most. Especially in mini-bonsai I believe that out-of-scale leaves are just fine. Even in large ones I feel that if the leaves are out of proportion the essence of a tree can still be conveyed.
Rosewood Bonsai: Especially in micro-miniature bonsai, each leaf may represent a branch. I also have a style which I like in small bonsai, I call "Palm Tree" style. Having grown up in Florida I really like palm trees, especially coconut and royal palm trees. Since there is only true palm used in Bonsai (Lady Palm - Rhapis excelsa), I am using small single trunk Loquat trees to imitate these palms from my childhood, in which each leaf represents a single palm frond. It's silly but it makes me happy.
15. All trees in a multi-tree bonsai planting should be of the same species. I don't agree. Maybe it will have to be done with some serious grace but most of the world's forests are mixed.
15. All trees in a multi-tree bonsai planting should be of the same species. I don't agree. Maybe it will have to be done with some serious grace but most of the world's forests are mixed.
Rosewood Bonsai: see comment to No. 1 , above.
Here is my take:
Bonsai should be a personal expression and communication with nature or the universe. There should be infinate [sic] considerations for expression and communication.
Here is my take:
Bonsai should be a personal expression and communication with nature or the universe. There should be infinate [sic] considerations for expression and communication.
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