Bonsai is an international art form with roots firmly embedded in plant sciences, the knowledge of which is essential to keeping trees healthy in diminutive pots and small volumes of grow media. The trees' caregiver carefully manipulates the shape of the tree either to refine/ improve a form already hiding within the existing trunk and branches or to make manifest the growers interpretation of the tree's best potential. The object is to produce something which evokes emotion in those viewing the trees. We should be able to look at a quality tree and imagine where it might be found in harmony with nature and what makes it look as it does.

The idea re what bonsai 'is' matures as the grower's level of knowledge and skill increases. In the mind's eye of beginners, a young seedling or liner in a bonsai pot is a perfect representation of the art, and that is as it should be; but, practiced artists hold themselves to a more evolved standard.

There are thousands of proven techniques practitioners use to turn trees from seeds, nursery stock, and those collected from landscapes and the wild, into beautiful pieces of 4-dimensional art, the 4th dimension being life. A bonsai is never 'done', and the partnership formed by the practitioner and tree is often decades long, ending only when the tree is sold/ gifted or one of the partners meets its demise or loses the ability to care for the trees.

It might surprise readers to learn that under the care of a skilled practitioner, a bonsai is capable of living far longer in a small pot than its counterparts left to their own devices in the wild. It's not uncommon for trees to be passed down through many generations and the tree's age to be measured in centuries.

Al

Such lovely words of appreciation for bonsai. Thanks! Since genetics don't change, is something unique about a congested root system in bonsai that gives them longevity? Fasting is known to increase lifespan in monkeys but I doubt they (monkeys and bonsai tress) share the same protective factors for improved lifespan?

Since genetics don't change, is something unique about a congested root system in bonsai that gives them longevity? Fasting is known to increase lifespan in monkeys but I doubt they (monkeys and bonsai tress) share the same protective factors for improved lifespan? Root congestion in a bonsai pot is as limiting as root congestion in a 10 gallon pot. While bonsai trees are in the developmental stage, practiced devotees of the art are careful to minimize loss of potential from the stress associated with root congestion. IOW, developing trees are very often completely bare-rooted, root-pruned, and repotted in a pot of appropriate size/ shape/ gender. When older and more refined trees are repotted, a measure of grow medium is usually left on the roots. There are 2 reasons for this, older trees are less forgiving of root work, and the limitations imposed by root congestion can serve, to a point, as a tool that helps slow growth, keep leaves small, and internodes short.

'Fasting' or withholding fertilizer is not usually used as a tool except in older and more refined trees. Then, it is probably more accurate to say we try to ensure that the amount of fertilizer the tree receives is not enough to produce rank or rapid unwanted growth. Great pains are taken to get a tree to the point where it is worthy of showing, and haphazard fertilizing can quickly undo the latest efforts made at styling the tree.

Bonsai trees don't look good all the time, nor should they. As soon as a practiced grower's tree is styled, it needs to recover from the stress, so it is often pruned minimally and often outgrows the styling within the course of only a few weeks. Each bonsai, at least in my mind, is more like caring for a pet than caring for a houseplant.

Al