Bonsai techniques are certainly not new. An old-timer in bonsai (introduced to me by a friend) wrote me a story that has been current in his district for many decades. An American picked up a Japanese black pine bonsai and asked its price, of the farmer who raised it. When the satisfied American had gone nearly out of the gate, it occurred to the farmer that if he said that price was only for the tree, the buyer would pay a little more for the container.
He hurried out and asked for the money for the container. On hearing the insatiable claim, the American pulled out the tree the farmer had treasured and threw it to him, saying "I need only the container."
In telling me this story I think my friend has kindly warned me of the difficulty of making known the spirit of bonsai. Whether or not it is possible to convey the spirit of noble bonsai raised by worthy growers, it should be easy to describe the technique generally practiced in Japan and to transmit some appreciation of dwarfed trees. It should be possible for the culture of bonsai to be practiced and enjoyed in other countries, and to be adapted in one way or another to the life there.
Kinds of Bonsai
There is a wide range of rank among bonsai. One can easily distinguish a mere potted plant from a noble old bonsai; but there are many gradations between the two and there is no strict rule to draw a line between them. Sometimes it is impossible to say which is which-as with the man and the pig in George Orwell's Animal Farm.
On mound of soil. The amateur's so-called amateurish efforts in attempting bonsai techniques in unusual ways or according to his own ideas are always associated with his daily life, since reward in money is the least consideration to him; thus they give him endless pleasure, though they may seem childish to the orthodox grower. Such an attempt may be seedlings of Japanese black pine grown in a mound of soil on an old tile. For a few years after the bombing, the ground in practically the whole city was covered with tiles. A bonsai may be started by sowing the pine seeds directly on the mound.
Ever since they were very young, the little trees should be cut back or pinched off repeatedly and severely, and their long needles cut in half. Then it will it look very nice; and when it has grown only a few years more, no one could call it a childish effort-as he might do in the beginning without knowing the aim.
Various conifers and many other kinds of trees are grown and trained nicely in this novel way, starting from seed. In trying these one may pinch and cut back to his heart's content; for a man of discernment will find something to be treated with finger nail or shears almost every day in the course of a year.
It is often said that the best means of controlling temper is to sit down before one's favorite seedling bonsai-in-the-making and trim them to one's satisfaction. I know quite well that there is some truth in this, as I have thus disciplined myself sometimes. This shows that repeated and sometimes very deep cutting back are necessary, to make these seedlings dwarf and finely shaped.
The soil mixture and other materials to make the mound are an interesting problem. One must consider certain bonsai techniques: the nature and behavior of the trees sown in it and grown on it; the color, to harmonize with the surroundings; the shape of the mound; water-holding quality and drainage; sunshine, rainfall, wind, drought, the degree of freezing of the climate, and other such elements. The soil formed by the entangling and decay of the fibrous roots of the resurrection plant (Selaginella lepidophylla) is often used in part or for all of the mound.
He hurried out and asked for the money for the container. On hearing the insatiable claim, the American pulled out the tree the farmer had treasured and threw it to him, saying "I need only the container."
In telling me this story I think my friend has kindly warned me of the difficulty of making known the spirit of bonsai. Whether or not it is possible to convey the spirit of noble bonsai raised by worthy growers, it should be easy to describe the technique generally practiced in Japan and to transmit some appreciation of dwarfed trees. It should be possible for the culture of bonsai to be practiced and enjoyed in other countries, and to be adapted in one way or another to the life there.
Kinds of Bonsai
There is a wide range of rank among bonsai. One can easily distinguish a mere potted plant from a noble old bonsai; but there are many gradations between the two and there is no strict rule to draw a line between them. Sometimes it is impossible to say which is which-as with the man and the pig in George Orwell's Animal Farm.
On mound of soil. The amateur's so-called amateurish efforts in attempting bonsai techniques in unusual ways or according to his own ideas are always associated with his daily life, since reward in money is the least consideration to him; thus they give him endless pleasure, though they may seem childish to the orthodox grower. Such an attempt may be seedlings of Japanese black pine grown in a mound of soil on an old tile. For a few years after the bombing, the ground in practically the whole city was covered with tiles. A bonsai may be started by sowing the pine seeds directly on the mound.
Ever since they were very young, the little trees should be cut back or pinched off repeatedly and severely, and their long needles cut in half. Then it will it look very nice; and when it has grown only a few years more, no one could call it a childish effort-as he might do in the beginning without knowing the aim.
Various conifers and many other kinds of trees are grown and trained nicely in this novel way, starting from seed. In trying these one may pinch and cut back to his heart's content; for a man of discernment will find something to be treated with finger nail or shears almost every day in the course of a year.
It is often said that the best means of controlling temper is to sit down before one's favorite seedling bonsai-in-the-making and trim them to one's satisfaction. I know quite well that there is some truth in this, as I have thus disciplined myself sometimes. This shows that repeated and sometimes very deep cutting back are necessary, to make these seedlings dwarf and finely shaped.
The soil mixture and other materials to make the mound are an interesting problem. One must consider certain bonsai techniques: the nature and behavior of the trees sown in it and grown on it; the color, to harmonize with the surroundings; the shape of the mound; water-holding quality and drainage; sunshine, rainfall, wind, drought, the degree of freezing of the climate, and other such elements. The soil formed by the entangling and decay of the fibrous roots of the resurrection plant (Selaginella lepidophylla) is often used in part or for all of the mound.
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