Bonsai Tree Selection

Whether growing Bonsai Trees for sale yourself or buying a Bonsai Tree from a professional, there are a few things to consider when going through the Bonsai Tree selection process.  The major characteristics to consider are your location, style of the Bonsai Tree and how to display.

Location:  Bonsai are sometimes marketed as house plants, but few of the traditional bonsai species can thrive inside a normal house.  If the bonsai grower can closely replicate the full year's temperatures, relative humidity, and sunlight, of the chosen species, the bonsai should do well indoors.  In practice, this means that the Bonsai trees natural environment should closely match the grower's location.  In addition, matching environments will generally be the easiest method for Bonsai trees to thrive outdoor as well.  Not matching environments will require more work for the Bonsai grower or will make the Bonsai tree not be viable at all.

Style of the Bonsai Tree:  The most common styles of Bonsai trees include formal upright, informal upright, slanting, semi-cascade, cascade, raft, literati, and group/forest.  Some of the less common Bonsai tree forms include windswept, weeping, split-trunk, and driftwood styles.  Part of the style selection is determining what size tree to grow/purchase.  Bonsai Trees essentially come in five sizes:  tiny, small, medium, medium to large and large.  In addition, within each general size category there are additional breakdowns of size definitions.

Display:  A bonsai display presents one or more Bonsai specimens so that the viewer can see all the important features of the bonsai.  That position emphasizes the bonsai's defined "front”.  For an indoor display, the display should provide the bonsai at a height that allows the viewer to imagine the bonsai as a full-sized tree seen from a distance.  For outdoor displays, there are few aesthetic rules.  Many outdoor displays are semi-permanent, with the bonsai trees in place for weeks or months at a time.  However, in the end, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if you think it looks nice that is okay.

March 1, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Tree Selections