5 Bonsai Tree Styles

bonsai trees

Basic Styles

There are five basic styles for bonsai trees: formal upright, informal upright, slanting, cascade, and semi-cascade. These classifications are based on the overall shape of the tree and how much the trunk slants away from an imaginary vertical axis. The numerous Japanese bonsai styles are principally variations of these five basic styles. The single trunk style is the basic design that is simplest to shape because the one trunk determines the overall composition.

Formal Upright

The formal upright style has classic proportions and is the basis of all bonsai. It is the easiest for a beginner bonsai to develop because it requires the least experimentation, avoids the problem of selective bonsai tree pruning, bonsai trimming and should almost immediately become a displayable bonsai plant.

In this style, the form is sometimes rounded and the bonsai tree has an erect leader and horizontal branches. One of the branches is lower and extends a little farther from the trunk than the others .

Bonsai in the formal upright style look best in bonsai pottery that are oval or rectangular. Do not center the plant when placing it in the container. Plant it about a third of the distance from one end.

Informal Upright

The informal upright bonsai style has much the same branch arrangement as the formal upright style, but the top — instead of being erect as in the formal upright style — bends slightly to the front. This bend makes the bonsai tree’s branches appear to be in motion and enhances the look of informality

The informal upright style looks best in an bonsai pottery that is oval or rectangular. It should be planted, not in the center of the container, but a third of the distance form one end.

Many bonsai nurseries trees are naturally slanted. This makes them well suited to the informal upright style.

Slanting

In the slanting bonsai tree style, the trunk has a more acute angle than in the previous styles. The lowest branch should spread in the direction opposite to that in which the tree slants. The top of the tree is bent slightly toward the front. Slanting trees in nature are called “leaners” — trees that have been forced by the wind and gravity into non-vertical growth. The attitude of the slanting style falls between the upright and cascade styles.

Cascade

In the cascade bonsai tree style, the trunk starts by growing upward from the soil, then turns downward abruptly, and reaches a point below the bottom edge of the container. For this reason, the bonsai pottery container should be placed on the edge of the table, or on a small stand.  This bonsai style is representative of a natural tree that is growing down the face of an embankment.

Training a tree in the cascade style takes longer than in the slanting style. Choose a low-growing bonsai species instead of forcing a tree that normally grows upright into an unnatural form. The cascade bonsai tree looks best in a round or hexagonal bonsai pottery container that is higher than it is wide. The tree should be planted off-center from the cascading side.

Semi-Cascade

The semi-cascade bonsai style has a trunk that is allowed to grow straight for a certain distance, and then is cascaded down at a less abrupt angle than in the cascade style. The cascading branches are thought of as the front of the tree, and the back branches are trained closer to the trunk than in the other bonsai styles. The semi-cascade bonsai should not reach below the bottom of the container, but should go below the level of the soil surface.

No matter what style you choose — whether single trunk specimens or groups of bonsai trees from single roots — everything depends on your selection of bonsai plant material, and your ability to visualize the bonsai’s final form.

Tags: Bonsai, Styles, Tree

Advanced Bonsai Tree Styles

bonsai trees

Those little trees with the matured and seemingly put-on roots around them are aptly called bonsai. They make for a very good indoor or outdoor décor for any home or commercial establishment. Every person who sees a bonsai will probably wonder whether they created by nature as such or if they are a product of the creative hands of man.

Bonsai is a Japanese word which refers to a tree placed in a tray, much like the way the modern bonsai plants look like. It is not just enough that an ideal tree species is chosen and dwarfed but the container where it is grown also adds to its value.

Bonsai growing usually starts as a hobby until a person gets enough experience and expertise in bonsai making to make his hobby a business. Bonsai growing is much like gardening but the difference lies in the skills necessary to produce the dwarfed trees.

The trees are dwarfed by regularly pruning the branches as well as the roots of the tree. A little bit of shaping and tugging is also necessary to keep the bonsai in the desired shape.

Bonsai growing is a painstaking hobby because a person can not produce beautiful bonsai trees in a day or two. A bonsai grower must wait for a long period, sometimes years to see the beauty of his creation come to life.

There are basically five bonsai styles which include the formal upright style, the informal upright style, slanting, cascade and semi-cascade style. These basic bonsai styles can already produce beautiful bonsai trees but growers are looking for more advanced styles to keep up with the growing demand for bonsai.

Bonsai growing is so dynamic that growers have developed advanced styles of bonsai trees. The advanced styles of growing bonsai however get their inspiration from the basic bonsai styles.

One of the advanced bonsai styles is known as Fukinagashi or what is commonly known as the windswept style. This style aims to personify the effects of nature through the bonsai design. The

The Bankan or Twisted style aptly follows the shapes taken by a dragon as the style seems to have gotten inspiration from the Chinese. Bonsai trees following this style may look like a roaring dragon or other forms taken by the dragon.

The Bunjin or Literati style of pruning bonsai is the simplest of the advanced styles of bonsai growing.

Growing bonsai can be therapeutic but it can also be a good money-making venture. The hobbyist should keep himself abreast of the latest bonsai styles so he will be able to present new designs to his clients. Bonsai growing basically stems from love of plants but somehow, it is also tied up with creativity and patience

Tags: Advanced, Bonsai, Styles, Tree