Bonsai Tree-The Art Of Japan

The history of bonsai is cloaked in the mist of the past, but it is now widely believed to have started during the Han Dynasty in China. It was the Chinese who first created the miniature landscapes and trees that we now know as bonsai or Penzai. Since originating in China many centuries ago, it has developed into many new forms in various parts of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.




At first, the Japanese used miniaturized container-grown trees for decorating their homes and gardens.During the Tokugawa period, landscape gardening attained new importance. Cultivation of plants such as azalea and maples became a pastime of the wealthy. Growing dwarf plants in containers was also popular, but by modern bonsai standards the container plants of this period were inappropriately large.[citation needed] The then-term for dwarf potted trees was "a tree in a pot" (鉢の木, hachi-no-ki?).



Bonsai are not genetically dwarfed plants. They are created from nearly any tree or shrub species and remain small through pot confinement and crown and root pruning. Some specific species are more sought after for use as bonsai material. This is because they have characteristics that make them appropriate for the smaller design arrangements of bonsai.


Many different styles of bonsai exist. In English, the most common styles include: formal upright, slant, informal upright, cascade, semi-cascade, raft, literati, and group/forest.

















How to make your own bonsai??? Below you will find some useful websites that will help the bonsai beginner:
www.e-bookdirectory.com
www.tengu-bonsai.nl