Harley

'Bonsai' is a Japanese pronunciation of the earlier Chinese term penzai. A 'bon' is a tray-like pot typically used in bonsai culture.The word bonsai is often used in English as an umbrella termfor all miniature trees in containers or pots, but this article focuses on bonsai as defined in the Japanese tradition. Some popular styles of bonsai include: formal and informal upright, cascade,windswept, slanting and forest, but there are countless variations and many more styles. In fact the only thing limiting the bonsai tree is the vision of the grower.

Bonsai is a Japanese art formusing miniature trees grown in containers. Bonsai requires techniques and tools that are specialized to support the growth and long-term maintenance of trees in small containers Similar practicesexist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese. The Japanese tradition dates back over a thousand years, and has evolved itsown unique aesthetics and terminology.

The purposes of bonsai are primarily contemplation (for the viewer) and the pleasant exercise of effort and ingenuity (for the grower). By contrast withother plant cultivation practices, bonsai is not intended for production of food, for medicine, or for creating yard-sized or park-sized gardens or landscapes. Instead, bonsai practice focuses onlong-term cultivation and shaping of one or more small trees in a single container
The practice of bonsai is sometimes confused with dwarfing, but dwarfing more accurately refers to research andcreation of plant cultivars that are permanent, genetic miniatures of existing species. Bonsai does not require genetically dwarfed trees, but rather depends on growing small trees from regular stockand seeds. Bonsai uses cultivation techniques like pruning, root reduction, potting, defoliation, and grafting to produce small trees that mimic the shape and style of mature, full-sized trees.