Bonsai

Bonsai (/ˈbɒnsaɪ/; Japanese: 盆栽, lit. 'tray planting', pronounced [boɰ̃sai] ^ⓘ) is the Japanese art of growing and shaping miniature trees in containers, with a documented history of influences and native Japanese development over a thousand years long, and with unique aesthetics, cultural history, and terminology derived from its evolution in Japan.^[1] Similar arts exist in other cultures, including Korea's bunjae, the Chinese art of penjing, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese Hòn non bộ.

The loanword "bonsai" has become an umbrella term in English, attached to many forms of diminutive potted plants,^[2] and also on occasion to other living and non-living things. According to Stephen Orr in The New York Times, "[i]n the West, the word is used to describe virtually all miniature container trees, whether they are authentically trained bonsai or just small rooted cuttings. Technically, though, the term should be reserved for plants that are grown in shallow containers following the precise tenets of bonsai pruning and training, resulting in an artful miniature replica of a full-grown tree in nature."^[3] In the most definitive sense, "bonsai" refers to miniaturized, container-grown trees adhering to Japanese bonsai tradition and principles.

Purposes of bonsai are primarily contemplation for the viewer, and the pleasant exercise of effort and ingenuity for the grower.^[4] In contrast to other plant cultivation practices, bonsai are not grown for the production of food or for medicine.

A bonsai is created beginning with a specimen of source material. This may be a cutting, seedling, a tree from the wild (known as yamadori) or small tree of a species suitable for bonsai development. Bonsai can be created from nearly any perennial woody-stemmed tree or shrub species^[5] that produces true branches and can be cultivated to remain small through pot confinement with crown and root pruning. Some species are popular as bonsai material because they have characteristics, such as small leaves or needles or aged-looking bark, that make them appropriate for the compact visual scope of bonsai.

The source specimen is shaped to be relatively small and to meet the aesthetic standards of bonsai, which emphasizes not the entirety of a landscape but the unique form of a specimen bonsai tree or trees. When the candidate bonsai nears its planned final size, it is planted in a display pot, usually one designed for bonsai display in one of a few accepted shapes and proportions. From that point forward, its growth is restricted by the pot environment. Throughout the year, the bonsai is shaped to limit growth, redistribute foliar vigor to areas requiring further development, and meet the artist's detailed design.

The practice of bonsai is sometimes confused with dwarfing, but dwarfing generally refers to research, discovery, or creation of plants that are permanent, genetic miniatures of existing species. Plant dwarfing often uses selective breeding or genetic engineering to create dwarf cultivars. Bonsai does not require genetically-dwarfed trees but rather, depends on growing small trees from regular stock and 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-size trees.