Frogboy

OK, this is probably going to start some flamewar, but it is an honest question.

If one of the admitted purposes of bonsai is to try to recreate the look of a larger tree by forcing a small tree to grow in directions that are not what it wants to do on its own, why do we allow ginkgo to grow in that "candle flame" style that everyone uses?

Full-size ginkgo do not grow that way, neither do any other tree I know of. What they all look like to me is an overgrown garden shrub.

If anyone can explain this, or can show me pictures of trees to the contrary, I would greatly appreciate it. Right now I feel like the only reason is because "that's just the way small ginkgo grows."

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