<ethnicity discussion removed by admin>
Quote:
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Originally Posted by FredL
My interest is often referred to as "Back Yard Bonsai", which I don't seem recalling used as a term of approval.
But I do think that discrediting "Rustic Bonsai" is hurtful to Bonsai as a whole and must have the effect of discouraging folks with different talents or interests from the artistically inclined who might otherwise get great enjoyment and might even make some surprising contributions to Bonsai.
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Fred, as it has been said before, there is a place for everyone in bonsai. The seed starters, the bonsai farmers, the propagators, the collectors, the admirers, the backyarders, the artists, and even the groupies. But without the end result which is artistic bonsai, there is no direction, no goal, no reason to ever prune a tree. Seriously if just watching them grow is one's main objective, why would they wire, trim, or style at all? A simple patio tree in a large Terra Cotta pot would do.
The question Fred is when does a tree become a bonsai using modern thoughts and definition? If I collect a unstyled tree and put it in a pot is it a bonsai? By the strictest translation, yes. But by todays thoughts and practices, no. It must be taken down the road to artistic styling in order to become more than stock, in order to become bonsai.
You can plant a zillion seeds and call them bonsai, but they are not. You can plant a few plums in the ground or move them into a pot but until they reach artisic levels, they are simply trees in a pot, not bonsai.
Will Heath