Mame, shohin, shito etc: Opinions

zeb

Hi folks,

I was just wondering what you out there think about miniature bonsai.
So, here are some questions:

1. What is the optimal height of a bonsai?
2. What is the average height of your bonsais?
3. What is your message to the world about mini-bonsai (less than 10 inches in height)?

Out of curiosity
Ossi Hanhinen

__________________
Two men were walking down a road. The one on the left was interested in bonsai. The one on the right had no money either.

Advertisement

ripsgreentree

Zeb:
1. The size of bonsai is set by the taste of the artest who owns the tree.......I like a tree that is 7 to 15 inches and my boss likes his trees to be about 24inches.
2. The trees in my collection range in size from about
4 inches to 36 inches. Pines tend to be taller and maples are the shortest.
3. It takes as many years to create an exelent palm sized bonsai as it does a large sized bonsai. To our discredit in america we equait size to value IE... larger is better and so more expensive. Hopefully this trend will eventually change.
ripsgreentree

__________________
ripsgreentree

It requires an open hand to give and to recieve.

Sandi

I love the mini bonsai. With a bad back it is so much easier when it's time to repot, etc. And you can get a decent looking bonsai in a shorter period of time. If you get a garden juniper in a 1 gal pot and reduce it over a period 3-4yrs you will have a decent looking little tree. Chinese elms can produce a little tree quite rapidly. Check out these websites. They have a lot of great pictures of mini bonsai. mini-bonsai.com and Fumio's mini-bonsai. I'll try to post a couple pics of my mini's. First, Chinese elm 3yrs old from a 4"pot 7"tall.

Sandi

This is just an ordinary garden juniper from a gal can last spring. This is it's first pot this year and I have already reduced it's height to 8". It's no specimen, but it's cute and fun and fast.

Sandi

Here is one of my favorites. It's a cotoneaster I got in a 4" pot 2yrs ago. This is it's second year in this pot. From Bottom of pot to top of tree is 4".

zeb

Sandi,

Thank you for the pics.
Now, here's one of mine, a chamaecyparis obtusa 'nana'.
It is also in the gallery as Shohin chamaecyparis.

Ossi Hanhinen

__________________
Two men were walking down a road. The one on the left was interested in bonsai. The one on the right had no money either.

Sandi

Very cute! It could use a little pinching to shape though.

ripsgreentree

Zeb and Sandi: I do not have many pictures in my computer yet but let me see if I can post a couple examples. The first one that I will try is a fifteen year old olive.

__________________
ripsgreentree

It requires an open hand to give and to recieve.

ripsgreentree

The picture is very large, from the top edg of the pot to the tip of the tree is 6in. here also is a malus spring glory. The pot is seven inches and the hight of the tree is 9inches I left two appples on the pot to show fruit size. The olive is a cutting and the malus is an air layering. Also of interest is that the malus is the younger of the two trees. Only four years in training.

__________________
ripsgreentree

It requires an open hand to give and to recieve.