I pose the question to you: "Is a bonsai ever really finished?" When does a person look at a tree and say: I have done all I can/need/want to do with this tree, and with a little matinence, I can keep it like this for X number of years. I would like to think that even if you are a bonsai master or a budding entusiast, that you are not a gardener, you are in fact an artist. Artists are people that create works that are a pleasure to view, their pieces, be them paintings, sculptures, or abstract works that involve 10km of coastline and 1000 yellow umbrellas - they are all pleasing to look at and have meaning. But one could argue that these pieces are finished. The paint has been dry on the Mona Lisa for centuries now, and yet it remains. The stone on David has not felt the cold steel of a chisel in hundreds of years - they are finished.

But when one considers people who partake in bonsai as artists, does that not suggest that their "works" will one day be finished? Look around the forums, and on the internet. There are photo progression's that chronicle the life of trees from seeds to meter tall masterpieces that are literally priceless. Are these works - often works that have been started by a relative 1, 2, 3 - 10 generations ago ever really finished?

Let's say you have a "perfect" specimen - for the purposes of this article, lets say a 400 year old collected Juniper, collected from the mountains of Japan. Now this tree takes people's breath away - the time it took even taking this tree out of the ground - makes it worthy of admiration. This tree began growing before countries such as the USA even existed. This tree could be all of 1 meter in height, it's bark so delicate that the slightest brush of an arm could ruin 400 years worth of natural sculpting. This tree has been taken out of the ground over 5 years, it has been recovering for 5 more. (I have no idea how long it would take, but this is just for arguements sake). This tree is cared for and looked after by the greatest bonsai master in the world, who spends years and years turning this tree into the greatest masterpiece ever - totally priceless.

Or take a mass-produced, clay bound elm. Thousands like it, withering in malls across the world. We have a young chap who is looking to brighten up his balcony. Not become a master, just have something asthetically pleasing. He buys this tree, he looks up a few websites for advice. He repots the tree into some decent soil, removes the rocks, prunes and wires, and leaves it in a proper amount of sunlight, attending to it when it needs it. He has no intrest into the pasttime of bonsai, he just wants something that looks good. He has no ambitions to become the next Peter Chan, to amaze people around the world. Could you argue that his tree, in a pleasent enviroment, cared for by a person whose only intrest is keeping this little tree alive and in good shape, is finished?

I have been in bonsai for just over 2 and a half years. Right now I have 5 tree's sitting in training pots in various stages of development, 3 of which will be in bonsai pots this time next year. I have 6 tree's in the ground, some were bonsai's, some were nursery stock. 4 of them will be in bonsai pots come spring. I have 3 tree's in bonsai pots. THREE TREE'S. Now bear in mind, I have no job, and recieve a small allowance every week from my parents, most of which is spent on the weekends when I'm not at school. I am friends with my local bonsai nursery's staff, and barely a weekend goes by when I am not there pestering someone. I am no master - I am barely an enthusiast. Now, could anyone argue that the tree's I have in pots are finished? I am happy with the 3 - some have wire that will come off next spring, and then what? All 3 are under 15cm. I have had little in the way of formal training, and I am armed with nothing but a book by Peter Chan, advice from a few mates such as yourselves on the forums, and a few tools (some improvised), and a bit of a knack for gettings some good shapes going. I love my trees, and I am so proud of them. Does this mean because I am happy with how they look that they are finished? Are my abilities as a bonsai enthusiast on hold until next spring?

Can these trees, this "Perfect" trees, ever really be "Finished?" Is a bonsai, be it 4, 40, or 400 years old ever really finished?

__________________
"Creating bonsai is not a mechanistic process; we prune with the hand but are guided by the heart..."

i gotta say, IMO a bonsai is never actually finished, no matter who is doing the care and maintenance, from master to novice. Once a tree achieves the aim the caretaker is looking for little changes for the tree. New growth must be pruned, wired, etc. there's still fertillizing, repotting, root pruning... The list goes on.
The tree will always continue to grow. This growth is controlled, but evenually the tree is in for a restyle, or apex replacement, etc. There are in fact few fleeting moments when you can look at the tree and say, "That's what i was going for!" For that day, hour, or instant the tree is in fact finished...until it changes.

Cord

PS i only have two trees

The ONLY finished bonsai, is a DEAD bonsai. (aka sayonara style)

Mike

There does comes a time when branches, trunk and nabari are set for all times. A branch can be too thick to bend, a nabari set in stone. The style of a tree eventually cannot be changed.

Once this has happened then the tree is done.

But mostly a tree is done when it reflects what the owner envisions. To think otherwise is well, silly ;o)

Even the best bonsai are prepared to reach their peak for a particular display (exhibition). Depending on the type and age of the tree, there are different considerations involved. The size and depth of the pot selected for display, the type of pruning and defoliation involved could be very different. Following the display the tree is likely to need a period of rejuvenation, and perhaps even a restyling of some kind. In order to maintain taper in branches, eventually the secondary ramificaiton, and perhaps the entire apex will need to be replaced periodically.

So the tree experiences peaks over time. In that sense one could say it does become finished when a particular design concept or goal is realized. That doesn't mean it couldn't continue to be improved in some way, eventually, with care, good design and horticultural practice, and a little luck, but there is a fork in the road there where some fundamental changes will need to take place that may set it back, in the short term, for a long term gain.

Things can go wrong though, too. I had a nice Dawn redwood, a small bonsai with excellent taper. After a show in about 1998, it had gone about as far as I could expect it to go without addressing some fundamental defects - so, I put it in the ground to heal a large pruning wound, and it took off with unexpected, aggressive growth in the very first year. Within a few months it was six feet tall. Now it's about twenty feet tall and probably several times wider, but the aggressive taper it once had is entirely lost. So it's a garden tree again (in a neighbor's landscape).

Regards,

Matt

I believe it was Naka who said "I like bonsai because it has a beginning but no end. A bud today becomes a branch tomorrow. It is like searching for the rainbow's end; the farther it is pursued, the farther away it is. There are no borders in bonsai."

Bonsai is 'living' art not a static object, that once finished, can never be changed.
This is the challange we are presented with every year our trees develop. Consider these challanges as opportunites to represent something different for you and the rest of the world to enjoy.

Stephen

I think the problem with the question 'when is a bonsai finished?' comes down to what is the bonsai? Is it the tree or the image? In my opinion it is the image you have created using a lving tree as your medium to do so. Reaching the design you had planned for makes the existing design finished, and thus the bonsai is. If you then go for a drastic re-style the tree lives on but as a different bonsai, not the same as before. It is now totally different and thus the original image has been finished; it can no longer be built upon or changed with the seasons. But the tree is still alive, so the only finished bonsai may not be a dead one.

Al

I also believe a Bonsai is never finished! its an on going project, 'i'v seen me training a tree to my current vision!! then i will have a window of insperation, and bang!! i will totaly change the look of a tree and aim for that vision...


There is always something to take off or grow on with Bonsai, thats why i never think a Bonsai is finished...

Is your life ever finished?

Is your bonsai ever static?

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