Gardening : Bonsai: Ancient Oriental Art Draws Modern U.S. Devotees
Bonsai--dwarf trees and bushes trained to grow in pots--is, like all gardening, an art form.
The difference is that planting flower beds, planning shrubbery and/or plotting lawns is akin to painting on a huge canvas, while bonsai is closer to sculpting in clay: The artist takes a shapeless plant and molds a graceful statue out of it.
Potted plants originated in India; with the birth of Buddhism in the 6th Century BC, they were incorporated into religious rituals. The lovely terra-cotta pots used by holy men garnered the interest of Chinese gentry, who began gathering small specimens of gnarled, windblown trees from the mountains and bringing them into their homes.
As Buddhism spread into Japan about AD 550, it brought bonsai with it; the earliest scrolls showing the miniature potted trees date to the 12th Century. The Japanese perfected the already-ancient art.
Bonsai in America
It wasn’t until World War II that Americans became familiar with bonsai, as GIs brought plants back with them from Japan.
“In Japan, trees that have been in the same pots for 500 years are fairly common,” says Ted Matson, president of the Descanso Bonsai Society. “In America, a bonsai from the ‘50s is an old masterpiece.”
Matson says bonsai teaches a reverence for nature and a respect for the way things grow. “You learn patience,” he says. “You can’t hurry a tree. If you want to cut something back to shape it, you have to wait for it to grow again.
“Trees are wonderful--they’re alive and can outlive you by several generations,” Matson says. “If you assume the responsibility for such a tree’s care, you must respect that.”
Growing Collection
A lot of bonsai growers’ collections get started, ironically, because the art does require such patience, said Matson. “It’s so interesting and satisfying to work on the trees that you keep acquiring more to keep you busy while you’re waiting for the early ones to grow.”
This weekend and all next week, you can either get a start on your own bonsai collection or add a specimen to one you’ve already got going. The 19th annual exhibit by the Descanso Bonsai Society runs from today until June 25 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day at the Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge.
Up to 300 bonsai plants will be on display, in every style from “upright” to “group” to “wind-swept.” You’ll see plants ranging in height from 2 inches to 4 feet; some plants flower, some have miniature fruit on them. The plants are judged in novice and advanced categories.
A sale runs during the entire exhibit. You can purchase exquisitely sculpted trees or the raw stock to try your hand at creating your own.
Books have been written on the creation of bonsai; you can find a list of classes at the Descanso show that will help you take a bushy, uninteresting juniper and turn it into a tiny replica of a Monterey pine.
But what do you do if you just want to buy a pretty little plant and give bonsai a try?
First and foremost: Don’t take your tree home and put it on top of the TV set or on the coffee table. “That will kill it. You really want your plants outside,” Matson says. A bonsai thrives in a spot where it gets morning sun and no reflected heat from white stucco walls or glass doors. “The foliage actually can take a lot more heat than the root ball,” Matson says. “If the plant sits in a hot, dry place, the soil just bakes.”
Benign Neglect
The trees need regular watering--overhead sprinklers are fine unless the plant is in bloom--but overwatering is a leading cause of death. You want to keep the soil moist, which may mean daily watering if you’re in a hot, interior valley, but a little benign neglect isn’t all bad, either, according to Matson.
Both fertilizer and pesticide are important for bonsai, Matson says. “You can use any good commercial brand of either, but just cut the recommended dose in half for bonsai.”
The most important thing to remember about your bonsai tree is this: It is a living sculpture. If you don’t keep it molded, it will lose its lovely shape and become nothing more than a shrub in a pot. “You can’t be afraid of the tree,” Matson says. “Pinch it, prune it, keep it growing in the form you got it. Otherwise, in two months, you’ll be disappointed with it.”
Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada. Admission is $3 for adults, $1.50 for students and seniors 62 and older, 75 cents for children 5-12, and free for those under 5. Admission to the bonsai show is free once you’re inside the gardens.
