trees, but also live longer. On the whole, fruit trees and flowering trees mature fastest, but do not as a rule achieve a very great age, although there are cherry trees and wisteria which are known to be two or three hundred years old. As a general rule, a tree should be at least thirty years old to have reached maturity and at least fifty to have put on its full beauty, although not necessarily all these years as a bonsai. The tree should be judged as a whole. As pointed out in more detail in Chapter 8, the healthy color of the leaves, the pattern of trunk and branches, the spread of the roots, and the moss growing round them are all important.
The authors have written from the point of view of bonsai cultivation in Japan because it is there they have gained their experience. The trees here described are the Japanese varieties and the climatic conditions are those of Japan. This does not mean, of course, that other trees are not equally suitable. Any tree that flourishes is a potential bonsai, and many different types have been grown successfully in America and Europe. The great thing to remember is that to achieve satisfactory results it is preferable to choose varieties with small leaves and, particularly, small fruits and flowers. The trunk and branches can be dwarfed by pruning and even the leaves will become much smaller with the years of restriction as a bonsai, but fruit and flowers will always remain proportionate to their species. Thus a dwarf chestnut would have awkwardly large burs and its leaves would tend to be as long as its branches, and the tiny-leafed Japanese maple is more suitable than the larger Canadian variety. When making a bonsai by layering it is often possible to find a natural sport, a branch with dwarfed leaves which will make an especially fine tree.
Japan has a fairly average temperate climate. It is similar to that of large parts of America and most of Europe. It is damper than Oklahoma or Italy; hotter in summer than Colorado or England; colder in winter than Florida or Spain; but these are minor differences for which adjustments can be made. Bonsai should survive in any country with normal seasons. In the tropics, where the temperature and humidity hardly vary throughout the year, they have never so far been kept alive for more than six months, and the same would probably be true of subarctic countries. It is, however, possible that a bonsai of an indigenous tree, such as the mangosteen, might be reared successfully in Malaya and a local variety of pine or fir in Northern Canada or Sweden.
We have tried in this book to explain how the Japanese cultivate, care for, and enjoy their bonsai. The Japanese are an etiquette-loving people; they like to tabulate their experience and deduce rules from it. This can be seen in the elaborate rules which govern the art of flower arrangement, the tea ceremony, and indeed good manners in everyday life. There are also rules and etiquette where bonsai are concerned. We do not mean the basic principles for the cultivation of a healthy tree, but the etiquette which decides the form most suited to the species of tree, the choice of pot, the presentation, and even the manner in which the bonsai should be appreciated. We have tried to give the basic rules of Japanese taste underlying this etiquette, not because we think Western people must slavishly imitate the Japanese, but because these rules are interesting in themselves and will perhaps help others to realize the value set in Japan upon the bonsai. The reader will, we hope, understand why things are done and arranged in a certain way and by studying the pictures see the end result of the application of these principles. With this knowledge behind him he can create his own practical experience and adapt the rules evolved in Japan to his personal taste.
Japanese bonsai naturally resemble trees in Japan - those fantastic, wind-twisted trees that make a glorious pattern in paintings and prints but, until seen actually growing, seem like the figment of an artist's imagination. The trees of every country have their own peculiar beauty. A dwarf olive tree could be equally symbolic of Mediterranean lands, a little group of firs at the top of a slope of rocks and dwarf heather could recall moorland all over the world, and the satin trunk of the silver birch would lend beauty to a Scots or Canadian bonsai.
Bonsai may be grown in five different ways: they may be found already matured in places where natural conditions have stunted them; they may be grown from seed; or they may be made from cuttings, from graftings, or from layerings or dividings. The following descriptions of these five methods, together with Appendix 3, which indicates the most practical methods for various types of trees, should put anyone who is truly interested well on the way to the creation of a bonsai. It might be noted here that miniature bonsai (these are small enough to be held easily in the palm of one hand, pot and all; see classification on page 62) can be made only from seedlings or cuttings; trees with variegated leaves, only from cuttings; and crossbreeds, only from seedlings.
BONSAI FROM NATURALLY STUNTED PLANTS
In Japan these bonsai are the most highly prized of all and the finest trees are natural dwarfs. They are collected from high up in the mountains or on the seashore, where the soil is poor and where strong winds tend to distort the trunk (see Plates 1-10). The shape of the trunk is of paramount importance as, being old wood, it cannot be altered. The branches of natural dwarfs are usually poor but this need not discourage the finder as they can be improved by careful pruning. Wild seedlings can also be collected and trained, being especially suitable for group plantings. The greatest advantage of this type of bonsai, adding no little zest to the hunt, is that, given luck and persistence, the collector may find a natural dwarf which can be made into a really good bonsai in record time. We ourselves have seen such bonsai which, after about a year's training, looked older and more finished than others which had been in training for many years.
The hunt for natural bonsai can be a most pleasant sport in itself, one which has been practiced so assiduously for so many generations in Japan, and even in nearby countries, that good specimens are today almost never found outside the protected areas of national parks. Other countries, where such stunted trees have not been prized, offer much better hunting grounds, but even so, the hunter should scrupulously abide by local regulations in the interest of conservation and, as a nature lover, should always collect his specimens with moderation and in such a way as to do no harm to the natural scenery.
The best season for collecting is in early spring before the new buds open. Pines may also be transplanted in early autumn, after the end of the summer growth but before the winter hardening of the twigs begins. In the case of deciduous trees, it is possible, although not advisable, to transplant them when they are in leaf, but this should on no account be done until the summer, and half the leaves should be stripped off as soon as the tree has been dug up. The most dangerous season for transplanting deciduous trees is when the leaves are newly opened and still tender.
Before setting out on a collecting expedition, it is well to prepare the following articles, which are described in more detail in Appendix 1: a small trowel or shovel, sharp scissors, a quantity of sphagnum moss, oiled paper or plastic sheeting, and. some string. A small crowbar may sometimes be needed to break rocks, and a hook on the end of a stick is also convenient.
When a suitable tree has been found, it is important to retain as large a quantity as possible of the surrounding earth. The tree must be dug out very carefully, if possible without cutting the taproot. If this is unavoidable, the root should be cut as low down as possible, particularly in the case of pines. The earth and roots are then covered with wet sphagnum moss and tied up in the paper or plastic sheet.
During transportation back to the nursery, the tree should be propped up carefully so that it does not roll about or get unduly jolted. It must be kept in the open air and not put for any great length of time into any place so tightly enclosed as, say, the luggage compartment of a car. During the journey it needs protection from the sun and wind and the leaves must be sprayed with water often enough to keep them damp. A large perfume-spray is useful for this purpose.
The tree should be planted as soon as its destination is reached. If it has small, fine roots near the trunk (this can be judged by whether the soil falls away from the trunk, for, if there are small roots,
