Bonsai, pronounced "bone-sigh",(盆栽) is an ancient Chinese art of miniaturizing tress to by growing them in small containers. According to Wikipedia it has been traced back 2000 years, to the Han Dynasty in China. ( Check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsai )
In bonsai, any species of tree can be used. The old Karate Kid movies made it look like only Juniper trees could be used. In reality, you can apply the rule of bonsai to any tree. Even fruit tress have been used in bonsai. It's kind of funny looking because often times the fruit is bigger than the tree. The primary principle behind bonsai is that you must keep the roots of the tree small in order to keep the tree small. You keep the roots small in two ways. First, by planting the tree in a small tray or pot, the roots will not be able to get very large. The other way is by occasionally pruning the roots. The trees can be trained and shaped by carefully and strategically wrapping special cushioned copper wires around the branches and then slightly bending them until the desired shape has been achieved. The tress tend to be rather fragile, and require a great deal of attention. They need regular watering and misting, pruning, fertilizing, and the proper amount of sunlight.
We have had several tress. This one was given to us by my aunt Helen. She gave two of them to us however, the other is not doing as well. The other that we have had have died. The Utah climate is not very bonsai friendly. Really cold winters, extremely dry and arid humidity levels make it hard for most bonsai to survive here. I actually sort of inherited a rather large and old bonsai from my great uncle Howard. The problem was that it had been raised in and grown accustomed to the California climate (high humidity and moisture levels). When it was brought here, it died. Anyway, we have taken up bonsai as a hobby and it is extremely rewarding!
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