What Type Of Tree Is A Bonsai Tree?

When people first discover bonsai they assume that a bonsai is a special separate type of tree species. The truth is that nearly any tree can become a bonsai.

Bonsai is a set of techniques that are applied to a tree over many years. The result of doing these techniques will turn a ‘normal’ tree into a bonsai tree.

What Is A Bonsai Tree?

Simply put a bonsai is any tree that has been manipulated by using certain techniques to shape it and keep it small.

This is what is known as “bonsai training”. The tree is trained to grow in a certain way which makes it look like a bonsai.

Bonsai is a mix of keeping a tree small, but also making it look like it is very old and natural. A good bonsai should give the illusion that the tree is very old and beautiful, as if it where found in nature this way.

What Is The difference Between Bonsai and Topiary?

Bonsai and topiary can seem like they are very similar at times, but they are not.

Remember Edward Scissor Hands? Remember when he cut all those bushes in the garden and turned them into crazy shapes. That technique is called topiary.

The bushes were just normal bushes before he started pruning. They didn’t naturally grow into the shape of a dinosaur and they will need constantly pruned to keep that shape.

Broadly speaking, a bonsai is similar, they are also normal trees that you need to prune and keep them to shape. However, bonsai uses a few other techniques to try and keep the tree looking small, but also like a natural looking tree, rather than some interesting shape that a topiary might be.

Why Do People Think Bonsai Trees Are Their Own Species? 

For someone who doesn’t know anything about trees, I think it is logical to believe that a bonsai trees is not the same thing as normal tree that would be growing in the ground.

When you see a tree in nature it can be massive. Trees can easily grow anywhere from 10m to 30m tall, if not more depending on the species. A bonsai tree can be under 1m tall, some can be even be only a few centimeters tall. (You can read more about- The Size Of Bonsai)

I can fully understand why you would think these two types of tree are not related.

However, they are related. A bonsai tree can be the exact same species as a huge tree that is growing in the ground.

Bonsai Seeds Are Not Real

This belief that bonsai trees are not the same as normal trees is further fortified by dodgy online sellers.

If you go on Amazon or Ebay or wherever, and search bonsai, it won’t take you long to find some products that pushes this narrative. The main culprit being “Bonsai Seeds”.

This implies that these seeds are special bonsai seeds. If you plant them, it will turn into a little bonsai tree all on their own.

They fail to mention that if you plant these and leave them, they will just be a full size tree. They also usually show a picture of a tree that has been worked on for decades and imply you can have the same …All you need to do is plant the seeds and you’re pretty much done. …which isn’t how growing a bonsai works.

I find these types of products dodgy as they are basically exploiting people’s lack of knowledge. People want a bonsai and they think they need special bonsai seeds. So when they see people selling “bonsai seeds” they buy them.

What pains me is that these seeds are usually double, maybe triple the price of the seeds that are not labeld as “bonsai”.

The truth is that these “special” seeds are just normal seeds, but cost twice as much, because the word bonsai is written on the packet …Not quite right is it?

It also does not help that people say things like “This is how you grow a bonsai tree”. Which I will fully admit I am totally guilty of.

To anyone who is into bonsai, or any one who has read the start of this article, you will understand what that phrase actually means.

To those who are totally new to the hobby, it may sound like a “bonsai tree” is its own thing that is separate from other types of trees. So, maybe as a community we need to start saying something like “This is how you train a tree to become bonsai” or something like that instead? 

(For more information about training your own trees into bonsai you can read – Starting A Bonsai From Seed)

Can You Make Any Tree A Bonsai?

Yes, you can make pretty much any tree a bonsai by applying the right techniques.

You can basically try them on any plant that has growth which turns woody. So any trees, bushes, shrubs and even some succulents will work.

I just want to be really clear that when I say “any tree can be used” I mean any species can be used. You can not turn a 30 meter tall tree into a tiny bonsai that you can hold in the palm of your hand. That just goes against the rules of physics.

Bonsai techniques are used keep a tree small; they stop a tree from ever getting to that big size. They will not make a big tree suddenly shrink down in size.

Some Species Are More Suited for Bonsai

I think it’s also really important to also explain that some species respond a lot better to bonsai techniques than others. They are simply just more suited for it.

You can apply the same technique to two different species; one may respond really well and the other might just not get the same type of results.

You will find that these techniques have been experimented with and perfected for decades on each individual species. This has allowed certain species to be identified as more responsive and this is why you will see some species that seem so much more popular than others.

For example the Norway Maple and the Trident Maple are both members of the Acer family. However, if you go into a bonsai nursery you will probably find a load of stunning trident maples, but not a single Norway maple.

The Trident maple just responds so much better to training than the Normay maple. People still use Norway maples and the techniques can work, its just that the Trident maple is far more responsive to the same techniques.

These decades of experimentation from bonsai professionals around the world have also resulted in care guides for a vast number of individual species. For example how you treat a maple is totally different to how you would treat an another deciduous tree, like an apple tree. You would then treat a pine tree differently again. Basically there is no “one technique fits all” for growing and training a bonsai.   

There are also some species that are just naturally in a better starting position to become bonsai.

For example a Cotoneaster has very tiny leaves. Even if it is allowed to grow wild for years, the leaves will always be small. On the other hand a tree like a horse chestnut has giant leaves. It will take a lot more work to get the horse chestnut to become a good looking bonsai because of this, where as a Cotoneaster will look pretty much look miniature before you even begin because it has such small leaves.

(You can read more about how different species are suited – Can You Care For All Bonsai The Same Way?)

What Are The Techniques Used To Make A Bonsai?

The When, How, Frequency and what Order these techniques are exactly carried out will totally depend on the species and at what stage the tree is in its training.

So, the following techniques are just rough examples of what can be done to a tree to develop it into a bonsai.

Using A Small Pot

It is argued that to be a bonsai, a tree must be in a pot. A bonsai pot to be specific. I would partly agree. I think when a bonsai is at a certain stage it should definitely be put in a bonsai pot. On the other hand you cannot just put any tree into a bonsai pot and say it is now a bonsai.

Although a bonsai pot is mainly for aesthetics, it does also serve a purpose in its training. The fact that the pot is small obviously means there is not much growing space. This lack of space can basically stump the growth of the tree by not giving it the room to spread it roots. This confinement helps keep it small.

Also being able to get a tree into a very shallow pot means it looks smaller and helps to give it that “bonsai look” that a tree is miniature.

Root Work

To get a bonsai tree into a small bonsai pot, work will have to be done on the roots. This is initially started by the removal of the long fat tap root. (For more info you can read – How To Remove A Tap Root)

From here on the small fine roots are developed over the years. This is again is partly for aesthetics and partly for the training to keep the tree small.

Working the roots over time can lead to a beautiful small root base. This allows the tree to remain small, but very healthy and it allows it to fit into the small pot.

It also gives the illusion that the base of the tree is well anchored into the soil, as if it has been growing for many years and is very old.  

(For more info you can read – Developing a Nebari)

Pruning

Pruning the tree is one of the best ways to keep a tree small. The basic concept is that long branches are cut back short and from these cut points more growth will sprout.

However, the new growth is smaller and thinner. This gives the branches taper and makes the tree look like a full size tree as it increases the amount of branching.

(For more info you can read – How To Prune A Bonsai tree)

Styling

A bonsai tree can be styled by wire. Wire is wrapped around the branches which allow it to be bent and moved into a different shape and location.

Just think of getting braces for your teeth. It is sort of like that. After a while the wire is removed and the tree will hold the new shape.

Moving branches into certain angles or directions can make a wild looking bushy tree suddenly look like a well aged mature tree.  

Time

Time is the biggest factor when developing a bonsai tree. The above techniques need to be applied repeatedly over years to see results.

You can take any tree and carry about the above techniques, but it will not make a bonsai, it will just be a tree that has had its first bonsai work done. The only way to really get a bonsai is over time.

They can take a lot of time, effort and commitment, but the reward is definitely worth it.

Can You Speed Up Bonsai Techniques Up?  

The tree you start with, will depend on how long it will take to end up with a bonsai.

If you grow a bonsai from seed, it will take the longest amount of time. However, it is basically a blank canvas and you can control every aspect of the tree right from the start.

You can go to a nursery and buy a tree that is a few years olds. depending on its age and size this may help you get to your end goal slighty faster. Normally trees bought in this way already have a thick truck and just need to be refined by styling what you have and also growing small compact branching. Unfortunately with trees bought this way (unless its from a bonsai grower), you will find the roots are wild and out of control and can take along time to correct.

You can also take airlayers of existing trees. This is actually a very good way to get a bonsai quickly, you can get good roots and a thick trunk fairly fast, you would then  just need to focus on growing the fine branches. 

You can also dig a tree up from the wild. This is called “yamadori”. Some trees are battered by nature and are naturally quite small and stunted; this is especially so with pines and junipers that are grown in harsh mountain conditions.

If you know what your doing, these stunted trees can be dug up and potted into a pot. Some of the best bonsai start this way. Once they are collected you can end up with a decent tree after only a few years. However, you need to be quite skilled to collect an old tree and keep it alive.  It can also be hard to find suitable candidates to dig up.

(You can read my full guide on – How To Speed Up Growing A Bonsai)

Conclusion

So now you have learned that bonsai trees are in fact just normal trees that have been manipulated to stay small. Hopefully now you can look around at nature and then look at bonsai’s and see if you can spot the same species.

I always love to see how a certain species looks in nature compared to how someone has grown the same species for years in a pot. You will start to spot subtle differences in how trees are styles and how they reflect what is grown in nature.

You will also now be looking at all sorts of trees and bushes as you go about your day and ask yourself how you would try and turn it in to a bonsai. Knowing that any tree can be used for this art is a really wonderful thing to know.

(You can read more about – How Do Bonsai Stay Small?)