How to Make a Bonsai Pinoy Style (Part 4)
This should be the last part but definitely not the least of our How to Make a Bonsai Pinoy Style series. This time, Sir Nolan discusses the different bonsai styles and the inspiration obtained from nature.
I hope that NATURE is in the topmost of your mind while shaping your trees and while re-potting / re-positioning them. A better understanding of nature makes one a better bonsai/penjing artist. – Nolan Sison
CHAPTER 4: STYLING YOUR BONSAI
By Nolan Sison
I know that it is already ingrained in your mind the different bonsai styles. But do you know how they came about? Do you know how winds behave when blocked by the face of a cliff? And how do these winds influence the growth of trunks and branches growing on cliffs? So, let us now go back to basics, with different perspectives though.
My descriptions of the various penjing styles will focus on why trees are shaped that way, which is caused by several factors – soil, environment, sunlight, wind, nutrients, and animal intervention, among others.
It is important for the bonsai/penjing artist to understand the forces of nature on why trees are shaped in different ways so he/she can design the “right”-looking tree.
Upright Trunk Style
A straight, upright growth signifies minimal environmental stress on the tree. It is the “perfect” tree. Japanese bonsai conservatives espouse a strict branching sequence for this tree type.
Left-back-right (or vice versa) all the way to the top with a front branch near the apex. Hence, it is a difficult style. I do not support the idea. Go ahead and design an upright tree with a non-sequential branching pattern.
Curved Trunk Style
The same tree as above, with some environmental effects, where its life’s drama can be seen in its trunk and branches. Some tree species (Pemphis acidula, Bougainvilla sp., Junipers) can’t really grow straight trunks. Undulating trunk, debarked portions of its lower trunk, driftwood lower branch, and sharply twisted branches, are manifestations of challenges in the tree’s growth.
A debarked lower trunk might suggest a favorite spot for an animal’s (cow or buffalo) scratch pole, or a fungal disease that caused the partial rotting of its bark. The sharp angle of twists of its lower branches indicates its unending quest for better sunlight (for photosynthesis) as ever-changing growth patterns of its upper branches present a difficult shade to overcome.
The changing seasonal wind directions also create the undulating trunk shape, especially in windy areas, such as the Rocky Mountains, seashores, and in-between big rocks.
Cascade Style
This is a typical growth of trees on rocky cliffs and ravines. When winds hit the wall of a cliff, the tree swirls upwards if the cliff has a positive inclination (less than 90 degrees), or rotates downwards if the cliff has a negative inclination (more than 90 degrees).
The swirling effect of the winds twists the trunk in its early growth and its branches in its mature growth. The downward swirl of winds has more effect on the trees because it aggravates the natural gravitational pull. Thus, the growth extends downward, and branching develops outwards as there is little sunlight at the side of the wall.
In penjing, any part of the living tree that grows below the rim of the pot is a cascade. Trees growing, not on cliffs, but on inclined mountainsides will develop an arc-like growth, mainly because of constant wind action hitting the mountains.
Some trees overshadowed by bigger trees or rocks will also develop a semi-cascade shape as it seeks to find sunlight.
Braided Trunk
These are two or more tree trunks that were fused together by forces of nature and became a single tree. If seeds fall and in contact with the soil in a cluster, they grow as separate seedlings, very close to each other. As their trunks thicken, they come in contact with each other.
The wind action swaying the trunks in different directions will rub and debark the portion in contact with other trees. As time passes by with the months with very seldom winds, the debarked trunk portion in contact with other debarked tree trunks fuses together to form a single tree.
The braids are fused entanglements of trunks and may present very interesting trunk surface undulations. Exposed roots fused or braided together may form part of the trunk, so it may also be classified as a braided trunk style.
Broom Style
This type of growth indicates a well-fed tree. Non-stop budding in primary, secondary, and tertiary branches leads to the development of a broom-like shape.
Clump Style
A single tree develops four or more trunks. Normally, a tree grows with a single trunk. But somewhere along the tree’s early life, budding occurs just above its primary roots, thus developing additional trunks.
This may be caused by several factors – rich soil nutrients, injured main trunk, malnutrition (nutrients no longer flow at the upper branches so food finds its way to develop and nourish additional trunks), among others.
Driftwood Style
Trees “die” but somehow find a way to live again. When the going gets rough, portions of its trunk and some lower branches die. If a portion of the trunk dies, the remaining living portion will continue to pass-on nutrients to the remaining branches and the tree survives.
As the dead portion of the trunk and branches dry up, they shed their brittle barks and become driftwood (dried by the sun). This style shows the drama of struggle in the tree’s life.
Twin Trunks Style
A single tree growing two trunks. In any twin cases (as in animals and human beings), one will prevail or is superior to the other. Thus, as nature would have done, the thicker trunk should have higher growth than the one with the thinner trunk. The outer side of each trunk should have more branches because of their greater exposure to sunlight than the inner side.
Hollow Trunk Style
Old trees rot. But they still live. The woody central portion of the trunk’s core will rot away and forms a hollow cylinder. Reasons for this are termite invasion, fungal infection, water seepage because of an injured upper portion (fallen primary branch), and many other factors.
Some tree species will naturally form hollow trunks when they get old. This is very difficult to do artificially. If one will use power tools to carve out the woody core of the trunk, it is possible but I do not recommend it. A better option is to get a penjing material with a hollow trunk. Imagine and implement.
Raft Style
Fallen trees (by strong typhoons) have portions of their roots still underground and continue to nourish the tree. Surviving primaries will grow as individual trees with a common root system as nutrients are distributed through the horizontal mother trunk.
New shoots will develop to become individual juveniles. Juveniles are best at the back portion of the display to create depth perception of the display, as thin trunks convey distance from the thick-trunked frontal trees.
Exposed Roots
Due to erosion or run-off, the soil is washed away from the tree’s root system, thus exposing it as if it is above ground. Constant erosion or water runoff exposes a larger part of the roots.
It is best to position trees with exposed roots in a slanting or tilted manner to add drama to their resistance against the forces of nature. It is also natural for an exposed-root tree to have a lesser degree of anchorage thus, it leans on the side with the heaviest branches.
Parent & Child Style
This is a variation of the twin trunk style but there is a degree of size (trunk thickness and height) difference between the two. The taller and thicker tree is the parent and the smaller tree is the child. Your artistic skill will come into play in shaping this style. Some do it as if the parent is “hugging” the child. But it is natural that the smaller tree pulls away from the shadows of the mother’s upper foliage to get its own sunlight.
Root on Rock Style
Seeds sometimes fall on rocks. They find their way on accumulated soil and debris in between rocks and ridges, so they grow. If the roots find a suitable growing medium inside the clump of rocks, then the roots remain hidden. There is no need to use pots for this style. The rock serves as the pot of the tree.
Root over Rock Style
Trees growing on rocks sometimes run out of growing medium such as trapped soil and rotting leaves in between rocks, so its roots crawl through the rock face in an attempt to reach the base soil.
If the “crawling” roots reach the soil where the rock it is growing from is embedded, it thickens quickly to efficiently deliver nutrients to the tree. Because of this, a rock-clasping presentation should have the roots tightly clasping the rock face (no spaces in between) following the rock’s contours, down to the base soil.
Weeping Style
Because of the heavy branches, fruits, or flowers of the tree as it extends longer than the branch base can carry, it drops down forming an arch. Gravity pulls down the tip of every branch as it is farthest from the connecting base from the main branch or the main tree. Some tree species naturally grow into weeping style. (Wisteria, weeping willows) Ordinary trees can sometimes become interesting if styled in weeping form.
Literati Style
This is an elegant style with a simple branching pattern, mostly at the tip or apex of the tree. It is frequently depicted in Chinese and Japanese mountain paintings because it exudes “zen” and freedom. This style is usually seen in mountain pines.
The reason for this is the harsh environment where the trees are growing. Rocky medium produces very little nutrients for the trees so lower branches die out and get severed from the trunk. Long, heavy lower branches break off during typhoons, and only the short upper branches survive.
Land/Water Style
Most of us are fascinated by the miniature sceneries on trays, mostly with live trees adorning the mountains and cliffs. This is a bit complicated, as one should consider the many forces of nature affecting the growth of trees in real life.
Trees should not lean towards “shadow makers” such as mountainsides, rocks, and other taller trees. This style should be presented in marble or ceramic trays but white-painted pots/trays will do.
The white-colored tray represents water. The bottom of the tray is the water. You may or may not include real water in the presentation. You may or may not include figurines (boats, huts, persons) in the presentation.
White sand does not represent water. Sand represents as it is – sand, in the terrain or beaches. These are not rules but mere suggestions. Go ahead and try other colors and shapes of trays.
Landscape Style
Various terrestrial sceneries are depicted in this style. Inspirations for these landscapes are those places that the artist went to, or seen in pictures, or visited in their dreams. Trays or pots in this style should be earth-colored (brown, beige, gray, and black). Stylized pots can also be used. As in Saeki, mosses represent grass, weeds represent bushes.
Perspective in size will be enhanced by using figurines (huts, persons, animals). Again, these are not rules. Experiment with other pot shapes and colors.
Try roaming around mountains and forests. Can you point out a tree with a specific style as stated above? Maybe some, but not all. Therefore, bonsai styles are not all-encompassing tree growth patterns.
Conclusion
Now that your knowledge had been reinforced by your awareness of the dynamics of nature in shaping trees, I hope that NATURE is at the topmost of your mind while shaping your trees and while re-potting / re-positioning them. A better understanding of nature makes one a better bonsai/penjing artist.
