What types of bonsai are there?

Did you know that there are different types of bonsai? Although they all seem to us, in principle, more or less the same, the reality is that these small trees grown in a tray are classified in several ways, being one of the main ones by size and style.

Knowing these classifications is very interesting, as well as necessary if you are going to work plants to make bonsai, since even before starting the work you have to have decided how much it will measure, and also have more or less an idea of ​​what design you will give it. So let's go there 🙂.

Bonsai are trees or shrubs that, after years of work, have a well-defined style, a style that always tries to be a representation of a plant that we can find in nature.. And it is that the flora, regardless of the type that it is, adapts the best it can to live in its habitat, each one in its own, and by the process it can limit its growth, it can develop branches only on one side, it can twist or grow on the ground instead of standing upright, or it can, in short, ignore a little what its genetics say to survive.

Those who like bonsai should know that not just any plant grown in a tray will be a bonsai. This must comply with certain standards that we saw in this article. But also, it is important to bear in mind that you have to try to imitate nature, respecting the tree and its cycles. If we don't do it like that, if we want to "impose ourselves" and force him to be the one who adapts to us, I can tell you that sooner or later we will lose him. That being said, let's know how bonsai are classified 🙂.

What types of bonsai are there?

Sorting according to size

Shito or Keshitsubu

It is the smallest category of bonsai that exists. The tree or bush is less than 5 centimeters tall, which is something that is achieved by sowing the seed directly in the pot -macetita rather 🙂 - and pruning the seedling.

Due to a question of size and lack of space, it usually only has one or two very short branches and a few leaves.

Mame

Mame bonsai measures between 5 and 15 centimeters. To get a healthy plant, you can also choose to sow the seed in the pot, or to get a cutting that we find beautiful and plant it there.

Its maintenance consists of pinching the twigs, and watering it very often so that it does not dry out.

shohin

Shohin are bonsai that they measure between 15 and 25 centimeters. They are usually the easiest to find, since this is a very attractive size, and also, as the roots have a somewhat larger tray, they can get the nutrients they need so that the tree is a relatively simple plant to care for.

Therefore, they are the most suitable for beginners.

Komono or Kotate Mochi

These bonsai they measure between 15 and 31 centimeters. Like the Shohin, they are not very difficult to maintain. With this size, I highly recommend giving them a forest style that we will now see, or the windswept ones, but you should know that anyone can look good -respecting the tree, yes-.

If we buy them ready-made, the price is usually high, so if we are not in a hurry we can get seedlings in any nursery and work them little by little.

Lead

Are the ones have a height of between 30 and 60 centimeters. These are already starting to be heavy bonsai, which is why they are not seen much in fan collections. Even so, they attract a lot of attention, not only because of their size, but also because of their beauty.

Getting one is simple, but only if you go to a specialized bonsai nursery.

omono

These are the ones they measure between 60 and 120 centimeters, like a bush growing in a normal pot. They are ideal to have in the center of a patio where we have our collection of bonsai for example, or placed on both sides of a door.

Caring for them is not much of a mystery, but transplanting them may require the hands of two people.

Hachi-uye

They are the greatest of all, the ones who have a height of more than 130 centimeters. If the Omono attracted a lot of attention, these already ... I won't even tell you 🙂. They look great on patios and terraces, either together with other bonsai of different sizes or with other types of plants.

Due to their high price, they are not usually sold much, but if you have the opportunity to get one you will surely enjoy.

Classification according to your style

chokkan

Chokkan is the most common and easiest style of bonsai to make. It is characterized by its straight trunk and some branches placed in such a way that, if we see the plant from a certain distance, we can distinguish a triangular silhouette.

moyogic

It is very similar to the previous one, but with the difference that the trunk is not straight, but sinuous. It is also very easy to get, as there are many trees that adapt to this style, such as conifers.

shakan

It is a tree or shrub whose trunk has been worked tilting it no more than 45º. Its cup is triangular.

Kenya

It is one of the most curious styles. Kengai, or waterfall, is a style in which the apex of the trunk is below the rim of the pot. 

han kengai

Or semi-cascade. Similar to Kengai, but the apex is below the rim of the pot but above the base of the pot.

fukinagashi

Or swept by the wind. This style tries to imitate the trees that live in areas where the wind blows with such force and regularity that it prevents branches from growing on either side of the plant. The trunk is also inclined, in the same direction that the branches follow.

Neagari

This is a style that requires knowledge and a lot of experience in bonsai cultivation, otherwise it will be difficult to maintain it. These plants grow with exposed roots, usually on a rock.

Bunjin or Literati

It is a style of Chinese origin, which seeks to simulate oriental calligraphy. These plants have hardly any branches, only at the apex of them, and a very slender trunk.

sōkan

It's a tree with double trunk, or »father-son». Together they must form a kind of triangle.

ikadabuki

It is the raft style, in which several branches arise from the same trunk that is semi-buried on the ground longitudinally. It works as if they were a group of trees.

Yose-Ue

A series of trees are planted, always in odd numbers, which, both collectively and individually, they must respect the rules of triangularity.

Kabudachi

It's a multi-stem bonsai that springs from a single nebari. Even so, it works as if it were a forest.

hokidachi

It is the "on broom" style. It is one of the most frequent to see in bonsai or bonsai projects that they sell in nurseries. The branches sprout from the same point of the trunk, and fan out upward.

Sekijōju

It is a tree or group of trees that are planted in the hollows of a rock.

Where to buy bonsai?

Bonsai proper they are only sold in specialized stores and nurseries. The reality is that the ones sold in conventional nurseries or garden centers are bonsai projects, or not even that: freshly rooted cuttings. That doesn't mean they are bad to begin with; The truth is that they are the best to start in this world: they are cheap, they already have a defined style, and if the species is chosen well (avoiding the tropical ones or the so-called "indoor" species) it is sure that you will enjoy a lot.

But if you do not have money, or if you want to start over at the beginning, do not hesitate to buy a seedling and work it yourself.

And with this we are done. I hope you have learned a lot from bonsai 🙂.