Bonsai
๐ In short
Bonsai is a beautiful Japanese and Chinese art in which people grow very small trees in pots, carefully trimming and shaping them so they look like big old trees in nature, but small enough to sit on a table!
๐คฉ Did you know?
- Bonsai trees are between about 5 centimeters and 90 centimeters tall.
- The art of bonsai began about a thousand years ago in wealthy homes in China and Japan.
- Bonsai trees are shown at special exhibitions.
- A bonsai needs light and water like any tree.
๐ Find out more
๐ A real tiny tree
A bonsai isn't a toy or a special kind of tree, but an ordinary tree like a pine, fig or maple that the gardener keeps small by trimming its roots and branches.
๐ The art of patience
Bonsai takes great patience: the gardener trims the branches, wraps some in thin wire to change their direction, and waters carefully. Shaping one tree can take many years.
๐ก Very old trees
Some bonsai trees are hundreds of years old and are passed down through the family, cared for by grandparents, then parents, then children.
๐ฏ What the name means
The word โbonsaiโ is Japanese and means โplanted in a potโ. The art began in China and reached Japan about a thousand years ago.
๐ธ More pictures
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 What is a bonsai?
2 What does the art of bonsai need?
3 Which picture shows โBonsaiโ?
๐ณ Discover more
๐ท Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons
- Order of the Rose (่่้จๅฃซๅฃ) ยท CC BY 4.0
- Japanexperterna.se ยท CC BY-SA 3.0
- Ragesoss ยท CC BY-SA 3.0
- Silverije ยท CC BY-SA 4.0
