Bonsai Art

Most collected trees fail to look good for one specific reason. They have no taper.

Taper is the way that a trunk starts off large at the base and slowly gets smaller towards the top of the tree. It should also been seen in the sizes of the branches on the way up. The largest branches should be at the bottom of the tree and the thinnest at the top.

There are two different ways to achieve a good taper in a small tree such as a bonsai.

1. Prune the tree each year allowing it to get progressively taller each year.

The second could be called cheating but it is sometimes needed as we haven’t got years and years to carry out the first way.

2. The tree is carved from the top downwards leaving the top most part of the trunk thin and leaving it larger towards the bottom of the trunk. A carving is usually required about halfway down the tree to look natural but many people carve the full length of the trunk leaving a ‘lifeline’ of living trunk. The carved area is then treated with lime sulphur to stop rotting and achieve a natural appearance.

When styling remember that your tree will need to grow slightly larger each year to allow for a natural looking taper.