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There are many styles of Bonsai, from
formal upright to slanting and cascade. Here is a brief listing of some of
the styles with pictures of Bonsai grown in each style. The pictures on this
page were taken at The U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. in June
1996.
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The Formal Upright
style of Bonsai is one of the most common styles. The trunk of the
tree is straight from bottom to top, with good taper. The leaves and
branches form a triangular shape.
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The Informal Upright style of
Bonsai is another common style. The trunk leans slightly to one side
or the other, while the apex of the tree is directly above the base
of the trunk. |
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The Slanting style of Bonsai is
similar to the informal upright, except the apex is not directly
above the base of the trunk. The trunk slants to one side or the
other. |
The Cascade style of Bonsai is
characterized by the trunk growing downward below the bottom of the
pot. The pot used for Cascading Bonsai is deeper than pots for other
styles. |
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The Forest style consists of a
group planting of 3 or more trees in one pot. The number of trees in
the planting is usually an odd number, such as 3, 5, 7, 9, etc. The
number of trees may be even if more than 20-25 trees are being used.
The Japanese consider an odd number of trees to be appropriate
because of the randomness of nature. An even number of trees might
appear to be too symmetrical. |
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