Bonsai science is a website that helps you understand bonsai through the lens of plant biology. Most bonsai sites and books focus on the art and not the science of bonsai – this isn’t surprising when you consider that bonsai has been around for centuries, and DNA wasn’t even discovered until 1953ref.
Hopefully it won’t be too disappointing to bonsai newbies to learn that bonsai trees aren’t special biologically, they are just normal trees constrained to a small pot. It’s the bonsai artist who styles them to look like miniature versions and helps them thrive even in a small amount of soil. They do this by careful pruning, shaping and repotting, with an artistic vision in mind.
To get started using this site you can check out the three main sections: How Trees Grow, Keeping Bonsai Healthy or Shaping Bonsai, search using one of the site tags or check out some of the following posts which I think are most useful:
- Bonsai Tree Growth Stages
- Buds
- Leaves
- Nutrients for Trees
- Old Trees
- Plant Growth Regulators (or Phytohormones)
- Pruning
- Ramification of Branches and Foliage
- Repotting Tips
- Roots
- Shoots
- The Microbiome and Symbiotic Microbes
For updates you can follow me on Twitter, or on Facebook. If you find anything wrong on this site or want to provide feedback, you can email me at info@bonsai-science.com or on the FAQ page discussion box.
My latest posts are:
- Conifer flat leaves
Flat leaves are found across the conifer families including Taxus, Cephalotaxus, and even in Pinus (check out Pinus krempfii) as well as […] Read more… > - Conifer needle leaves
I’ll be honest, I find conifer needles to be quite weird. As someone raised in the southern hemisphere, true pine trees were […] Read more… > - Conifer scale leaves
Scale leaves are a curious form of conifer leaves which cover up the stem in interlocking patterns. I believe they are called […] Read more… > - Why do some conifer leaves go bronze in winter?
You may have noticed that certain conifer species’ leaves go a different colour over the winter without dying. This phenomenon is most […] Read more… > - Conifer Leaves
I’ve been planning a post on this subject for a while because conifers have always been a bit scary to me from […] Read more… > - Bonsai tool materials – carbon or stainless steel?
A fellow bonsai enthusiast at my bonsai club asked for advice from club members on their choice of tool materials, which prompted […] Read more… >