The great majority of the finest bonsai are created from trees collected from the
tree-line or other areas where harsh conditions cause trees to severely die-back. During
kinder years, the trees grow back, only to get killed back again. This
"grow-and-die-back" cycle produces trees with extraordinary character and such
trees have exceptional potential. There's really no secret. Masterpiece
quality stock material make masterpieces possible!
Creating bonsai is a process that parallels the development of a natural tree. Both
can begin as seedlings. The natural tree passes through several stages beginning as
a "whip," then an intermediate stage, then mature and decline. This are
discussed in another section. Most bonsai depict trees in the mature or decline
stages. Each tree specie has a different life-span but it may take 50 to 100 years
or more for the tree to reach the mature stage. Collecting naturally shaped bonsai
stock allows you to work with aged plant material that already has character.
Fuku-Bonsai's REDUCTION-BUILDING is a parallel technique that is especially applicable to
growing tropical bonsai. Temperate climate trees tend to grow much slower but the
Japanese use a similar technique in growing stout Azalea bonsai and miniature mame bonsai.
This thesis begins with one of our earlier documented presentations that utilized
Indian Hawthorne or "Kokutan" (Rhaphiolepsis indica) which was grown
from a seed planted in 1974, pre-trained, then ground-planted in 1976.
Without the restriction of a container, the tree developed much faster and larger with a
stouter trunk. The plant was dug out in the spring of 1981and was part of a
demonstration given to the Bonsai Kenkyu Club of Hilo. This was part of a very
active year in which we formed the Big Island Bonsai Association and began the 3-year
project "Revitalization of Bonsai on the Big Island." Up until then, most
of the Big Island growers were utilizing training methods more associated with Japanese
bonsai. In the tropics, these methods produced results very slowly as seedlings
were trained as bonsai with the entire process in pots.
REDUCTION-BUILDING uses accelerated growth techniques (to be covered later) and massive
reduction, followed by strong regrowth, moderate reduction, and training primarily by
pruning. It produces larger trunks with character and taper, interesting branches,
and exciting highly variable bonsai stock with "individual character."
 |
Photo 1 was taken just prior to the demonstration to the Bonsai Kenkyu Club of Hilo where
this technique was first presented publicly. The plant had just been dug from the ground
and measured 30" tall and 75" wide. If the cuts are made next to a branch which
becomes the new trunk, you'll achieve two cycles of Reduction-Building in one session.
When collecting from the wild, reduction is usually done before digging out the
plant to compensate for loss of roots. |
 |
Photo 2 shows the same plant after four cuts now greatly reduced to only 15" wide x
15" tall. The plant is in a 16" diameter aluminum pan and wired securely to
prevent any shaking. It also shows another plant from the same seed batch. Both were
trained by pruning. One was ground planted for accelerated growth while the other
continued to be trained in a traditional size container. |
 |
Photo 3 is a close-up view taken from another
angle shows different ways to reduce:
"A:" Partially cut through
and the main portion is ripped off. A little chiseling will allow it to heal with the
appearance of a natural scar.
"B:" A back branch was cut
2" away from the trunk. The new growth that appeared from the stub was trained to
form a low foliage background mass.
"C:" A small upwards growing
branch was cut off flush and slightly hollowed to heal without the cut being visible.
"D:" A long branch was cut
half through, bent downwards, and ripped back to form another natural scar.
Photos 1, 2, & 3; Reproduced from the Fall 1981 issue
of the Fuku-Bonsai Review; © Fuku-Bonsai |
 |
Photo#4: June 1994. Thirteen years after the Reduction-Building demonstration both
trees have developed well. The larger tree still has a heavier trunk but the smaller
tree is now growing faster because it's been planted in a larger pot. Note that
Kokutan naturally produces very angular branches. While the trunks were developed by
our Reduction-Building technique, branches and training follows a pruning method
taught me by the late Haruo Kaneshiro. These plants were developed from seeds off
his Kokutan bonsai that he gave me in 1974. |