This spring, displays of Bonsai will be among the many horticultural highlights of Zensai. Bonsai is the art of growing miniature trees and plants through shaping and root pruning. Originating from the Chinese, Bonsai received its introduction to Japan in the ninth century by imperial embassies returning from China. 

Bonsai can be created using almost any tree or shrub species and can live for hundreds of years. Some families pass on pieces of Bonsai from generation to generation.  

A Bonsai tree is kept small through specialized pruning and by wrapping copper coil around the branches and trunk to inhibit growth. Appropriate Bonsai care requires much maintenance, including regular fertilizing and watering several times per day. 

Today, there are several different styles of Bonsai, including: Formal upright style; Informal upright style; Slant style; Cascade style; Semi-cascade style; Raft style; Literati style; Group/Forest style.

See gorgeous exhibitions of Bonsai at the Garden during Zensai: The Horticulture of Japan.