Going Bonsai

Warsaw may be a long way from the Asia, but the ancient art of bonsai - which originated in China - is alive and well here.

The Warsaw Bonsai Club began in 1995 and has since drawn more than a dozen interested individuals, both locally and from neighboring counties. The club meets the first Saturday of most months at the Open Air Garden Center on North Lake Street.

At the most recent meeting, members from Elkhart, Culver and Columbia City joined with those from within the county to learn about plant propagation and the three methods most often used by bonsai growers.

Club president Steve Moore said he has been involved with bonsai since 1989 and, in 1994, set up a presentation to local master gardeners. Moore, who is a master gardener himself, said that two others "started pestering me to start a bonsai club here."

At the organizational meeting in April 1995, Moore said he hoped for six people to attend and would have settled for four, but he was excited about the future of bonsai in Warsaw when eight people showed up.

Since then, attendance at the monthly meetings has varied from about six to 15, Moore said.

Many people who aren't familiar with bonsai sometimes confuse it with topiary.

Whereas topiary is an artful way to shape bushes and trees at places such as Disney World, where Mickey Mouse is glorified in greenery, bonsai seeks to reflect nature, with the miniature plant resembling a tree.

Another often mistaken thought on bonsai is that it actually is a type of tree. However, it is the process of dwarfing any of a variety of plant species and can involve just about any genus.

The most commonly used trees for creating bonsai in this area are pines, junipers, maples, elms and azaleas.

Moore said the foliage will respond to the proper techniques by getting smaller - sometimes down to seven-eighths of its original size. The degree of reduction, he said, is species specific. For example, Moore said, "Fruit and flowers, interestingly, won't reduce. An azalea bonsai will have full-sized blossoms."

Moore said he's seen English ivy bonsai, and the first time did a double-take. Even California redwood and giant sequoia are being used by bonsai artists, he said.

"It's probably safe to say that if it's woody and grows where bonsai is practiced, someone has at least tried it out to see how well it works," Moore said.

Club member Dave Burke of Culver said a lot of time working with bonsai is spent simply studying the plant to determine its final outcome before you begin. He has worked with several varieties of plants and chose a boulevard cypress on this particular day.

To be a bonsai, a plant must meet three criteria. It must be:

1. alive;

2. growing in a container or on a slab - not in the ground; and

3. shaped, in accordance with artistic principles, to be the image of a full-sized tree or group of trees in nature.

"Our teacher has said that the best bonsai make you think 'tree' before you think 'bonsai,' " Moore said. "When a painter paints a tree, he or she seeks to capture the tree's character - strength, grace, endurance and so on - in oils on canvas. The bonsai artist seeks to capture the same qualities, the same characteristics, in a living, miniaturized replica."

Bonsai doesn't necessarily require a lot of experience or supplies.

"There are specialized tools you can buy for bonsai, or you can get by with a pair of scissors and a pair of pliers," said club member Clay Gratz of Elkhart.

Also, plants salvaged from the cast-off lot of a nursery often make beautiful bonsai, club members agreed.

Each monthly club meeting consists of an informal workshop at which members can bring in plants and work on them together and a program on bonsai-related topics.

For more information, contact Moore at 269-6502.