Forest/group style
We can see this as a small forest in a flat pot. It should create the illusion of a miniature version of a forest. The distances between the trees should be different. Do not place three or more trees on the same line. The trunks should vary in thickness and height. The number of trees in a smaller group cultivation should be uneven.
Though if more than 15 trees are used, it is not so important to stick to uneven numbers. Satsuki are used to replicate a forest in bloom and if used for group cultivation, all trees should be of the same type.
A popular style of creative bonsai. It uses shallow and wide pots, and plants several trunks close together. The expression of the individual tree changes greatly depending on its arrangement, such as the strength and spacing of the trunks.
In nature, trees are forced into all kinds of shapes under the influences of weather, wind and placement. Consequently, bonsai trees can have many shapes and sizes and, depending on their way of growing, they are grouped into various styles and shapes.
Examples
Bonsai classification
The Japanese devised the coded styles less than a hundred years ago. These styles make it possible to classify the trees according to the shape of their trunks, their branches, their roots. To know the styles is an obligatory base for amateurs. Though nowadays, without renouncing these styles, more importance is attached to the artistic values of movement, harmony and the coherence of the tree.
Bonsai classification by height:
Mame: up to 12cm / 5 inch
Shohin: from 12cm to 28cm / 5 – 11 inch
Chuhin: from 28cm to 60cm / 11 – 22 inch
Dai: from 60cm to 100cm / 22 – 40 inch
Bonsai classification by number of trunks on the same tree:
Tan-kan: 1trunk
So-kan: 2 trunks
San-kan: 3 trunks
Go-kan: 5 trunks
Nana-kan: 7 trunks
Kyu-kan: 9 trunks
