Size Matters
Most people think bonsai are just small trees in pots, but they can be any size. There seems to be so many different names, too which makes it all very confusing.
Japanese classification | Required hands to move bonsai | Approximate size |
Imperial | Eight-handed bonsai | 60 to 80 inches |
Hachi-uye | Six-handed bonsai | 40 to 60 inches |
Dai or Omono | Four-handed bonsai | 30 to 48 inches |
Chiu or Chumono | Two-handed bonsai | 16 to 36 inches |
Katade-mochi | One-handed bonsai | 10 to 18 inches |
Komono | One-handed bonsai | 6 to 10 inches |
Mame | One-handed bonsai | 5 to 8 inches |
Shito or Keshitsubo | Fingertip bonsai | Under 2 inches |
Traditionally, the size of bonsai was measured by the number of hands needed to carry the tree.
For some reason, I have never considered having a large bonsai. Probably because they are not too easy to handle or for the amount of space they would need. Wherever we have lived, and there have been a few moves, I must always steal space for my bonsai. I start with one, but soon acquire more, either from seed or gifts from the birds. Sadly, most of our moves have meant giving away my collection, and I have lost some good ones this way. But it never takes me long to start again!

Image by Jaye Marie
Repotting even medium sized bonsai can be backbreaking, especially if you have several to cope with. When Anita brought home a 4-foot Christmas tree last year that had been abandoned in the Christmas rush, turning it into a bonsai never occurred to me. I was just so pleased that they hadn’t chopped off its roots and it has sat in its pot at the bottom of my garden ever since.
I was glad to adopt this tree, probably because of my despair at how many trees are killed every year in the name of Christmas. This one had been spared and that made it very precious to me. I have been meaning to plant it somewhere special, but finding the time do this and a suitable place in our jungle of a garden has not been easy. So, why has my mind, some 8 months later, come up with the idea that it could be my first large bonsai?
How the idea even found room in my head in the first place was amazing, for I haven’t been able to think of anything except my WIP for months.
My problem with ideas like these, is they tend to keep growing (a bit like the Christmas tree) So, just in case I haven’t enough to think about, I know I have a new project.

Image by Jaye Marie
I spent a long time studying it yesterday and it wasn’t long before I realised this could well be an impossible task. There were such a lot of big branches and I don’t have a clue as to which ones to keep and which to prune.
I have a feeling that this project might take a lot longer than I thought…
©JayeMarie
It looks very healthy. It’s nice to find somebody like-minded who hates the thought of chopping down trees just because it’s Christmas.
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They should outlaw the practice, we need all of our trees!
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Absolutely.
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We have a large potted pine tree we’ve been thinking of turning into a Bonsai. The trunk is gnarly and the branches already have strange, but wonderful, formation. I guess, just bite the bullet and trim 🙂
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YouTube have many videos on trimming bonsai…
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Pingback: #My Other Love… Size Matters… | anita dawes and jaye marie – Wolf's Birding and Bonsai Blog
I have a Garry Oak (a large tree native to my area) that I grew from seed. It’s been in a pot for its entire life and is less than a foot tall. Having no space to plant it, I just might leave it in the pot and see what happens.
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I would love to see it!
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I’ll probably write a post about it if I ever turn it into a real bonsai.
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I will look forward to reading it someday, Audrey…
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I love looking at Bonsai but I would have no idea how to care for one or how to take a tree and shape as one. And I had no idea there were so many different kinds!
I like the idea of that pine being rescued. 🙂
About four years ago my husband picked up a single sprig of a white pine for Arbor Day. Our local library was handing them out. After several years of caring for that single sprig in a pot, we were able to plant what is now a small tree last year. It’s flourishing. 🙂
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Wow, I am loving all these tree comments. White pines are so beautiful…
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I used to have two Bonsai. (Komono class). They were a lot of work and became gifts to those who admired them.
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They are a lot of work, but I think they’re worth it! Most people think you only have to water them…
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