Bonsai Glossary: 23 Terms Explained
The words that show up in bonsai specs, reviews and how-to guides, explained without jargon. Open any term for the full explanation and what to look for when buying.
- Akadama
- Akadama is a fired Japanese clay granule used in bonsai soil mixes for its balance of water retention and drainage.
- Read more about akadamaRelated: Best Akadama for Bonsai Soil
- Apex
- The apex is the topmost point of a bonsai's crown, the visual endpoint that gives the silhouette its sense of direction and age.
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- Bonsai styles
- Bonsai styles are named trunk and canopy forms, like formal upright, cascade or literati, that give trees a shared design vocabulary.
- Read more about bonsai styles
- Concave cutter
- A concave cutter is a bonsai tool with curved blades that removes a branch and leaves a hollow scar that heals flat.
- Read more about concave cutterRelated: Best Concave Cutters for Bonsai
- Defoliation
- Defoliation is removing healthy leaves from a vigorous deciduous bonsai to trigger smaller, denser regrowth for refinement.
- Read more about defoliation
- Grafting
- Grafting joins a shoot or bud from one tree onto another to add branches, change foliage, or fix a gap in a design.
- Read more about grafting
- Guy wire anchoring
- Guy wire anchoring uses wire and pot anchors to pull a branch or trunk section into position with steady, ongoing tension.
- Read more about guy wire anchoring
- Humidity tray
- A humidity tray is a shallow tray of water and pebbles placed under an indoor bonsai to raise local air moisture.
- Read more about humidity trayRelated: Best Humidity Trays for Bonsai
- Indoor vs outdoor species
- Junipers, maples and pines are outdoor bonsai that need seasonal cold, while ficus and jade tolerate year-round indoor life.
- Read more about indoor vs outdoor speciesRelated: Best Indoor Bonsai Trees
- Jin
- A jin is a bare, bleached deadwood branch or trunk tip created by stripping bark to suggest age and weathering.
- Read more about jinRelated: Best Jin Pliers for Deadwood Work
- Nebari
- Nebari is the visible root flare at the base of a bonsai trunk, prized for width, spread and even radial spacing.
- Read more about nebari
- One-third rule
- The one-third rule is a rough guideline that wire diameter should be about a third of the branch it is bending.
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- Pre-bonsai
- Pre-bonsai is nursery or field-grown stock with a developed trunk, ready for styling into a bonsai rather than starting from seed.
- Read more about pre-bonsaiRelated: Best Pre-Bonsai Stock to Buy
- Pumice
- Pumice is a lightweight, porous volcanic rock added to bonsai soil to improve drainage, aeration and root branching.
- Read more about pumiceRelated: Best Pumice for Bonsai
- Ramification
- Ramification is the repeated branching into fine, twig-like growth that gives a mature bonsai canopy its dense, natural look.
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- Root pruning
- Root pruning is trimming a portion of a bonsai's roots during repotting to keep the tree healthy in a small container.
- Read more about root pruningRelated: Best Root Pruning Shears
- Sacrifice branch
- A sacrifice branch is left to grow long and vigorous purely to thicken a trunk or section, then removed once it has done its job.
- Read more about sacrifice branch
- Tokonoma
- A tokonoma is a formal Japanese display alcove used to showcase a single bonsai with companion pieces and a plain backdrop.
- Read more about tokonoma
- Training pot
- A training pot is a plain, often plastic container used to grow and develop a bonsai before it moves into a display pot.
- Read more about training potRelated: Best Bonsai Training Pots
- Turntable
- A bonsai turntable is a rotating platform that lets a grower view and work on a tree from every angle without lifting it.
- Read more about turntable
- Wiring
- Wiring is the technique of coiling aluminum or copper wire around trunks and branches to bend them into a desired position.
- Read more about wiringRelated: Best Aluminum Training Wire for Bonsai
- Yamadori
- Yamadori is a bonsai tree collected from the wild, valued for trunk character that takes decades to develop through cultivation.
- Read more about yamadori