This kokedama bonsai has no pot. The roots are packed into a tight ball, then completely covered with moss. The root ball and moss are kept in place with string or wire. This type of bonsai is actually easy to grow and has gained in popularity over the last few years.
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Growing bonsai is a unique horticultural pastime—some call it an art—that developed in Japan. A bonsai tree begins as a seed of a plant that grows in the wild, and is manipulated to become a miniature that is even more beautiful than it would have been in nature.
For centuries, the Japanese lived in a rich natural environment and developed a strong appreciation for the changing seasons. Growing bonsai was a way to enjoy a scene from the great outdoors. A bonsai is more than just a potted bit of vegetation grown for its beautiful foliage and flowers.
We do not know when bonsai were first grown in Japan. One picture scroll from the early 14th century shows people admiring a potted plant similar to a bonsai. In those days, planting trees in pots was a hobby for aristocrats, the Buddhist clergy and high-ranking samurai. By the early 1700s, though, many people in Edo (present-day Tokyo) were planting trees and other vegetation in pots. But it was only around the end of the 1800s that people began making dwarf trees into works of art. Before long, enthusiasts were holding large bonsai exhibitions and innovating cultivation techniques. Today, bonsai are a part of Japanese cultural and artistic traditions that spring from a love of the natural environment and wild vegetation. Bonsai enjoy a wide following abroad, too, and major exhibitions are held in a number of places, notably the United States and Taiwan.
It used to be common in Japan to think of a bonsai as a dwarf tree cultivated by some elderly or retired person who would spend years, even decades, developing it into something of lasting value. But the hobby has evolved recently, with more young people growing small, easy-to-maintain bonsai that may not become old, valuable miniature trees but are still great for decorating a bedroom or living room. And they add to the pleasures of everyday life, too. Some new types are easier to look after, adding to their popularity, but you still need a certain level of knowledge on how to maintain them and develop each one into a natural work of art.
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