From: an1411@anon.penet.fi (Star Rider)
Subject: FAQ part 1 of 5
Organization: Anonymous contact service
X-Anonymously-To: alt.bonsai
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 18:48:41 GMT

This is the official alt.bonsai FAQ.

|Last minute update: Due to a hardware failure on my end I have lost the
|previous version of the FAQ and I think I have lost a few corrections
|that I had yet to make. So, if you made any corrections, or suggestions
|that you do not see here, please send them to me again! Note: This is
|being posted "blind" via the annon posting system because I don't know
|where else to mail it to post it...and I still do not (yet) have
|access to my new account. I have also found that the site I had been
|reading the group from is very behind in updating stuff...no
|new articles in the group for at least 8 days! So..any one that wants
|to, please e-mail me that you got this FAQ. I am breaking it into
|5 pieces so that I know the annon poster will not "choke" on it.
|                                         Mike Bartolone
|                                      bartlone@gemed.ge.com 
|PS:Sorry for the delay...

I'll try to update the FAQ either weekly or as often as required based on
the info submitted. (In other words..I'll do it more often if required
and less often if nothing has changed). The FAQ will be posted every 
Monday for the first 4 to 6 weeks (unless it gets TOO big too fast) and 
|then once a bi-weekly, or when it get updated which ever comes first.

If there are error or typo's in this text, or if your name has been left 
off of the contributor list, please just drop me a note. I'm very much 
capable of making mistakes...I do promise to do my best to correct all 
errors found before the next release of the FAQ.

The bonsai Dictionary is still under construction. I have some of the 
most frequently used japanese terms (according to my limited sources), 
and I have the latin botanical terms (again within the limits of my 
knowlege/sources...) If you have additions or corrections, please e-mail 
them to me at the address below.

++++++++++++++++++++++++ CALL FOR TRANSLATORS +++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you like Bonsai, and you can translate this FAQ into another
language, please do so...You can either e-mail me the translation,
or post it directly yourself..I'll add it to the FAQ as TRANSLATIONS
come in (if they come in...)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
                                            Mike Bartolone
                                        bartlone@gemed.ge.com
                                    (first alt.bonsai FAQ compiler)


Section 1 Table of contents
    Section 2 --  What is Bonsai?
    Section 3 --  Bonsai dictionary.
    Section 4 --  Frequently Asked Questions!
    Section 5 --  Addresses (Clubs, Associations, Magazines)
    Section 6 --  Reading material (Books and Magazines)
    Section 7 --  Junipers
    Section C --  Contributors...


Section 2 What is Bonsai?

This was at one time, the most commonly ask of all FAQ's, but, since
the Karate Kid was first shown, the frequency with which this question gets 
asked has decreased a little bit..Bonsai is literally a plant, (usually a 
tree or shrub) grown in a tray, or dish. 
The first plants grown in pots were in Egypt about 4000 years ago, mostly
for practical reasons, mobility, and convenience. The Greeks, Babylonians,
Persians, and Hindus copied the technique. The Chinese were the first to 
plant tree's in pots for aesthetic purposes about 200 AD. It then moved to 
Japan with the monks that also brought Buddhism in the 6th and 7th
centuries. This data is supported in essence by a scroll from Japan's 
Kamakura period (1192-1333), in a scroll describing life in the Heian 
period (794-1191).*  Bonsai as we now know it was perfected in Japan.
   The original bonsai tree's were usually collected, dwarfed by nature. 
Today, however, it is probably better to allow such specimens to stay
where they are. Many locations collecting them in the wild is against
the law. In others the chance of finding a suitable specimin is almost
zero.
   Over the years, techniques have evolved which allow the grower change 
the height and direction of growth, and in some cases to dwarf the foliage 
as well as the plant. Today, bonsai is an art form, a living sculpture. 
There are certain classic or traditional forms that can be found and 
followed, but the basic rule of thumb for personal bonsai is 'If you like 
the way it looks, its a good bonsai'.

*(From The Masters Book of Bonsai)

Section 3 -- Dictionary of bonsai terms

   Bonsai styles ---
   
     chokkan   Formal Upright
           The chokkan bonsai typically has a single, upright trunk
           that tapers toward the top, branches are symetrically balanced
           and well spaced.
           
     moyogi   Informal Upright
           Moyogi bonsai have a single trunk like the chokkan, but the
           trunk is usually curved. The trunk generally tapers toward
           the top like the formal upright.
           
     kabudachi (multiple trunks)
       sokan   Twin Trunk
       sankan  Triple Trunk
       gokan   5 trunk
           Two (or 3 or 5) trunks growing from the same root. Usually
           one trunk is the largest and is refered to as the parent.
           Good conformation is based on the esthetic balance of the
           smaller 'children' to the parent in trunk thickness.
           
     shakan   Slanting
           A single trunk, similar to the formal and informal upright,
           but cultivated with the trunk growing at an angle other than
           90 degree's to the ground. Brances are again balanced and
           well spaced.
           
     netsuranari   sinuous
           sinuous bonsai have multiple trees growing from a single
           sinuous root. 5 needle pine are most commonly used for
           this style.
           
     neagari   exposed root
           Roots growing up out of the ground, suspending the trunk
           in the air characterize this rare style of bonsai.
           
     ikada   raft
           Similar in effect to netsuranari, but typically with one
           straight horizontal root joining the tree's. This is usually
           accomplished by burying a larger tree horizontally and then
           training each branch as a separate tree.
           
     fukinagashi   Windswept
           Similar to the slanting style, but all of the branches are
           swept in one direction as though it were growing in a place
           with a strong constant prevailing wind.
           
     kengai   cascade
           An unusual form where the trunk and branches arch and
           'cascasde' over the edge of the pot. Usually planted in a 
           deep pot to give balance to its unusual form.
           
     bunjingi   literati
           upright or informally upright trunk bare of branches
           expect at the top, characterized by a tasteful simple 
           elegance.
           
     hokidachi    broom
           broom style tree's have an upright trunk, with branches
           evenly fanned out. IT resembles an old fashioned broom
           standing on its handle.
           
     yose-ue   Group
           A group planting of distinct separate tree's, representing
           a grove, or forest.
           
     ishitsuki   rock-grown
           There are two basic types of rock grown bonsai, root
           grasping the rock, where the roots do enter the soil the
           rock is protruding from, and on, or in the rock, where
           the tree is planted in a pocket of earth attached to
           the rock, or in a hollow in the rock.
           
   Growing techniques

       misho       grown from seed
       yamadori    collecting plants from nature
       sashiki     grown from cuttings
       tsugiki     grafting  
       toriki      layering and dividing
       
  Other Japanese bonsai terms --
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