A bonsai with a asking price of 6 million yuan: Plants can be art too
Bonsai are expensive and hard to care for, and many flower lovers have never paid much attention to them. In fact, bonsai is one of China's traditional arts, using tiny floral shapes to let viewers feel beauty. Today Huahua will take everyone to see what these sky-high-priced bonsai look like!
Ficus bonsai
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The treasure of Huizhou Bao Family Garden, this ficus bonsai is named "Southern Scenery." At nearly 170 years old, it still has strong roots and flourishing leaves. In 2010 it was appraised at 6 million yuan, and even the pot it used at the time was a valuable Jun kiln piece.
The owner of Bao Family Garden was Bao Qiyun, a Huizhou merchant in the Qing Dynasty. The garden is now the largest private garden in the country, and the sky-high-priced bonsai is displayed inside it, attracting many visitors every year.
Shimpaku juniper bonsai
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Cypress is a major highlight among bonsai. Because the transplant survival rate is less than 0.1%, top-quality specimens range in price from 500 to 8 million.
A relatively famous bonsai master today, Kunio Kobayashi, is especially skilled at pine and cypress landscaping. He also owns many precious bonsai in his collection. The one below is over 800 years old, with white deadwood and red bark intermingled, and its value is immeasurable!
Cypress bonsai
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Not only do we Asians like bonsai, there are also many bonsai enthusiasts abroad. The one below is America's famous "Watchman," created by the leading American bonsai master John Yoshio Naka.
The old artist created "Watchman" inspired by American history, and after completing it donated it to the National Arboretum. After decades it is still full of life.
Five-needle pine bonsai
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This five-needle pine bonsai is a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, and was later sent to the United States. It is now nearly 400 years old, and its price is certainly impossible to estimate.
Boxwood bonsai
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Bonsai are not only small potted plants. The boxwood bonsai tree below, offered 5 million yuan but not for sale, is the work of bonsai master Han Xuenian and is named Boxwood Emperor.
The collectible value of boxwood has also kept rising. It is said that in 2001 Master Han Xuenian acquired this boxwood for 260,000 yuan, and after careful shaping and care in his bonsai garden, its value increased more than 20 times!
Black pine bonsai
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The black pine below, which looks quite ordinary, sold at auction in 2014 for 1.84 million yuan. Huahua really could not get its beauty---
This Osaka pine in the same auction also fetched a high price of 180. Pine is also a common bonsai plant. Seeing this price, Huahua is itching to grow one too.
Japanese red maple bonsai
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Japanese red maple has always been an "internet celebrity" in the bonsai world, with prices ranging from a few thousand to a million. Of course, each pot has its own price, so a good bonsai still depends on finding the right appreciator!
Below is a red maple grown by a flower lover. It looks quite artistic too!
Zelkova bonsai
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Bonsai do not necessarily have to have twisted branches. Take the zelkova below: let it grow upright and keep controlling water so it becomes a normal "large tree," letting you feel its different beauty through all four seasons! Zelkova bonsai prices are relatively lower, ranging from 10,000 to several hundred thousand.
Plum blossom bonsai
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We Chinese mostly grow flowers to admire the blooms. Wouldn't it be wonderful to grow a flowering bonsai? The thumb-sized plum blossom below sells for around 40,000 yuan. Judging by size alone, it is more expensive than gold!
Although it is beautiful up close, it is so small after all that most people cannot appreciate it.
Wisteria bonsai
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Japanese wisteria bonsai are stunning when they bloom. Being able to turn vine flowers into bonsai is truly superb!
A single branch standing alone can also be beautiful, but Huahua is a little worried after looking at it. Once the flowering period passes, won't it be bare?
The pot below is a wisteria bonsai from an ordinary flower lover. Isn't it also beautiful? You have to admit, masters really are among the people!
(Image @Mr. Qiwu)
Apple bonsai
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The bonsai below, densely covered with flowers, is actually an apple tree, priced at 30,000 yuan. If it could bear apples, how expensive would they be?
Actually, fruit tree bonsai are not grown for fruit. The whole point of bonsai is ornamental value. But most of us flower growers care about practicality, so read on, everyone. Huahua was shocked!
Quite a few flower lovers have started experimenting with apple bonsai at home. You can enjoy them and eat from them, isn't that the best of both worlds? The key is the price is also cheap, a few hundred yuan for one pot and you're done.
But Huahua always feels it no longer looks like bonsai, and more like a dwarf fruit tree. What do you all think of this phenomenon?
New-style bonsai appreciation
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After seeing these bonsai prices, are you stunned? Don't rush to complain, Huahua also wants to show everyone some new-style bonsai. The image below is by Japanese artist OCOZE, full of modern bonsai style, completely different from the earlier aesthetic ancient style, mainly composed of stone with moss and miniature green plants!
Another young artist, Takanori Aiba, likes to build castles and attics inside bonsai, letting architecture and plants intertwine, making it even more playful.
After seeing these bonsai
do flower lovers think they look good
If you also have bonsai at home
welcome to share in our community~