Miniature bonsai are petite and exquisite, revealing the beauty of nature within a tiny space.

For the selection of small stumps, choose plants with strong vitality that are easy to tame into trunks and twisted, varied forms. Also pay attention to selecting varieties with small leaves, strong sprouting ability and shade tolerance.

1. Seek out old trunks and small branches of varied forms on a certain tree stump for air layering (that is, sleeve propagation), mostly carried out in early to mid-March during the plum rain season.

2. Seek out tree stumps with well-developed bare roots, and near their root area select crooked, ancient-looking, robust ones with small branches and bare roots, and separate them from the tree stump (best done in late autumn), but do not transplant them immediately; wait until the following spring when the separated plants sprout and grow branches, then transplant them into small clay pots (pot mouth about 10 to 15 cm) for transitional cultivation. This is a shortcut to obtaining relatively ideal small tree stumps. In addition, methods such as cuttings, sowing and division propagation are also used to obtain them.

Treatment of miniature bonsai: After the small stumps are planted separately, when tender buds and new branches sprout, they must be frequently bud-pinched, carefully pruned and wired, forming a complete artistic shape in which the trunk and branch clusters complement each other. The processing of each part is briefly described as follows:

1. Trunk: The trunk of the potted stump is the main part by which the plant reveals its artistic shape. According to its shaping potential, it can be formed into various styles along its natural tendency and given different treatments. For the formal upright style: the trunk is not wired, and should be straight and tall, with side branches cultivated; for the slanting style: plant the trunk at a slant, and the branch cluster on the leaning side should be kept more numerous, and long with a slight droop; for the coiled-trunk style and the cascade style: lead (copper) wire hard enough to bend the trunk can be wound around the trunk, bending it into a form that matches the design.

2. Branch clusters: The branches and leaves of miniature bonsai should not be overly complicated; they should mainly be concise and smooth, so as to achieve both form and spirit and display their natural beauty, and therefore they need frequent pruning. When wiring branches, one must never simply pursue winding, twisting forms; instead, following the trunk's original characteristics, design the composition, and then appropriately apply finishing touches like the dotting of a dragon's eye, so that it forms a naturally delightful artistic form. In designing the shape, the layout should have emphasis, either empty on the left and solid on the right, or empty on the right and solid on the left, so that the branch clusters give a feeling of orderly density and pleasing irregularity.

3. Root system: For bare-root treatment of miniature bonsai (especially potted bonsai), because the pot area is extremely small, although the plant in the pot has undergone artistic shaping and the tree form has a certain formal artistic beauty, after all the trunk is thin and the branches slender. To make it more perfect, consider exposing part of the root system to make up for the weakness of the slender trunk on the pot and rock, and increase the tree's ancient and venerable bearing. Generally, when planting, the root system at the root collar can be directly dug up, or slightly raised above the pot surface, and mounded with soil; through daily watering and rain washing, the root system is gradually exposed, forming a conception of crooked roots coiling and ancient charm entering the picture. Once the small tree has formed a certain artistic form, it is then time to pot it. To support the formal beauty of the tree's bearing, whether the choice of pot is appropriate matters greatly. A plant of the same form planted in pots of different shapes will produce different effects in artistic impression. Therefore, when potting and planting, match a suitable pot according to the form, color and variety of the tree's bearing. With a miniature bonsai of beautiful ecology, displaying it on a flower stand of coordinated form can better set off a poetic and picturesque artistic effect. Thus the flower stand and base must match the lines of the flower pot's shape appropriately, blending into an integrated artistic structure, achieving a realm in which form and shape, color and beauty are completely harmonious and coordinated. As the saying goes: "First the tree, second the pot, third the stand" - the reason lies precisely in this.