What are the methods for making miniature bonsai?

First, select suitable plant material, and pair it with a finely crafted, beautifully shaped small purple clay (zisha) pot; a rectangular or oval pot carved from white marble can also be used, as can other small containers of distinctive shape and fine workmanship, as long as a hole is drilled in the bottom, any of them can serve as a pot. Once the plant is chosen, it can be planted into a suitable pot. Generally, in a tall cylindrical pot, a semi-cascade or full cascade style is suitable. Rectangular and oval pots are suitable for growing a formal upright or slanting style.

The optimal time for shaping a general plant should be from after the onset of winter until before the plant buds in the following spring. Before shaping, a design concept for the styling should be developed based on the characteristics and posture of the tree being planted, and the styling method determined. The trunk is the main part of miniature bonsai styling. If a formal upright style is decided upon, no wiring is applied; the trunk is kept straight and upright, and side branches are cultivated; for the slanting style, the trunk is simply planted at a slant, without wiring; while for the cascade style, the trunk must be bent into shape by winding it with lead wire. When working, the branches and foliage should not be too dense; generally 1 to 2 branches are kept, and the emphasis should be on simplicity and smoothness, so as to fully display its natural beauty. Through simple yet exaggerated pruning or wiring, the styled branches need only be given 1 to 2 bends. For messy branches that hinder the styling, such as crossing branches, parallel branches, opposite branches, radiating branches and reverse branches, they should be thinned out or cut back, so that the branches are well spaced and orderly, with clear layers and moderate height. For species with relatively strong root systems, such as Caragana (peashrub), winter jasmine and Chinese elm, the roots can also be left exposed above the soil surface when planting, to enhance the tree's aged appearance.

For miniature landscape bonsai, stone materials such as pumice, axe-cut stone and reed-pipe stone are commonly used. For the pot, rectangular or oval shallow pots processed from white marble, white jade and the like are often chosen. The styling and making mostly use the high-distance (gaoyuan) composition; the flat-distance (pingyuan) composition is not suitable. Not many rocks should be placed in the pot, but there should still be a main peak, secondary peaks and accompanying peaks, and a small ornament of appropriate proportion can be placed to set off the height of the rocks.