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Top 20 Best Bonsai Plants
In 1981, a 250-year-old juniper bonsai tree reportedly sold for a mind-blowing $2,000,000 US dollars, but a picture remains to be found. More recently, in 2011, a white pine bonsai tree (over 800-years-old) was sold for a whopping $1.3 million dollars at a bonsai exhibition in Takamatsu, Japan — and officially stands as the most expensive bonsai tree today.
Photo Credit: Setouchi Explorer / Convention in Takamatsu, Japan, 2012
I know what you’re thinking: how can miniature trees be so expensive?
In this article, we show you the world’s best bonsai plants.
What is bonsai?
Dating back to 700 AD China and first appearing during 12th century Japan, bonsai (盆栽), literally meaning ‘planted in a container’, are trees planted in a container or tray. Smaller versions of regular trees that reflect nature in miniature.
Today, bonsai is extremely popular. Both indoor bonsai trees and outdoor bonsai trees provide an attractive aesthetic and require proper care from their owners.
Nevertheless, calling bonsai a ‘hobby’ may cause a look of disapproval from a dedicated bonsai enthusiast. For the Japanese especially, bonsai is art. These trees require detailed, purposeful, and mindful attention.
The spirituality of bonsai
Photo Credit: Sohu
Bonsai holds links with Zen Buddhism, as it’s believed planting and nurturing bonsai trees lets you connect with both nature and yourself.
According to bonsai master Chiako Yamamoto:
‘You can’t grow plants if you don’t have any sense of ritual or spirituality’
What’s better: indoor or outdoor trees?
To think most bonsai trees are kept indoors is missing the mark (only tropical and subtropical plants are kept inside). Most bonsai thrive outside — exposed to the seasons. Take into account the bonsai tree, your home (do you have a balcony or garden? A sun-facing window?), and your local…
