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When you have carefully selected your trainable bonsai plant, it is
necessary to decide on a style to use or tree to duplicate before any
work is done. Study the plant carefully from all angles and try to
realize its full potential as you decide the style to be used. The
oriental styles that have been used for centuries are illustrated in
various places in this book with mature or maturing bonsai specimens.
Line drawings are used here for easy recognition of the styles which are
formal upright, informal upright, slanting, semi-cascade, cascade,
group, and multiple trunk. These styles represent the natural growth
habit of many of our native trees and are an excellent guide for
beginners. The trunk of your potential bonsai will often be the
deciding factor when determining which of these styles is most suitable.
If you have a twisted or gnarled trunk, it would be ridiculous to try to
wire the tree to make it grow straight. On the other hand if you have a
nice straight trunk developing, it would be just as ridiculous to try to
make it grow into a cascade style. Allow the trunk to suggest the style
to follow.
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