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What is Bonsai 5 years 6 months ago #44438

  • Ivan Mann
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Those new to the website and those new to the art might go to the menu item at the top of the page and click "What is Bonsai" and read the first statement that says a bonsai is a tree in a pot, and think that this definition means that if they have a tree species (pine, maple, whatever) growing in a pot, they have a bonsai. Then they get confused when they are told that the tree they have in a pot is not a bonsai. Maybe the definition in the first sentence could be changed to mean what we really mean when we say "bonsai", which means that we need to decide and agree about things like minimum age, shape, roots, etc.

Maybe we could also add some terms like bonsai in training or pre-bonsai to mean something that doesn't fit our definitions yet. The statement, "that is really a pre-bonsai since it doesn't have xxx" would be a lot more meaningful than "Not a bonsai".
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What is Bonsai 5 years 6 months ago #44445

  • Auk
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Will not help. People do not read it.

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What is Bonsai 5 years 6 months ago #44446

  • crisraw
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Ivan Mann I totally agree. I see a lot of beginners come on here and be shot down with statements like ‘not a bonsai’ or ‘stick in a pot’ and those people may never come back to this forum or other forums or indeed Bonsai altogether due to the abrupt nature and snobbery of quite a few senior members and so called experts on this forum.
Whether or not beginners repeatedly ask the same questions and make the same mistakes, everybody was a beginner at one time and I feel that some people on here should refrain from commenting unless they can give some helpful feedback.
Negative feedback and impatience may make themselves feel better but it will not help with a beginners progress in this wonderful, crazy world of Bonsai

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What is Bonsai 5 years 6 months ago #44447

  • Clicio
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Then they get confused when they are told that the tree they have in a pot is not a bonsai.
Maybe we could also add some terms like bonsai in training or pre-bonsai to mean something that doesn't fit our definitions


I agree, Ivan

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What is Bonsai 5 years 6 months ago #44449

  • leatherback
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and I feel that some people on here should refrain from commenting unless they can give some helpful feedback.
Negative feedback and impatience may make themselves feel better but it will not help with a beginners progress in this wonderful, crazy world of Bonsai


hm.. Yet .. Hm..
I do not agree. I think pretty much all feedback is helpfull, yet I see loads of people unwilling to accept said feedback, and getting annoyed.

Someone who wants to keep koi, and buys a fishbowl and goes to a koi forum asking for input on the worderfull container for the koi will also get burnt down. Same here. In order to proceed in a hobby, one should understand that there are basic requirements to the topic at hand. By not telling people that something is not the way to go, you only set them up for a fall later on.

Just as an example something I noticed today:

2) I have about 12 other young bonsai...

No, you don't.
You've got some tree seedlings or saplings.
They will be bonsai in years to come.

Seedlings, saplings, bonsai, aliens, whatever you wanna call them.


Also, we have gone great lengths to suggest new user how to use the forum, and avoid asking the same questions over and over again in www.bonsaiempire.com/forum/general/11929-forum-etiquette. If that is ignored, over and over again, I think at a certain point we reach a state where a clear succint response is enough.

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What is Bonsai 5 years 6 months ago #44451

  • Madartej21
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I never seen someone be rude to someone owning a mallsai or a young plant in a pot. Never even seen somone say it is just a stick in a pot

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What is Bonsai 5 years 6 months ago #44452

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Someone who wants to keep koi, and buys a fishbowl and goes to a koi forum asking for input on the worderfull container for the koi will also get burnt down.


Did you just steal my old signature? :cheer:

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What is Bonsai 5 years 6 months ago #44453

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Ivan Mann I totally agree. I see a lot of beginners come on here and be shot down with statements like ‘not a bonsai’ or ‘stick in a pot’ and those people may never come back to this forum


I'm gong to say: So what?

The problem isn't so much that lots of plants posted here are not bonsai, but that the people asking questions about them are not really interested in growing bonsai.They buy a commercial plant, not having any idea what they bought, how to take care for it and actually.. not even knowing what a real bonsai looks like. When they learn what it takes to grow a real bonsai, they may lose interest and not return.

People who ARE interested in growing bonsai will not so easily be disappointed. They'll take the hint, study the subject more and continue to return with more questions.

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What is Bonsai 5 years 6 months ago #44454

  • Ivan Mann
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I teach calculus. If someone in a class asks a question I don't tell them they don't understand calculus. We all knew that. If they understood it, they would not be taking the class.

When someone says they just bought a tree and we say that isn't a bonsai, what have we accomplished? We knew they were brand new. They said so. One recently referenced the definition that said tree in a pot and said he didn't understand what we meant.

I would suggest that instead of saying, "That's not a bonsai," a better response would be ,"A bonsai has XXX and this tree doesn't have that yet." Or, simply silence. All the person needs is one helpful response. Save the direct statements for thick skinned egotistical former soccer referees like me who don't care what you say. Well, actually, I do care, and I will look for the meat of the response whether it is wrapped in velvet or barbed wire.
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What is Bonsai 5 years 6 months ago #44455

  • Madartej21
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I would suggest that instead of saying, "That's not a bonsai," a better response would be ,"A bonsai has XXX and this tree doesn't have that yet." Or, simply silence. All the person needs is one helpful response.


I don't think it will help. Actually, alongside the sentence 'it is not a bonsai', mostly follows some things like 'it lacks ramification or taper', 'it does not have a bonsai style', 'it is not mature enough to give the impression of an old tree'.

But you know what happens? If you are around the forum every now or then, you should know. They don't care. They say it is still a bonsai because "it is a tree in a pot". They don't even look after the definitions we tell them. They still don't understand the difference between their plant and a mature bonsai. Because they don'T even look for images or if they do, they don't care. They are pissed that someone said that their plant is not a bonsai. So they don't care about the facts that follow.

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