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They are just regular trees, meticulously crippled over years and years.

• gerdesj 4y ago
  Do you have any experience with bonsai? A couple of years ago my wife and I had to have a much loved 50' tall walnut (Juglans - yes Jupiter's knobend) felled in our garden. During its life it had some sort of swing attached and some other nasties. In the end it looks like it got damp on the roots and a bit bored. Honey fungus everywhere. I do have snags with cruelty and bonsai is not cruel. If you think bonsai is abusive, then please describe it.
  • meindnoch 4y ago
    I didn’t say it was “cruel” or “abusive”. These terms only make sense within an ethical framework, which I consider subjective. I said bonsai are crippled regular trees. You prune it to an extreme degree to stunt its growth and bend it with wires to contort it into an aesthetically pleasing look. That’s just an objective fact.
    • gerdesj 4y ago
      So why did you say "crippled" rather than "pruned" in the first place? "Crippled" is an adjective that attempts to describe a loss of functionality and it is massively overloaded these days. I won't go further there. How on earth is wiring and pruning of a small plant causing a loss of functionality? I brutally prune roses and fuschias and many other plants too. They respond by growing enthusiastically and being healthy and vigorous. My bonsai do too. We can skirt around a debate of minor points of language but you did deploy a pejorative term: "cripple" with possible malice 8) I'd love to hear about your thoughts on these horrors: https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/trees/training-espalier https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/trees/training-espalier