When bonsai are being displayed in a show, they are commonly
accompanied by “companion” or accent “ plants. These plants are not
“bonsai” but are present to enhance the display of the bonsai.
The Japanese name for these plants is shitakusa, which is translated from
the Japanese shita, below or under, and kusa, grass. The plant should be
something that might grow under the tree. More recently, kusamono
have become popular. Kusamono is derived from the Japanese kusa,
grass, and mono, thing. Kusamono are arrangements of several different
wild grasses and flowers in unique pots or trays. Some compositions are
designed to include plants that will look good in several seasons.
It is important that the plant be appropriate to the bonsai on
display. Thus the seasonality of the
plant and the natural locality of the
plant should match the bonsai.
Companion plants should suggest a
specific natural habitat--such as a
wetland, meadow, woodland or
timberline. Alpine plants would be
appropriate with a contorted juniper or
pine while lowland bog plants might
be appropriate with winter berries or larch. A well-designed companion
planting also reflects the
season in which it is
displayed. Lush green
plantings from a greenhouse
are not appropriate in the
middle of winter. Dry grasses
are not appropriate in the
middle of summer even if it is
a very dry summer. The
companion plant should also
be appropriate to the bonsai in
size. While blood grass and some other grasses can look quite nice, they
are generally of a scale that goes
only with the very largest bonsai.
It is important that the planting
look nice as a stand-alone
planting. The planting should
appear quite healthy. Usually,
there should not be any soil
showing in the pot though there
are occasions where the soil might
become an important feature. The
planting should appear to be wild,
but not untidy. Immediately prior
to showing, clean out dead or
damaged foliage.
The pots can be quite rustic and are
often free-form. Glazed or showy pots
are not the best choice since they tend
to overpower the display. The same
thing is true for clumps of flowering
plants in a planting. If flowers are
present there should only be a few and
they should be small and interspersed
with less showy types of plants.
There are three basic styles of
planting: moss-ball, slab, or container.
A moss-ball is much as it sounds. A
ball of clay and peat moss is
compacted into a ball and carefully covered with moss. There is
generally no more than one plant growing
out of the ball and the ball is placed on a
small round plate that barley shows from
under the ball. In the slab planting, the
irregular slab is more visible and
contributes to the overall composition.
Finally, in a container planting, the pot is
quite apparent.
Summer
meeting
of
the
Brandywine
Bonsai
Society
devoted
to
kusamono
planting.
It
was
led
by
Pat
Morris
(standing
in
the
striped
shirt).
Dorie
Froning
is
shown
working
on
her
planting.
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