The use of ginkgo bilobа plants (Ginkgo biloba L.) in the art of bonsai

Abstract

Aims. To find out the prospects of using plants of the species G. biloba and its cultivars in such techniques of Sino-Japanese garden topiary art as bonsai and niwaki. Methods. The study of the features of the development of G. biloba plants for their further use in the art of bonsai and niwaki was carried out using the methods of theoretical analysis, systematization, comparison, and generalization of literary data, as well as according to our own methodological developments. Results. It has been found that G. biloba plants able to produce fancy root-like structures: aerial and basal chichi, thanks to which three different styles of ginkgo bonsai are distinguished: 1) the "chichi" style produced by layering branches of trees that are already producing chichi; 2) the "stalactite" style produced by removing aerial chichi from old trees and planting them upside down; and 3) the "clump" style produced by suckering from basal chichi or secondary germination of basal chichi with the formation of multi-stemmed ginkgo bonsai in the form of a "forest". Depending on the features of the development of G. biloba, ordinary ginkgo bonsai can be distinguished — made in the classic upright "Tekan" style; in the style characterized by the "bent" or "winding" shape of the trunk — "Moegi" and in the style characterized by the presence of two trunks, which can be different in size and form one crown — "Sokan", etc. and ginkgo chichi bonsai. So to create non-classical styles of G. biloba niwaki, the technique of weaving the trunk with a braid and in a circle was implemented. Conclusions. The peculiarities of the use of G. biloba in the art of bonsai, depending on the biological characteristics of the plant, are considered. Features of the formation of aerial and basal shoots of G. biloba and their role in creating different styles of bonsai are described. It was found that G. biloba plants are promising for use in such techniques of Sino-Japanese garden topiary art as bonsai and niwaki.