The semi-cascade style has a curving
trunk that does not reach the bottom of the container
as it does in the cascade style. This example
is a little leaf Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster
microphylla).
Semi-Cascade
The semi-cascade style has a trunk that is allowed to grow straight for a certain distance, and then is cascaded down at a less abrupt angle than in the cascade style (Figures 9 and 10). The cascading branches are thought of as the front of the tree, and the back branches are trained closer to the trunk than in the other styles.
The semi-cascade should not reach below the bottom of the container, but should go below the level of the soil surface.
Plants that are well adapted to the cascade and semi-cascade styles are prostrate junipers, and flowering plants such as chrysanthemums, wisteria, willows, and star jasmine.
Before potting a tree for bonsai in any of the five styles, keep in mind the image of how the tree will stand in the container. Don’t plant a tree one way, and then uproot it to make a change. Keep your overall theme in mind when planting bonsai. Upright trees should have a stabilized look in the container; slanted and cascaded styles often have their upper root surfaces exposed to imitate plants that grow this way in nature.
No matter what style you choose — whether single trunk specimens or groups of trees from single roots — everything depends on your selection of plant material, and your ability to visualize the bonsai’s final form.
