Baltimore bonsai

Cuts big and small begin to turn a shrub from a nursery into a bonsai tree.

Arschel Morell, left, discusses with George Small of Baltimore the look of Small's bonsai work at a Baltimore Bonsai Club meeting.

George Wrede of Churchville in Harford County turns a juniper into the beginning of a bonsai tree in about an hour during a monthly meeting of the Baltimore Bonsai Club.

Morell, left, an original member of the Baltimore Bonsai Club, talks with Jim Sullivan about a Scots pine that Sullivan has been training as a bonsai plant for 45 years.

Samples of bonsai in different stages of being developed are displayed at a meeting of the Baltimore Bonsai Club, which was founded in 1972.

Bonsai is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese words pun-tsai, which literally translated means “planted in a container.” It involves combining horticultural and artistic techniques to create a miniaturized natural scene in the form of a living tree.

A skilled bonsai enthusiast can turn a common nursery shrub into a beginning bonsai tree in about an hour but spend decades to train it into a prized specimen.

The Baltimore Bonsai Club, founded in 1972, provides education, workshops and activities for participants to develop their skills and visions in the art of bonsai.