Is a money tree a bonsai?

[Cable]

I got into an argument with a coworker about money trees.



She said it is a bonsai because the sign at Home Depot said "bonsai" on it. I said it isn't because it has next to no elements of an actual bonsai. It's not a representation of an actual, mature tree. Honestly, what tree braids itself? To me it is just a topiary.

But then I did a Google search and many of the commercial bonsai companies are marketing them as bonsai.

What gives? Am I just being a crotchety old man? Is taking a couple of seedlings and braiding the together and shoving the whole mess into a pot enough to earn the title "bonsai"?

 

[JoshuaRN]

Matter of opinion, but bonsai if I’m correct means container plant(?) sooo technically yes it is, but what we all consider a bonsai to be , no it’s not. The value in the department store bonsai is that it offers exposure to newcomers . A lot of people start their interest by buying or receiving one of these or a ugly “ginseng” bonsai. But no your correct it’s a houseplant , at best a topiary .

 

[JudyB]

To some these and the wallyworld S trees are the only thing people recognize as bonsai. They've just not seen or been educated to what bonsai actually is. Many think of poodle junipers as bonsai as well...

 

[leatherback]

this is as near to bonsai as ginseng figs

 

[milehigh_7]

Is it a bonsai? Technically yes. However, you should ask yourself, "What is my goal with bonsai?" I am with John Naka in his view, "Don't try to make your tree look like a bonsai, try to make your bonsai look like a tree."

Will a braided trunk plant with out of proportion leaves and not much for branches ever look like a tree in nature? I say no. My $.02.

 

[JosephCooper]

I have seen this species grow a substantial singular trunk, so yes. The species could be a bonsai, but it does not mean that the tree is very suitable for bonsai.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Money tree is - Pachira aquatica is native to Central America and northern South America. Common names include money tree, Malabar chestnut, and Guiana Chestnut. Often Pachira glabra is sold as Pachira aquatica, horticulture is the same for both species. P. glabra is a smaller tree. Leaves, flowers and nuts are eaten, can grow to be a 60 foot tall tree. It is a different genus, but in the same family as baobab trees.

It has leaves that are too large, and don't reduce well. It tends to have a coarse branch structure. All in all not an ideal species for bonsai. It likes sun, but gets by surprisingly well in shade. It prefers regular water, but the thick pachycaul trunk does hold water, it can survive a dry season.

You can use bonsai techniques to keep it an attractive houseplant. If you were to try to create a serious bonsai with it you would probably have to unbraid the tree and grow each trunk out separately. If you were to try for a serious bonsai, best results would be if you went for larger sized tree, 4 foot or more tall or wide or both.