Kuah’s potted menagerie

Unique art: Kuah twisting the branches of a new plant into shape with pliable aluminium wires to guide theminto the desired position.

A BONSAI artist takes the art of tree miniaturising one step further by shaping them into animals.

One can’t help but wonder if there is enchantment at work in Kuah Tee Teong’s garden.

His collection of miniature trees is unique, for they are shaped like animals.

There is a dog, a seal, an octopus, a monitor lizard and a host of other creatures. Some are so lifelike, they appear to breathe.

But, rather than entertain fanciful notions of magic, Kuah, 58, reveals that the shaping of bonsai into the form of animals is an art that requires infinite patience, plenty of gardening knowledge and tonnes of luck.

According to Kuah, the water jasmine tree is the ideal plant for bonsai because of its ability to withstand the stress of wiring and reshaping.

Essentially, the process of growing animal-shaped bonsai begins with the right amounts of sunlight, water and early intervention.

The branches of a new plant are first twisted into shape with pliable aluminium wires to guide them into the desired position.

Dinosaur: Ittook Kuah sevenyears to coax this‘prehistoriccreature’ intogrowing a tail. Ofcourse, luckplayed a part inthe wholeprocess.

Pegs or pebbles are also used to persuade the trunk, roots or branches to fork out or grow apart. Sometimes, the gardener must try to induce new branches to grow to form parts of the animal.

On a simpler scale, it may simply involve pruning or peeling off the skin of newly grown buds.

More complicated steps may involve bud grafting, a process that even Kuah, who has 20 years of experience with bonsai, would rather skip, due to its tedious process.

To impart more recognisable features on the plant, they are carved out with a knife, and other details like scales are drawn on with pen.

However, Kuah quickly points out that it is not as simple as chiselling the wood of a trunk or branch into shape.

Time must also be given for the new bark to grow so that it will cover the exposed wood. This method will also produce scarring on the bark to add texture to the trunk.

One example of this method is used in an octopus-shaped bonsai. To create the sucker-like texture of the tentacles, Kuah made holes with a pair of scissors in order to create the nodes on the branch.

There is also no surety when one has to leave things to Nature. The part where a branch has been cut off may rot, or a branch may break off while it is being bent (after months of waiting for it to grow into shape).

Kuah has described instances when he had to scrap an original idea simply because the trunk would not grow to the desired thickness or shape.

How small can you go?: Kuah alsogrows tiny bonsai. These trees are at leastfive years old.

Clearly, this is no venture for those who like things to be done in a hurry. A daschund-shaped bonsai about the size of a large cocktail sausage had taken eight years to create.

A dragon, approximately 15cm in width and height, had taken Kuah 13 years.

“One CEO of a bank wanted me to create an animal for him but I had to decline because the process would take a long time,” he said.

After having spent such a long period of time with his works, one can understand why Kuah is reluctant to part with them though he has had offers from prospective buyers.

“I get a lot of enquiries for the animal bonsai, especially the dragons. These are considered auspicious because they are ‘live’ dragons, being part of a growing plant,” reveals Kuah.

To learn how to create beautiful bonsai, call Kuah at 016-214 7590.