The Beauty of Bonsai Styles | Hacker News

A commenter framed growing native trees as niwaki, a bonsai-like art form and a long-term hobby investment.

The practice was described as using heavy pruning, wiring, root restriction, and shaping of species like Scots pine, Wych Elm, and English oak.

It also involves deadwood techniques and sometimes deliberate injury, which can stress the tree while creating the desired form.

The comment highlighted the tension between bonsai aesthetics and tree biology, while noting that well-kept specimens can become valuable over decades.