Bonsai and ornamental trees for the first time in Zoo Ostrava

Zoo Ostrava caters not only to admirers and lovers of animals, but also people interested in botany. In 2007, the Zoo opened a Botanical Park with three paths with a total length of about 6 km and an extensive greenhouse complex, followed in 2015 by a Rhododendron Park with the largest collection of rhododendrons and azaleas in the Czech Republic. Now, the Zoo presents visitors with a collection of bonsai and ornamental trees.

The new botanical exposition called Garden Art of the Far East is located right after the entrance to the Zoo. Here you can admire the bonsai and the grown-up “ornamental” trees. Bonsai is Japanese for “tree in a bowl”. It is a special way of shaping and cutting of trees grown in ceramic containers. There are twenty species of different woody plants – deciduous and coniferous, exotic and local. Most trees are about 40 to 50 years old, but there are also those whose age is estimated at 90–100 years, e.g. European olive tree. The collection also includes a fruit-bearing apple tree, several azaleas and a summer oak. The exposition also includes Chinese ceramic water containers. In the coming years, the Zoo plans to expand Chinese and Japanese garden art exhibitions, which will gradually build on the bonsai and ornamental trees.

http://www.zoo-ostrava.cz/cz/zoo/novinky/1746-bonsaje-a-ornamentalni-stromy-poprve-v-zoo-ostrava/