Therefore we can consider a Bonsai any tree grown in a little pot, even
those that can be found at the supermarket, if only the Japanese concept
of MOCHIKOMI (the plant’s aging in a pot) wasn’t so fundamental.

Then we can state that the supermarket plants are pre-bonsais, plants which, grown in the proper way for a long, can become real Bonsais.

A Bonsai can develop in many ways, either from a seed or the transformation of a full-grown plant. It’s beauty isn’t directly linked to its age, but to the more or less time taken to grow in a pot and to the resemblance to the naturally growing trees.