If you have noticed the internet being overrun by LEGO bonsai trees as of late, it is for good reason. Brickset’s Build a Bonsai Competition is churning out some amazing entries (all because of the goats for a prize, I’m sure!), and Carter Witz is throwing his hat into the ring. His elegant bonsai would look at home on the neatest desk, but there’s more to this creation than meets the eye!

What you can’t see at first glance is how sturdy the tree is—which is quite the talent! When I build trees, I start off building the trunk as strong as I can but then give up by barely attaching leaves and cheese slopes on the trunk. Carter built his tree so well that he can turn it upside down and shake it!

This video was totally not obtained as a result of blackmail… at least, not blackmail by me

The secret behind this feat of sturdiness is Mixel joints. You can see how he achieved the elegant arch in these WIP photos he shared with us. (I’d like to see a LEGO instructions designer tackle this construction!)

Building this tree was different from other trees I've built because of the curved trunk. I knew I wanted the trunk to have a curve, so the base of the tree is built at an angle. Then I added a couple more angles as I went up which gave it a nice bow.

Building a sturdy tree didn’t just happen—it was one of Carter’s starting goals:

I wanted to make the tree as sturdy as I could because I've had a lot of experience with fragile trees. It's not very fun! Building a sturdy trunk can make it a lot less of a pain to put branches and leaves on. Plus, I always like to challenge myself to make things as sturdy as I can, (though I often fail). I also think it helps you get better at building and is just overall a helpful thing to keep in mind.

Another part of this creation that had me curious was the hexagonal base. Here, Carter took advantage of the fact that the inside portion was going to be covered with loose olive green parts for texture. He put together a hodge-podge of wedge plates to keep pieces from falling through and made the curves of the base black to hide small gaps in the geometry.

Now all he needs to do is build a Castle Vase Bonsai Base like he did earlier this month for some other flowers! You can see more of Carter’s builds on his Flickr or Instagram.

Is sturdiness important to you for your LEGO creations? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below!