Levitating Bonsai trees surpass $350K in kickstarter campaign

An innovative workshop in Japan has raised over $350K to market miniature Bonsai trees that magnetically levitate.

Shooting to the top of Product Hunt yesterday, Air Bonsai has exceeded their kickstarter goal of $80K by a factor of over $270K in pledges with 34 days still remaining.

Coming from Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, these tiny trees — which the Founders have nicknamed “little stars” — are creating miniature galaxies of floating forests that will make your head spin. Literally. They also spin on their AC powered, magnetic axes.

The saplings grow from either tiny moss balls or lava stones that blossom into elegant, flowering plants raised 2 centimeters above their energy bases.

“From ancient times, the Japanese people have greatly respected and honored their culture and ‘kokoro,’ the core of our civilization,” said Hikaru Hoshi, Air Bonsai’s producer, adding, “Air Bonsai was created from this deep aspect of life.”

While a floating Bonsai is a novel and exciting idea, there are still practical concerns over keeping the plant balanced, and more importantly, keeping the tiny tree alive.

According to one of the many accompanying videos on the kickstarter page, the key to balance is to “continue to cut off branches and adjust the placement of the plant.”

And perhaps that is what makes it so Zen — to add the challenge of gravity and balance to the process of caring for an already notoriously difficult plant to grow.

Discipline and patience seem to be virtues here, and with a budget of over $350,000 to date, Air Bonsai is looking to take the gardening market to whole new heights.