The fading, uneven light patterns made me think light painting when I first saw it. If I had voted on this I would have dropped a 10 because of that. I'm much more drawn to painted scenes than flashed ones.
I thought of doing a bonsai too (there are so many around here in people's gardens). I even have a fake one ;-Þ. Good effort with nice lighting, well done on 5th place.
Beautifully lit, very zen-like, calming. I love everything about the composition and photo with the exception of the black thing the pot is sitting on. Nonetheless, in my top 3 for this challenge.
Good lighting, with simplicity of composition fitting the subject well. Tiny tree is miniature compared to our mental image of usual trees, so fits challenge without hitting us over the head to do so.
For me I think it would be better if you'd found a way to disguise the bowl (which isn't pretty and is a little too prominent). As an option you could simply crop it. If I cover it with my hand while looking at the picture, it immediately looks better. - Just my opinion - good luck.