Pretentious type up Alpine summit on top of ironwood tree that doesn't have much growth (6)
I believe the answer is:
bonsai
'growth' is the definition.
(I have seen 'stunted growth' mean 'bonsai' so perhaps 'growth' could also mean 'bonsai')
'pretentious type up alpine summit on top of ironwood tree that doesn't have much' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'on' is present in the answer.
'top' could be 'ai' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'ai' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for bonsai that I've seen before include "Japanese craft of growing dwarf trees" , "Potted tree or shrub artificially prevented from reaching normal size" , "Japanese method of cultivating miniature trees" , "specimen with restricted roots?" , "Japanese art of growing miniature trees" .)