This Trident maple penjing was designed by Quingquan Zhao in 2001 at the Mid Atlantic Bonsai show. It was purchased by Dr. McNear and given to National Bonsai Foundation in honor of his daughter Emily Jane McNear. It reside at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington DC.
Continue reading ‘Vacation Gallery: Enjoy, I’ll Be Back July 2nd’
These little critters with their protective helmet-like shields are just one variety of the approximately 8,000 species of scale. Though not all are harmful to your bonsai, the ones that are, need to be taken seriously.
Here’s what Michael Hagedorn has to say about scale
They’re here again…scale are emerging from their eggs underneath their shields, and beginning to crawl.
This is the time to control them. If we sprayed during the winter we wasted insecticide on protected eggs. In June they mature and begin moving around the plant, and can be controlled with oils. All-season oil or Neem oil work. Early summer through the warm months they are active.
It’s very important to identify when to control what. If we spray with the right insecticide or fungicide in the wrong season, we waste time and money and maybe give a beneficial organism a hard time.
Michael Hagedorn is a highly accomplished American bonsai artist, teacher and author. Michael is the owner of Crataegus Bonsai.
Continue reading ‘Pests #2: Controlling Scale by Michael Hagedorn’
You can view this striking Satsuki azalea by Si Van Nguyen in all its glory from all 360° on ausbonsai.com.
Recently Steve Hantos alerted me to a great feature on ausbonsai.com. All you have to do is go there, drag your cursor over the image, and viola! you’ve got 360° bonsai. Here’s a cascade juniper by Steve.
This Scot’s pine (Pinus sylvestris) by Walter Pall is from the cover of Bonsai Today issue 104. It was presented by Walter as an example of a naturalistic bonsai.
“… too many of these bonsai look like they are made of plastic…”
The whole quote, which was written by Walter Pall, and appears in Bonsai Today issue 104, goes like this: “I have seen that the trend in styling is toward more and more refinement, which often takes away all the naturalness. I find that too many of these bonsai look like they are made of plastic and are not real.”
You be the judge
To my eyes, Walter Pall’s Scot’s pine is a wonderful bonsai. That’s why we chose it for the cover of Bonsai Today. But we’ve also featured some much more stylized and refined trees for covers; trees that we like. Are these trees overly refined and plastic looking?
Continue reading ‘The Great Debate part 2: You Be the Judge’
If you’re new to bonsai and want to get started using wire, this video by Lindasy Farr of Bonsai Farm (on YouTube) offers a simple, clear lesson.
This Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) has been partially defoliated. The first branch is too small relative to the rest of the tree, so the purpose of the defoliation is to speed up the development of the first branch while slowing down the development of the rest of the tree. This works because energy flow decreases in areas that have been defoliated. Conversely, because the energy from the roots has to go somewhere, energy flow increases where leaves are left on. The photos in this post are from Bonsai Today issue 103 (out of print). The article that the photos are taken from is by Hiroshi Takeyama.
This Rough bark shore juniper is by Boon Manakitipivart. It originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 108. Though it certainly has a rugged, natural feel, does it also have some features (aside from the pot) that are more characteristic of bonsai than of trees growing in the wild?
Is there a clear distinction?
Back two or three years ago, I was hearing and reading a lot about naturalistic bonsai versus more abstract bonsai. Though I’m not sure that the difference is always that obvious, or that there are only two categories when it come to this discussion, I do get the general idea: some bonsai look a lot like trees in nature and some look less like trees in nature. Perhaps most are somewhere in between.
Continue reading ‘The Great Debate: Naturalistic vs Abstract?’
Old favorites back in stock
Over at Stone Lantern, tools that some of you have been waiting for are back in stock; including my favorite, these sword shears. I do a lot of bonsai field growing as well as landscaping and keep mine close at hand to make quick work of of 10,000 little jobs.
A power rotary tool (Dremel brand) with a steel wire brush attachment in the skilled hands of François Jeker. From Bonsai Today issue 104 (out of print).
The use of carving tools in bonsai
In bonsai carving tools are used to create new deadwoood and enhance existing deadwood. There was a day not too long ago when all carving was done by hand. Recently, all that has changed and more and more bonsai artists are using power tools. And not just small rotary tools, but even things like chainsaws and specially designed grinders.
Just scratching the surface (so to speak)
In this post we’ll show a few power tools being used on bonsai, without going into too much detail. Just to give you an idea of what’s out there. Later, we’ll explore some of the tools and their uses in more detail.
This shot doesn’t exactly show off François Jeker’s bonsai (if you squint you can see them way in the back), but it does give you a pretty good idea of his artistry when it comes to building and maintaining a Japanese garden.
Speaking of François Jeker
Though François Jeker is well known for his masterful work with deadwood (see previous and future posts), his interest and skills stretch far beyond. The gardens and bonsai displays featured here attest to his sensibilities and deft touch, as does his benchmark book, Bonsai Aesthetics.
Continue reading ‘Back Yard Bonsai Displays #4: A Japanese Touch’
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