Bonsai Adventures, Three Hornbeams

Oriental hornbeam (Carpinus orientalis) from Walter Pall’s Bonsai Adventures blog Staying on track with Walter Pall for at least another day. This time it’s three hefty Oriental hornbeams from Walter’s Bonsai Adventures blog. Time is of essences (leaving for a couple weeks in the sun later today) so we’ll provide the links and you do the research if you’re inclined in that direction NEW SITE WIDE SALE Everything Is At Least 20% off Including items already discounted discounts are computed at checkout – Another beefy Oriental hornbeam from Walter’s blog. No leaves this time so you can see the profusion of small … Continue reading Bonsai Adventures, Three Hornbeams

Cedars? Hornbeams? What’s in a Name Anyway?

Great trunk, brilliant fall color, excellent pot and then there’s the apex. This powerful old tree belongs to Wolfgang Putz. The pot is by Ingrid Kralovec. The tree is a Korean hornbeam. The botanical name is Carpinus turczaninowii, though you’ll sometimes see them referred to as Carpinus coreana. Up to my old tricks. The photos shown here originally appeared in March 2013. There’s more history involved, but we’ll leave it at that. The two trees below are Thuja occidentalis, a tree that may have more common names than almost any other species on this planet… Continued below… Our great sale … Continue reading Cedars? Hornbeams? What’s in a Name Anyway?

Fertilizing, Back-Budding & One More Hornbeam

This shohin Carpinus coreana* (Korean hornbeam) by Mario Komsta has appeared here before. As a companion plant no less (see below). No problem though. Any tree this good deserves to be shown more than once. As a companion or by itself. A few days ago I mentioned we were starting a series on the Hornbeam genus (Carpinus). There are approximately 40 species of Hornbeams on the planet and many, if not most of them are suitable for bonsai. In this case we’re showing just one by Mario Komsta. Unrelated to Hornbeams, but also by Mario is a piece on the … Continue reading Fertilizing, Back-Budding & One More Hornbeam

Walter’s Massive Forest & Other Hornbeam Bonsai

This massive Hornbeam forest belongs to Walter Pall. Walter doesn’t mention the variety in his gallery section (you might be able to hunt it down on his blog), but given that Walter lives in Germany, You might guess that it’s a European hornbeam (Carpinus betula), but I wouldn’t take it to the bank. The other day someone asked if we would do something on Hornbeams, so here it is, the beginning of a series on the Hornbeam genus (Carpinus). And in case the person who asked is actually reading this (or anyone else is interested), our archives contain several Hornbeam … Continue reading Walter’s Massive Forest & Other Hornbeam Bonsai

Three Bonsai (Two Cedars & a Hornbeam)

Great tree, great pot. It belongs to Wolfgang Putz. The pot is by Ingrid Kralovec. The tree is a Korean hornbeam. The botanical name is Carpinus turczaninowii, though you’ll sometimes see them referred to as Carpinus coreana. This post didn’t start out to be mostly about Cedars. The three photos and the text you see here are borrowed from a much longer post we did back in March 2013. After eliminating the out of date content, what’s left are a Hornbeam and two Cedars. Boreal Bonsai. This White cedar (Thuja occidentalis) belongs to Paul Chong of the Toronto Bonsai Society … Continue reading Three Bonsai (Two Cedars & a Hornbeam)

Bonsai Globetrotting, Make Your Own Rock, A Wild & Wonderful Hornbeam, The World’s Most Amazing Garden

This powerful pine with its lush, full (almost yellow on my screen) canopy that’s shaped more like something you’d see on a deciduous tree (or a roof on an abstract pagoda), makes little attempt to appear like a pine in nature. Still, naturalistic or not, it’s hard to deny how the power of its trunk and the lush beauty of its canopy complement each other. I found it here on facebook. It looks like it’s part of a Japanese bonsai nursery, but I couldn’t find any verification. Dan Robinson’s wild and wonderful Hornbeam resides at the Pacific Rim Bonsai … Continue reading Bonsai Globetrotting, Make Your Own Rock, A Wild & Wonderful Hornbeam, The World’s Most Amazing Garden

Better Now? Revisiting Mario’s Famous Hornbeam

The latest incarnation of Mario Komsta’s extraordinary and now somewhat famous Hornbeam. Balance Is the balance better now (comparing the photo above with the earlier photo immediately below)? Does the elongated first branch (left) help to counter balance the slight rightward lean of the apex? The base of the trunk The base of the trunk appears stronger in the earlier photo below. Is it just the photo, or does the extended branching and the new pot diminish the power of the base? Ramification No matter what our thoughts about balance and the base of the trunk, the impeccable patience and … Continue reading Better Now? Revisiting Mario’s Famous Hornbeam

Jin & Shari #6: Carving an Old Hornbeam

Here’s a great example of an English hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) that started as large tree that was cut down and carved. The artist is Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai. Carving video by Graham Potter If you are interested in carving as well as reducing large field grown trees, check out the video below. It might just open up an entirely new way of doing things for you and your bonsai.

Elements of a Bonsai Forest

I stumbled across this European hornbeam (Carpinus betulas) by Walter Pall on his Bonsai Adventures blog. The shot looks like spring with some trees lagging behind others Following up on yesterday’s forest post, here’s one that originally appeared here in 2014. I think it’s one of our best on forests and worth another look Focal point. Without the dominant tree this forest planting by Walter Pall would be a lot less interesting. With the dominant tree contrasted with rest of the trees, the planting has a focal point. With that focal point to organize around, balance, scale, a feeling of age … Continue reading Elements of a Bonsai Forest

Where in the World?

No caption with this one, but it looks a lot like three Shimpaku junipers growing on a precariously balanced stone, with small ground cover plants and moss Back to Bill Valavanis’ Japan journey. Today we’ll show you some of his photos from 2018 38th Nippon Bonsai Taikan Exhibition. Just bear in mind that these photos are mere drops in the bucket (Bill is a busy fellow), so it might not be a bad idea for you to click over to his blog and treat yourself to a whole lot more. And you also might enjoy a more whimsical view of Bill’s journey with some lighthearted shots titled Where … Continue reading Where in the World?