I know it’s old news (2007) but this tree almost floors me with just how good it is. Do you agree? Am I crazy for falling love? I don’t think so. It’s a Pemphis Acidua from the The 9th Asia Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention and Exhibition in Bali. The photo is by KiJaduk LuputSuwuk. I don’t know who the artist is, but there’s a great article about the convention on The Art of Bonsai Project (and thanks to Bonsaimania for first showing me this tree on facebook).
But here’s the thing
The Bali Convention is full of trees of this caliber. True, they are from the tropics where trees develop overnight, but still…
And the culture too
The photos of the cultural events at the convention look as exciting as the bonsai. And I’ll bet the food was a crazy sumptuous delight. Really, why wasn’t I there? Why weren’t you there? Next time.
2011 anyone?
It’s going to be in Takamatsu Japan. Not exactly Bali but the bonsai, the entertainment and the food will no doubt be top notch (as will the prices).
No slouch this one either, but just representative of the dozens of other trees at the convention. It’s another Pemphis acidua BTW.
This is the planting that I want you to critique. It’s from from Kiki Bonsai.
Go ahead, make my day
Just write a little critique of the planting above. It doesn’t have to be perfect; it doesn’t even have to make sense. We’re short on entries, so anything is better than nothing. And who knows? You just might win, and even if you don’t, you might learn something in the process.
The details are here
Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment
The only English language penjing book is now on sale for $14.95 (originally $39.50).
Common juniper. Estimated age 125 years. Collected, wired and potted by Andrew Smith, Golden Arrow Bonsai.
Golden Arrow Bonsai
Golden Arrow is Andrew Smith (his website says Andrew, though I’ve always known him as Andy), with perhaps a little help from his friends and family. Andrew is a bonsai artist and professional woodsman who specializes in collecting trees from nature. If you would like to learn how to collect the right way, check out Andrew’s DVD, How to Collect Wild Trees. Andrew also has a DVD on styling collected trees that’s entitled Finding the Bonsai Within, Ponderosa Pine Wiring Techniques, Working with Difficult Trees. Andrew lives in Deadwood South Dakota.
A large ancient collected Rocky Mountain juniper, after the first wiring
Continue reading ‘Golden Arrow Smith’
The Bonsai Exhibit at the The Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens.
Visit The Morikami (the essence of Japan in South Florida)…
… but you might want to wait until winter.
Once you get past the purple/pink background you might notice that this wild and sparse Rocky Mountain Juniper is reminiscent of the Ponderosa pines that you (and the Pine beetles) find by the millions in the Rockies (and the Sierras). It’s on display at The Morikami. It was styled by Ben Oki.
Bonsai & Japanese arts & culture
Since its opening in 1977, The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens (and bonsai exhibit) has been a center for Japanese arts and culture in South Florida, with rotating exhibitions in its galleries, tea ceremonies performed monthly in its Seishin-an tea house, an educational outreach program with local schools and organizations, and Japanese traditional festivals celebrated for the public several times a year.
Continue reading ‘A Good Place to Visit (in the Winter)’
I found this Hinoki forest on the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society website (from their 2009 Annual Show). I think it’s unusual and quite compelling in its naturalness. I’ve come across spruce groves while hiking in Vermont and New Hampshire that look something like this. You find them near the mountain tops, where the harsh climate causes the trees to dwarf and huddle together. These little forests of dwarf trees with their lush moss carpets and time worn rocks, can evoke a peaceful almost other worldly feeling when you stumble across them.
Photo from Crataegus Bonsai. See below Nov 2-4 for Crataegus Bonsai Seasonal with Michael Hagedorn.
Our first update
Since we posted our first calendar one week ago, we have received info on several additional events. To make these new ones easy to spot, the dates are in orange with a asterisk* in front.
Send yours us yours
If you have a bonsai event you’d like to see in our next calendar, send it to wayne@stonelantern.com, or put it in the comments below (don’t forget the links). We can’t guarantee we’ll publish them all, but we might.
Aug 27-?: Stone Lantern over 325 items discounted plus volume discounts
Sep 4-7: Bay Island Bonsai Workshop
Sep 9-12: Bonsai and Suiseki Prague 2010, 13th National Exhibition
Sep 10-12: International Bonsai’s North American Bonsai Symposium
Sep 10-19: Crespi Bonsai 9th International Bonsai & Suiseki Meeting (Italy)
*Sep 11-12: Columbus Bonsai Society 37th Annual Show
Sep 13: Ryan Neil Demonstration, The Bonsai Society of Upstate New York
Sep 17-19 Pacific Northwest Bonsai Clubs Convention with Dan Robinson, Kathy Shaner, Michael Hagedorn, David DeGroot and other notables
Sep 18-26: Potomac Bonsai Association Exhibit at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum
Sep 29 – Oct 12: BCI Fall China Tour
Continue reading ‘Bonsai Events Calendar with Updates’
Subscribe and recieve two free back issues….
…if you mention Bonsai Bark
International Bonsai, issue one, 2010. Inside you’ll find: Training Dwarf Japanese Five-Needle Pine Bonsai; Magic Moments, the Artistry of Kimura; Japanese Five-Needle Pine: Cultivation and Training; Foliage Size Reduction for Pines; A Little Magic with Shohin Bonsai; Suiseki & Bonsai; Pruning, Masterpiece Gallery; Shohin Bonsai Symposium 2; 10th Asia Pacific Bonsai & Suiseki Exhibition.
One of the very best
International Bonsai has long one of my favorite bonsai publications. It has been around since 1979 (no mean feat, especially if you are familiar with the deadline grind) and has consistently maintained the highest quality without fail. International Bonsai and Bonsai Today (out of print, with back issues still available) have set the standard for North American bonsai, and now International Bonsai alone, maintains that standard.
And BTW, no kickbacks are involved. I just like it.
Subscribe and receive two free back issues
Don’t forget to mention Bonsai Bark when you subscribe, so you’ll get your free issues.
Close up of a twisted trunk pomegranate bonsai. From ‘Growing Tips for Twisted Trunk Pomegranate Bonsai’ from International Bonsai issue 4, 2009.
This photo is from Kiki Bonsai.
Win a $25.00 gift certificate to Stone Lantern
Send me (wayne@stonelantern.com) your written critique of the planting in this photo. Try to keep it to 100 words or less. I will pick the winning critique based upon two criteria:
1. Content. How insightful your observations are.
2. Clarity. How clearly and simply you express your observations.
DO NOT PUT YOUR CRITIQUE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. Email it to me at wayne@stonelantern.com. Put ‘Critique’ in the subject line.
You will become famous
I will post the winning critique and perhaps one or two others that I like. I may also offer my own critique.
Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment
Both photos in this post are courtesy of Randy Clark of the Bonsai Learning Center.
More to come?
We just received the article below from Randy Clark of the Bonsai Learning Center in North Carolina on how to deal with the extreme heat that much of the country has been experiencing this summer. I may be a little late for those of us in the Northeast (at least here in northern Vermont), but for those of you further south, there may be more to come.
Summer in the Carolinas by Randy Clark
The Southeastern US is suffering from the heat wave this summer, although not as severely as is the rest of the nation. Nevertheless, temperature which are consistently in the plus 90 degree range present dangers to our bonsai which should not be ignored. Our trees do not enjoy these extended periods of sizzling temperatures any more than we do, but simply pouring buckets of water on them may not be the answer to the problem.
Most of our “temperate” bonsai grow most happily in a range that runs from about the mid to low 70’s through the mid to high 80’s. When temperatures exceed this range on either side, the tree begins to make biological changes in its systems designed to deal with these extremes. Winter dormancy is the reaction as temperatures fall toward the freezing range. Most of us are familiar with this seasonal change in our plants.
BUT… plants can also experience a period of “summer dormancy “when temperatures begin to climb into the 90’s. As the mercury begin to rise, the plants reacts by temporarily shutting down most of the growth systems and trying to conserve moisture. New growth comes to a halt and the stoma holes in the leaves close up so as to minimize the amount of moisture the plant is “exhaling” into the air.
Continue reading ‘That Nasty Summer Heat Wave’
Flowering cherry (Prunus apetala) by Kyuzo Murata. From his book Four Seasons of Bonsai (sadly, long out of print).
Misconception
“in Japan, flowering bonsai, need to be displayed with only few flowers. It is considered bad taste to present a bonsai in full flowering.” (from a comment on facebook).
Rules vs guidelines
There are a host of misconceptions about bonsai. They often arise when we think there are fixed rules (there aren’t any in bonsai, except maybe in judged contests, and these are often fluid). There are however, plenty of useful guidelines.
Pinching flowers
One guideline that can be helpful, is to pinch off some flowers. Sometimes too many flowers can be distracting, even tacky (at least in the eyes of some). Another reason for pinching off some flowers is to protect the health of the tree. It takes a lot of energy to produce flowers and too many can weaken a tree (especially if it’s health is already compromised, which is sometimes the case with bonsai). However, sometimes growers choose to leave an abundance of flowers on a tree; often with excellent results.
Satsuki azalea (var Monochidori) by Taiyu Ezaka. From Bonsai Today issue 41.
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