Shimpaku foliage grafted onto a California juniper by Roy Nagatoshi. All of the photos in this post are by Dale Berman. They originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 108 in an article by Marcus Juniel.
Shimpaku foliage on California junipers
California juniper foliage is heavy and somewhat coarse (I think it looks fine on native stock, but Shimpaku foliage is beautiful and looks even better) and many bonsai artist opt to graft on Shimpaku foliage.
Approach graft. The Shimpaku (scion) still has it roots in soil when it is joined with the stock. Once the graft has taken, it is cut off from its roots in a place and way that best hides the graft so that no (or almost no) traces of the procedure show. How this is done is a big part of the skill involved in grafting bonsai. This sketch and the one below are also from Bonsai Today issue 108.
Continue reading ‘Roy Nagatoshi Grafts Shimpaku Branches and Foliage onto a California Juniper’
This old Satsuki azalea, with its massive trunk and wild display of mixed up flowers, is from our Satuski Azalea book by Robert Z. Callaham (Stone Lantern Publishing).
Ramification
Ramification just means branching. More specifically in bonsai (and other places) it is sometimes used to mean branch development or branch refining.
The language of ramification
Pruning
Pruning is a commonly used word that is loosely applied to mean any removal of all or parts of branches. More specifically it means removing branches rather than shortening branches, but this distinction is lost on many people.
Thinning
Thinning means removing unwanted branches or twigs (see illustration below).
Trimming
Trimming usually means shortening branches or twigs (see bottom illustration), or even new shoots (coming soon, stay posted), but is sometimes used to refer to removing them. Confused yet? Don’t worry about it; you’re not alone.
Thinning branches. With any bonsai it is necessary to thin on a regular basis. Branches that grow into or crowd other branches, (see above), branches that grow in towards the center of the tree, parallel branches that grow too close to each other, branches that are too thick for where they are on the tree, unhealthy branches and etc, all need to be thinned. The illustrations in this post originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue number 1.
Continue reading ‘Azalea Tips #2: The Language of Ramification’
An advanced, but unfinished stage in the development of a Satsuki azalea (see below for a later photo). There are at least three flower variations shown in this photo: all white, all pink, and pink and white striped. Satsuki azaleas are renowned for their vast and varied range of flowers. The photos and illustrations in this post are from Bonsai Today issue 1. The bonsai artist’s name is not mentioned.
Azaleas are easy
Azaleas respond extremely well to pruning during most of the growing season. You can cut off all the branches and new shoots will appear from the stubs (and from practically everywhere else). You can even whack the trunk down to almost nothing and new shoots will spring forth from whatever is left (even from the roots). This and other features like small leaves (on many but not all azaleas), small and beautiful flowers (ditto) and easy adaptability to container culture, make azaleas a favorite for bonsai enthusiasts.
Can you apply the same techniques to other types of trees?
Many of the tips provided in this and subsequent azalea posts will work with other types of trees. However, bear in mind that most trees are not as forgiving as azaleas, so don’t get carried away. It’s always a good idea to know the tolerance levels of whatever type of tree you are working with.
Leave stubs where you want new branches. If a bonsai has been neglected, it might be necessary to remove the old branches and start over (don’t try this with conifers or other trees that don’t bud back on old wood). If you leave stubs where you want new branches, shoots will grow from them and you’ll have a head start.
Continue reading ‘Azalea Tips: Developing New Branches’
This Zelkova serrata (sometimes called Greybark elm and sometimes called just Zelkova) is a classic broom style bonsai. Often when you think of broom style, you think of Zelkova (and vise versa). However, neither broom style nor zelkova are what inspired this post (see below). Photo from Bonsai Today issue 26.
You asked for it
A while back someone asked for some info on designing apices (plural for apex). At the time I promised that we would post something very soon and then proceeded to neglect to do it. So, here’s the beginning of a series on bonsai apices. Better late…
As you can see, this illustration (also from BT26) shows how to maintain the silhouette on a zelkova broom style bonsai. Pretty simple, and the good news is that this technique (or variations on it) can apply to many types of trees in various styles, though you don’t want to be too literal as there are differences that crop up (so to speak).
Apex, Canopy, Crown: Whatcha Got?
I’ve heard and seen a mix of uses of these three terms and would be interested to see how you use them. Do you distinguish between all three? Two? Not at all?
Big discounts on Bonsai Today back issues
Over at Stone Lantern we are running a sale with some very large discounts on Bonsai Today back issues, as well as books and kenzans.
Shore Juniper (J. procumbens) by master bonsai innovator, Masahiko Kimura. I like this one. It combines the sculptural look that has been favored by some Japanese bonsai artists (especially in the 90s) with a more wild, rugged natural look that is in favor in much of the world bonsai community. Not that bonsai is so simple that it can be divided into two categories; sculptural versus natural. If bonsai is an art, then categories are continually being broken down as artist play, explore and innovate. And no bonsai artist that I know of, has played, explored and innovated more successfully that Master Kimura. Photo is from our Juniper book.
What is it about junipers?
Junipers are tough, durable, flexible (they take to wire like they were made for it) and pruneable. They don’t mind having their roots hacked (sometime quite heavily) and they take to container culture. Their needles tend to be small and dense and both their needles and bark come in a range of attractive (sometimes luminous) colors and textures. Perhaps best of all, junipers take to carving like few other plants; and their deadwood is both attractive and long lasting (all deadwood eventually rots, but juniper wood rots more slowly than most), especially if you keep it clean and apply lime sulfur.
Everywhere and for everyone
Junipers grow almost everywhere in the northern hemisphere (they don’t occur south of the equator), from the Arctic tundra to the Central American mountains and African tropics. This means that there are varieties for almost any climate, including some that can survive indoors (only under just the right conditions, with the emphasis on survive, rather than on grow; as indoor cultivation is tough on most plants – but that’s a story for another time). All this makes junipers a first choice for bonsai, from beginners all the way to the masters.
Dwarf Japanese garden juniper (J. procumbens ‘Nana’). By Jerald B. Stowell. From Bonsai Today issue 26. Procumbens nana is by far the most popular juniper for beginners, at least here in the States (it’s the one you see ad nauseam in the malls around the Holidays). However, you seldom see a masterpiece, as the trunks tend to stay too thin. The trunk on this one is about a thick as they ever get.
Even if you’re one of those curmudgeons who complains about the overly sculpted look of some Japanese bonsai, you’ve got to admit that this powerhouse Shimpaku approaches perfection. That trunk draws your eye like few trunks anywhere, with its single living vein, mysterious hollow at its base and the spidery fingers and hole at the top. But it’s the tight lush foliage that I want to point out here; the result of some serious trimming and pinching. The photo is from our Juniper book. Artist unknown.
A question about pinching on Michael Hagedorn’s site
The following is from the Seasonal section of Crataegus Bonsai (Michael’s site). It starts with a question by Ron Verna: I have a shimpaku juniper that I’m concerned about it has lost a lot of foliage and doesn’t look as bushy as I would like. Would piching and repotting help?
Michael’s reply
Hello Ron, Although it is difficult to advise without seeing an image, in general, we pinch far too much on junipers. I recommend cutting the longer shoots that push out of a foliage pad with a scissors, a couple times a year, rather than trying to create density with pinching. That tends to greatly weaken junipers. Repotting can rejuvenate a tree that is metabolically slowing down because the pot is full of roots.
You can pinch with your fingers (but not too much!), and….
Continue reading ‘Junipers: Don’t Pinch Too Much!’
These simple tips on trimming and pinching are from an extensive article entitled ‘How to Train Coniferous Bonsai’ from Bonsai Today issue 42. Stay posted for more tips from this article.
Books on the subject
Two of the best books on training conifers are part of our Masters’ Series: Growing and Styling Juniper Bonsai, and Growing and Styling Japanese White and Black Pines (most of the info is good for other pines).
Continue reading ‘Green Workshop: Controlling Conifer Growth’
The drawing on the left shows a young deciduous tree before pruning. Notice that the tree’s energy (growth) moves primarily upward, forming a more or less inverted triangle (tip down). In order to control this growth and move the energy down, prune to form the tree into a triangle (more or less) with tip pointing up.
The drawing on the right shows the same little tree a year or two later. Now your goal is to control growth and keep the tree’s basic shape by continuing to prune back vigorous upward growth (thus forcing energy down into the trunk and primary branches) and to eliminate unsightly and unhealthy growth (branches that grow in toward the center of the tree, branches that cross the trunk, branches that grow straight up rather than out, and so forth).
This image is from Bonsai Today issue 44. Green Workshop tips are posted primarily for beginners. For some earlier on pruning deciduous tress go here and here.
After. Finished for the moment. The challenge was for Masahiko Kimura to style a bunjin (literati) bonsai with only one branch (see below for where he started). It’s eccentricity lies in its striking simplicity, if that makes any sense. It a Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora). From our Masters’ Series The Magician, the Bonsai Art of Kimura 2. From an article that originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 69.
Continue reading ‘Eccentric Bonsai: Kimura Rises to the Challenge’
Though this is not the right the time of year for root grafting for most of us, here’s a simple technique to file away for when early spring rolls around. This illustration is from Bonsai Today 45.
Previous posts on nebari are: An Ingenious Technique parts one and two and In Search of the Perfect Nebari, parts two, three, four and five, and for some inexplicable reasons two part sixes (6-1 and 6-2). All this means that this is actually our 9th post on the topic.
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