Old Bonsai Tell Stories

I like this little tree. It tells a story – any tree that grow to over 250 feet (see below) in optimal conditions and yet looks like this, has a story. It’s a Poderosa pine. I don’t know who collected it, but it belongs to Colin Lewis (unless he sold it). Yesterday was Ponderosa pines, so we’ll continue on that track today. BTW: I didn’t set out to make this post about rare cork bark Ponderosa, but it has headed in that direction, at least in part. This is because some of the photos and text here are from a … Continue reading Old Bonsai Tell Stories

The Cup, Cork Bark Bonsai & Collecting from the Wild

Backcountry Bonsai doesn’t show any Ponderosa bonsai, so we borrowed this yamadori Ponderosa pine from Ryan Neil’s Mirai, American Bonsai. There are signs of what some people might call corking (see the close up at the bottom of the post), but I don’t think Back Country Bonsai would qualify it as a cork bark Ponderosa. Tonight is the opening of the Artisans Cup. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve noticed that we’ve been resurrecting posts that have something to do with Oregon and more specifically (though sometimes indirectly,) the Cup itself. This works for me as generating new posts while … Continue reading The Cup, Cork Bark Bonsai & Collecting from the Wild

Oregon Backcountry Bonsai

This ancient three-quarters-dead Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) is clinging for its life on Cusick Mountain in the southern part of Eagle Cap Wilderness in northeastern Oregon. I borrowed both photos in this post from Backcountry Bonsai. Today it’s SF to Portland. Tomorrow evening it’s the Portland Art Museum for the Cup. Saturday it’s the Village tour to the Pacific Bonsai Museum, then Saturday night and Sunday back to the Museum. I hope to see you there and I apologize in advance if I don’t remember your name. And remember to be kind to your elders. Soon enough, it will be … Continue reading Oregon Backcountry Bonsai

Backcountry’s Cork Bark Ponderosa Pine (with a Little Help from Bonsai Mirai)

Backcountry Bonsai doesn’t show any Ponderosa bonsai, so we borrowed this yamadori Ponderosa pine from Ryan Neil’s Mirai, American Bonsai. There are signs of what some people might call corking (see the close up at the bottom of the post), but I don’t think Back Country Bonsai would qualify it as a cork bark Ponderosa. I just stumbled across a new Backcountry Bonsai post and, in addition to getting all excited about rediscovering Steve and Dan’s excellent blog (here’s the original discovery), I learned something new. Namely that there is such a thing as a Cork bark Ponderosa pine. Here’s … Continue reading Backcountry’s Cork Bark Ponderosa Pine (with a Little Help from Bonsai Mirai)

Backcountry Bonsai

This ancient three-quarters-dead Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) is clinging for its life on Cusick Mountain in the southern part of Eagle Cap Wilderness in northeastern Oregon. I borrowed both photos in this post from Backcountry Bonsai. Trees like this fascinate me. Obviously, it will never be a bonsai, but only someone stuck on bonsai without real appreciation of wild trees would care. BTW: such poor benighted souls exist (excluding present company of course). Rather than saying more, I’ll defer to our 26th President (TR) “A people without children would face a hopeless future; a country without trees is almost as … Continue reading Backcountry Bonsai