Tag Archives: Bonsai Today's Masters' Series Juniper Book

Wire: What’s the Difference?

wayne | 05/18/2013

Like most bonsai, this one has been wired. In fact, there’s visible wire on it right now. It’s a Shimpaku that’s from a chapter in our Masters’ Series Juniper book, titled Keiko Tamaki’s Deft Touch. Most bonsai are wired at some stage in their development. In fact, bonsai that have been around for a long [...]

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Still Sleeping at the Switch

wayne | 01/24/2013

Do you recognize this award winning Shimpaku juniper? It appears in Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature (and older version is in the gallery of our Masters Series Juniper book). It belongs to Masahiko Kimura. The photo is by Jonathan Singer, as are all three photos in this post and all of the photos in Fine [...]

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Rim Shots

wayne | 01/11/2013

This has got to be one of the most magnificent Chinese hackberry (Celtis sinensis) bonsai anywhere. Though the distinctive split trunk needs no comment, you might also notice the highly developed ramification (fine branching). The tree was donated to the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection by Ben Oki. We’ve featured it before, but it’s certainly worth [...]

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Pinch! Don’t Pinch! Part 2

wayne | 09/03/2012

This isn’t the first time we’ve featured this famous bonsai that originally appeared on the cover of Bonsai Today 63 and later in our Juniper book. I think it’s appropriate here for a couple reasons: it’s by Shinji Suzuki, Michael Hagedorn’s bonsai sensei (Michael provided the fuel for this post and our previous post) and [...]

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Twisted

wayne | 07/05/2012

Twisted in the extreme. My guess is that you’ve never seen a tree as twisted as this one. I’m pretty sure I haven’t, though there are some (I think they are Whitebark pines Pinus albicaulis) at the treeline on Mt Lassen in Northern California that come pretty close. This photo is from Carlos van der [...]

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The Twist & Other Bonsai Eccentricities

wayne | 04/18/2012

Doing the twist. We’ve featured a few of these corkscrew types lately (all Shimpaku junipers), but this one takes the cake. Even though there’s something unnatural about many of these twisted bonsai, some work better than others and I’d put this one in that category. BTW: nature sometimes does twist trees in this manner, but [...]

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Kokufu & the Upcoming 2012 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition

wayne | 03/05/2012

This Shishigashira Japanese maple was a 2012 Kokufu award winner. A few things stand out about this remarkable tree: the shape, with most of the action on one side is somewhat unusual for a Japanese maple; the wonderful nebari with its smooth spread and the way it stabilizes the top of the tree; and the [...]

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Pushing the Bonsai Boundaries

wayne | 05/10/2011

Can you imagine the time needed to develop and maintain the numerous foliage clouds? Does this level of refinement exist outside of Japan? Needle juniper (J. rigida) by Shinji Suzuki. From our Masters’ Series Juniper book. Picking up where we left off Our last post provoked more discussion than any post so far. Roughly drawn, [...]

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That Old Argument Resurfaces

wayne | 05/08/2011

Hinoki cypress by Dan Robinson. From Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees. An excellent example of a naturalistic bonsai. Judging from your comments… There are two ways we can gauge reader interest. One is by the number of visits to a particular post (our host keeps track for us), and the other is your comments. Judging from [...]

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Needle Junipers

wayne | 09/09/2010

This Needle juniper (J. rigida) is from our Japanese bonsai calendar. August, 2010. There are Needle junipers and then there are needle junipers, and then… Juniperus rigida (above) are commonly called Needle junipers. Then there is the class of junipers with needle like foliage, that are often referred to as needle junipers. These are distinguished [...]

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