Check out the meandering living vein on this wonderful crazy work in progress by Isao Omachi. It showed up on facebook the other day and instantly grabbed my imagination and got me thinking about how he could have done it (the living vein part, that is). Perhaps there’s a clue in something that Masahiko Kimura (The Magician) did years ago in a chapter entitled ‘Kimura Flips (a Tree Upside Down)’ in our Masters’ Series Juniper book (below).
Here’s the Kimura tree that he flipped upside down. It originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 21 (out of print).
Pirates
At least one blog has been pirating our posts, lock stock and barrel; but without our links and without any attribution to bonsai bark, or Stone Lantern. If you are reading this on any website or blog that is not ours, and is not attributed to us, then it has been pirated. Please visit us at bonsaibark.com. Thank you.
This group of Needle junipers on a large rock by Norboru Kaneko won first prize at Sakufu-ten #12. It originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 24 (long out of print). It also appears in our Bonsai Today Masters’ Series Juniper book (still in print).
Root-on-rock vs root-over-rock
The bonsai shown in this post are all root-on-rock, which means that the roots are growing in soil that is in pockets in the rock. Root-over-rock is where the rock sits in soil in a pot and the roots are trained to grow down over the rock and into the soil. We’ll do a post on these later.
Here’s another Needle juniper (with an azalea and some others) by Noboru Kaneko. Also from Bonsai Today 24 and our Juniper book.
And one more. Same artist, same place.
Root-over-rock. Here’s a somewhat fuzzy example of root-over-rock (as contrasted with the root-on-rocks above), that comes from Noelanders Throphy XI – A Film by Merlin. You can see one root (with the white stripe) than snakes down the side of the rock. It’s actually functioning as trunk now; roots that are exposed to air will grow bark and become part of the trunk. This only works if the tips of the root are in soil. If the whole root, including the tips, is exposed to air for more than a few minutes, tips and all will begin to die.
Though it’s not as powerful as many other Kimura trees (see below), nor is it considered one of his classics, still, I can’t say enough about this tree, so I won’t say much except I apologize that it is a little cramped on the left side and that it’s a Yew and it’s from The Bonsai Art of Kimura (out of print though occasionally the ‘let’s reprint’ thought flits around).
There are eccentric bonsai and then…
… there are eccentric bonsai. That is, some trees we feature are just eccentric. Others are masterpieces that are also eccentric (unusual in some respect). My guess is that you can tell which category this one falls into.
I won’t spell it out…
… but it’s the trunk stupid! (just kidding about the stupid part). Magnificent and completely unique. I wonder how he did it? Did he split the original trunk and double it back on itself (he does highly unusual stuff like this sometimes; check our Kimura Flips a Tree Upside Down in our Juniper book). Or what? I await your comments (but won’t hold my breath).
Here’s a more classic powerhouse by Master Kimura to feast your eyes. It’s from The Magician (Stone Lantern Publishing). It also appears in Bonsai Today issue 56.
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’
All you need to get started is a good sharp grafting knife and willingness to experiment.
An easy way to add a branch
The simple technique shown here allows you to keep the roots of the scion until it takes; an obvious advantage.
The scion, aka the branch to be, will remain in its pot until it takes. The part you want is the branch growing off the right of the trunk. Notice the slit (notch) to left of that branch.
Continue reading ‘A Simple (& Clever) Grafting Technique’
This rafia wrapped Japanese white pine is the result of an unconventional (amazing might also apply) transformation by Masahiko Kimura. The original article appears in Bonsai Today issue 43. This photo also appears in our Pine book. Approx. height 37″ (94cm).
Up to his old tricks
The range and dept of Masahiko Kimura’s mastery knows almost no bounds; his highly imaginative and unconventional artistry have changed the way the world bonsai community views and practices bonsai (stay posted for more on the effects of Kimura’s work). The tree featured in this post is yet another example of Kimura’s genius.
You can do it!
If you pay close attention to the original (BT 43), you’ll see that no part of this technique is overly difficult. To be sure, great patience and attention to detail is required, but given the right tools, the right tree and plenty of time, anyone with a steady hand has a good chance of success.
Continue reading ‘The Magician Turns Three into Seven’
Carl Morrow sent us this digitalized revision (and two others, see below) of a juniper that was originally submitted to our ‘Fearless Bonsai Warrior‘ program, by John Romano. This is the second critique of John’s juniper that has been submitted to Bonsai Bark (here’s the other).
Carl’s turn with John’s Juniper
The photos and text in this post were submitted by Carl Morrow. Carl has been here before with his own tree. Now he’s tackling John Romano’s juniper.
“A tree needs to tell a consistent story and when one has an outstanding feature or focal point then the theme created needs to be repeated through other parts of the tree to create a consistent image.
This is a lovely tree that I would happily play with. Deadwood is a very powerful focal point and it is difficult to look anywhere else when there is a stark white area on the tree. In the current form, John’s tree has single piece of deadwood that is not repeated anywhere else. What could have caused just one major branch to die without affecting anything else on the tree? The tip of the jin is firmly pointing downwards while the rest of the (trunk line and foliage) tree has an upward feel. For this reason I find the jin jarring and unnatural. I would do one of two things to solve this.”
Continue reading ‘Revisiting John Romano’s Almost Famous Juniper’
A set up like this will come in handy if you live out west right now. Back here in the northeast, we’ve barely had to uncoil ours so far this summer. This image is from our Juniper book.
I never miss Michael Hagedorn’s posts on Crataegus Bonsai. He’s always got something useful to say and he’s a natural story teller (check out Post-Dated – The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk if you’re from Missouri, or just a show-me kind of person).
Michael’s last two posts are prompted by the heat wave out west. One is a very timely tip on watering and the other is a story from his time as a bonsai apprentice in Japan.
Here’s a little teaser from the latter:
Yesterday’s ‘HEAT’ post made me remember a story from Japan…
My first year as an apprentice in Japan was a record setting heat wave. Temperatures reached into the low 100’s for weeks on end, and the humidity was wilting to those watering the trees… (go to Heat Story… for the rest of this post).
In this series of photos (from our Juniper book), Hideki Nakayatsu turns a needle juniper on its side to work on the apical jin (jin can be either a dead branch or a dead top of the trunk). He is using is a draw knife to carve natural looking grooves in the wood. Though there are other ways to get grooves in deadwood (dremels come to mind), a draw knife is a tried and true old standard.
This close up, though far from perfect, shows the grooves a little better. Deadwood naturally cracks and grooves along its length as it ages, so offering a helping hand is a quick way to give your bonsai an old weathered look. One secret to achieving a natural look is to let the knife move with the wood’s grain. It’s easier and the results are better.
Continue reading ‘Jin & Shari #5: Carving Jin with a Draw Knife’
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