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.

One of Roy’s approach grafts in process. The top of the small Shimpaku in the plastic pot is being grafted onto a large California juniper. When the graft has taken, the part of the Shimpaku below the graft will be removed. It will still be alive and can be grown on for future use as a bonsai or as another scion.

Roy Nagatoshi
I first met Roy Nagatoshi sometime in the 1980 at he and his father’s (Mr Shigeru Nagatoshi) Fuji Bonsai Nursery in Sylmar, California (home of row after row of some of the most massive bonsai you’ll ever see). At the time Mr Nagatoshi senior was still actively running things and Roy seemed to be keeping a fairly low profile. Later, when I visited a couple times in the 90s, things were shifting. Roy was clearly in charge, and his father seemed to be stepping back (Shigeru Nagatoshi died in 2000). Now Roy is fully in charge and as his skills continue to develop, so does his fame; both as a preeminent bonsai artist as as a popular bonsai teacher.

Whip graft (also called tongue or splice graft). Unlike the approach graft, the scion doesn’t have roots to support it while the graft is taking, so you need to provide humidity to keep it alive. A humid greenhouse helps, but the most common method is to use a plastic sleeve with a damp medium (eg sphagnum) inside.

Some tools Roy uses for grafting. Photo by Dale Berman.

Shimpaku foliage on San Jose junipers
Grafting Master Mas Ishii first introduced me to grafting Shimpaku foliage onto San Jose juniper stock. He said that San Jose stock grows better than Shimpuku in North America (or at least under his local conditions – his nursery Chikugo-en is in Los Angeles), but that Shimpaku foliage is much more beautiful (and touchable) than San Jose foliage, and is easy to graft. For more on this topic and Mas Ishii, there’s and excellent article by Lew Buller in Bonsai Today issue 75 (Lew is the author of Saikei and Art; the only English language Saikei bonsai book).

This California juniper was awarded the Best in Show 2009 at the Midori Bonsai Club‘s 40th annual show. It belongs to Peter Tea and comes to us via Bonsai Tonight (a great name for blog that lives up to it). The photo was taken by Jonas Dupuich, Bonsai Tonight’s author.

A tree with a story
In addition to the strikingly unusual section of deadwood that looks like it’s leaning against the trunk, this remarkable tree has its own story that involves some bonsai luminaries (Boon and Michael Hagedorn for instance), Boon’s backyard, styling questions and more. Check it out if you have time. Be careful though; you might get so taken in by what Jonas is up to, that you forget to come back here where you started.

Here’s another shot of the man and the tree. Both are very impressive in their own way, though neither provided much mystery, at least for those of you who responded. BTW: here’s where we borrowed this photo and the photo that appears in contest #4.

The winner…
… is John Callaway. John wasn’t the only one to get it right, but he was the first one to get it right.

The man…
…is Mr. California Juniper, Harry Hirao.

The tree…
…is (appropriately) a California juniper. The botanical name is Juniperus californica.

And the source…
…is Kofu Review; Kofu Bonsai Kai. Check it out, it’s a great site.

Here’s another impressive Juniperus californica by Mr. California Juniper. It’s from our Juniper book.

This Scot’s pine (Pinus sylvestris) by Walter Pall is from the cover of Bonsai Today issue 104. It was presented by Walter as an example of a naturalistic bonsai.

“… too many of these bonsai look like they are made of plastic…”
The whole quote, which was written by Walter Pall, and appears in Bonsai Today issue 104, goes like this: “I have seen that the trend in styling is toward more and more refinement, which often takes away all the naturalness. I find that too many of these bonsai look like they are made of plastic and are not real.”

You be the judge
To my eyes, Walter Pall’s Scot’s pine is a wonderful bonsai. That’s why we chose it for the cover of Bonsai Today. But we’ve also featured some much more stylized and refined trees for covers; trees that we like. Are these trees overly refined and plastic looking?

This page from our Juniper book features a Needle juniper that is famous in Japanese bonsai circles (famous enough to appear on the cover of Kindai Bonsai – Japan’s foremost bonsai magazine – and Bonsai Today issue 63). It was styled by Shinji Suzuki, Michael Hagedorn‘s teacher (Michael is an accomplish American bonsai artist. teacher and author). The California juniper in the upper corner was collected and styled by Harry Hirao, “Mr. California Juniper.”

Feel before you think?
Masahiko Kimura has commented at various times that ultimately bonsai is about feeling. I think that’s true of most things; before we think, we have a basic attraction or aversion (or indifference) to something. Then, we tend to use concepts to explain or justify what we feel. If you agree with this view (or even if you don’t), you might want to try to just look at the trees in this post, without thinking too much, and see what you feel about them.

This wild looking Big cone Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa) belongs to Dan Robinson, a well know American bonsai artist. Here’s what Dan has to say about it on the Elandan Gardens website: “Collected from natural granitic basin high in the Colorado Rockies, this tree, with the helping hand of Larry Jackall, was lifted straight up out of the basin using a crowbar under the bottom branch. The tree was subsequently planted in a granite basin here at Elandan Gardens. Its spiraled bark and dead wood are the result of a genetic mutation.

If want to read more of Walter Pall’s article…
Not only can Walter style great bonsai, but he can make a point in writing. Unfortunately, Bonsai Today 104, where Walter’s article appears, is out of print. But don’t despair, we’ll post quotes from it right here, as we continue to explore this and other related subjects. Meanwhile, here’s another quote to whet your appetite: “A traditional bonsai is ideal; it is abstract. A naturalistic bonsai is realistic, but never totally realistic. There’s always a certain degree of abstraction.”

…or visit his website
Walter has one of the best websites on bonsai.

Here’s our previous post on The Great Debate.