Blue Skies & Beautiful Bonsai

There’s a lot to like about a good Stewartia like this, including the fine ramafication (branching). Only years of careful trimming can accomplish this. There’s also the strong nebari that offers a sense of stability and a sign of age on any good Stewartia. And then there’s the beauty of the exfoliating bark with its soft reddish shades. All this makes for a masterpiece bonsai. I cropped the original photo for a closer look (it’s below with the original caption) We can’t stay away from Luis Vallejo’s Bonsai Museum for very long. Though I don’t have time to count, I’d … Continue reading Blue Skies & Beautiful Bonsai

Masters of Refining Bonsai

We don’t usually feature photos with so much background noise, but this Trident maple is phenomenal and it’s the only shot we’ve got Just home from vacation. The return was supposed to be a two day trek, but snow added a day. Anyway, it’s late and I could skip today’s post, but instead we’ll just keep digging up Omiya Bonsai Museum photos from our archives (this one is from January, 2015). It’s easy enough and it will provide another opportunity for a heads up about the end of our Site Wide Sale tomorrow night All the bonsai shown here resides at the Omiya … Continue reading Masters of Refining Bonsai

Walter’s Big, Brilliant Japanese Maple Bonsai

This brilliant Japanese maple belongs to Walter Pall. Walter lists its height as 75cm (30″) and its age as around thirty years. It was imported from a Korean nursery in 2016. The pot is a Tokoname from Japan. Just a quick one tree study today. But what a tree it is! It belongs to Walter Pall, a frequent headliner here on Bark and a widely recognized bonsai artist, entrepreneur and entertainer. NEW WIRE SPECIAL Kilo Rolls Only 15.95 Roshi Bonsai Tools 30% off Our List Prices see below – The ramification (fine branching) could use some more time and work, but … Continue reading Walter’s Big, Brilliant Japanese Maple Bonsai

A Very Impressive North American Bonsai Collection

Fantastic tree! It belongs to Doug Paul (Mr. Kennett Collection). This photo is from the famous Kokufu Exhibition in Tokyo. It’s a great honor to have a tree accepted to Kokufu; only a handful of North Americans have had that honor. Today we’ve got a few photos from Doug Paul’s Kennett Collection, no doubt one of the foremost bonsai collections in North America. The collection – with the exception of any trees Doug keeps in Japan -resides in Kennett Square PA. Continued below… NEW Lower Prices on Bonsai Aesthetics Wire with many sizes individually discounted as well 100 gram – … Continue reading A Very Impressive North American Bonsai Collection

Fine Branching Is Key to Superior Deciduous Bonsai

This now famous Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) received the coveted Kokufu prize at the 88th Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition. Aside from its overall magnificence, this tree provides a perfect example of what great ramification looks like. The photo is from the World Bonsai Friendship Federation. Identification and other details were provided by Bill Valavanis. Ramification literally means branch development, or how branches grow. However, when it comes to the art of bonsai, it has come to mean branch development that displays a couple key features: taper and fine branching. These features are critical when it comes to developing quality deciduous (and … Continue reading Fine Branching Is Key to Superior Deciduous Bonsai

Kokufu Bonsai Bones

We Borrowed this Hackberry from a new 2017 Kokufu post (part 1) on Bill Valavanis Bonsai blog. We’ve been borrowing from Bill Valavanis for the entire life of Bonsai Bark (8 years and counting). This time it’s some very impressive deciduous trees from the 2017 Kokufu Exhibition. For more trees from Kokufu (parts 1 & 2) and others from Bill’s recent trip to Japan, you could do a lot worse than a quick trip to Bill’s blog. Continued below… 20% to 30% off Kilo Rolls Bonsai Aesthetics Wire hesitate and lose This great Sale ends tomorrow night 20% off 1-5 … Continue reading Kokufu Bonsai Bones

Nasty Alligators & Old New Year’s Bonsai

Though any Kokufu bonsai might work to lead with, there’s something about Quince flowers… Here’s Bill Valavanis’ caption: A small size Toyo Nishiki Japanese flowering quince, Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Toyo Nishiki’ with multiple colored flowers. Although red, pink and white blossoms are common for this great cultivar, I’ve often seen red branches grafted onto specimens to improve color distribution. Welcome to 2017. Even though it’s a day of rest, alligators don’t really rest (nasty year end alligators today and then inventory tomorrow), so I’ve decided to take the easy way out and show you some photos that we featured in February … Continue reading Nasty Alligators & Old New Year’s Bonsai

Monster Trident Maple Bonsai in Full Fall Color

In addition to brilliant fall color, this monster Trident maple has almost everything you’d want in a bonsai, including a massive trunk, fluid natural looking nebari, good lines, a well-matched pot and healthy green moss. The artist is German Gomez. Leaving for quick vacation in three days and still have a million things to do, including putting up some new tools and voting. To save some time we’re going back in time. The photos shown here first appeared on Bark way back in 2010. I’ve changed most of the text. Though fall color is rapidly fading here in Vermont, I … Continue reading Monster Trident Maple Bonsai in Full Fall Color

A Common Mistake?

This image showing three tropical bonsai, each with two different crowns, was originally borrowed from Robert Steven. This post is worth another airing (here’s the original from last year). The topic is something many of us don’t think about that much when designing bonsai, though maybe we should. We’ll let you be the judge. The three trees on the left (above) are tropicals that are shaped like conifers. To Robert Steven and to many others, this a mistake. A common mistake to be sure, but still a mistake. The three trees on the right have more rounded and therefore natural … Continue reading A Common Mistake?

What’s Wrong – A Follow Up

I got a little feedback in the comments from this morning’s post. One reminded me that not everyone uses facebook. Making the links provided worthless to these non-facebook folks. So, I’ll fill in a bit… The three trees on the left (above) are tropicals that are shaped like conifers. To Robert Steven and to many others, this a mistake. A common mistake to be sure, but still a mistake. The three trees on the right have more rounded and therefore natural looking tropical tree crowns. This more or less rounded look is also generally found on deciduous (see below) and … Continue reading What’s Wrong – A Follow Up