Bonsai Deadwood, Too Much or Just Right?

This unusual full cascade Juniper will no doubt put off some of our anti-deadwood folks, but to my eyes, it’s an expressive and dynamic tree. Cascade shots are normally taken from a point that shows the tree cascading down one side of the pot, but in this case the pot is hidden by the tree, which creates a whole different effect. Still busy putting finishing touches on our soon to be New Website, so we’ll take a short cut and dip back into our archives… All the photos shown here were taken by Andres Bicocca at the 2017 European Bonsai … Continue reading Bonsai Deadwood, Too Much or Just Right?

Kokufu Bonsai! It’s that Time of Year Again

Dwarf Kumquat. Even though there are more dramatic trees to choose from, I picked this one to start with in part because of the pot. The tree isn’t so bad either with its muscular little trunk and profusion of tiny Kumquats. This photo and the rest shown here are from Bill Valavanis’s Bonsai blog It’s Kokufu time! and Bill Valavanis is back in Japan shooting photos for all of us who can’t make the trip. I’ve grabbed just a few that I like. There’s more where these came from at Bill’s Welcome to My World Bonsai blog NEW SITE WIDE SALE … Continue reading Kokufu Bonsai! It’s that Time of Year Again

Would You Believe a Bonsai Just Sold for $100,000?

You’ll have to scroll down to see the $100,000 bonsai, but this famous Hinoki planting by the even more famous Masahiko Kimura, just sold at the Taikan ten bonsai show for a mere 1,800,000 Japanese yen (approx $16,000) You think you blew your budget this season? How about some of these bonsai that sold at last month’s annual Taikan ten bonsai show? I found them at Bonsai Kyogie (Victoria Australia). SITE WIDE SALE SAME DAY SHIPPING* Everything Is At Least 20% off Items already discounted are more than 20% off *Orders placed by 2:00pm EST will be shipped the same business day discounts are … Continue reading Would You Believe a Bonsai Just Sold for $100,000?

A Famous Hinoki in a Famous Pot

This stately distinctive Hinoki is from Michael Pollock’s blog Bonsai Shinshei as are the other two bonsai shown here. Here’s Michael’s caption: “My lone Hinoli cypress after a quick fall cleanup. Falling deeper in love with this pot that Ron Lang and I collaborated on.” Got Artisans Cup photos with species and artist labels? I wanted to show Ron Lang’s (and Sharon Edwards-Russell’s) pots that held seven of the remarkable trees at the Artisans Cup. Problem is, my photos are spotty and mostly unlabeled and the same goes for other Cup photos I’ve been able to dig up. So we’ll … Continue reading A Famous Hinoki in a Famous Pot

Revisiting An Old & Still Relevant Bonsai Debate

Hinoki cypress by Dan Robinson. From Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees. An excellent example of a naturalistic bonsai. I think it’s time to revisit a discussion that seems to provoke plenty of interest each time we bring it up (there were 35 comments to this post back in 2011 and numerous comments to previous posts on topic). It’s also timely given that Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees is now back in print and Dan Robinson’s bonsai play a big part in the discussion. A note about Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees that I neglected to mention last post: By agreement with the publisher, … Continue reading Revisiting An Old & Still Relevant Bonsai Debate

Kimura Rocks

The mature look. It helps to start with well developed trees. I think most of us would be happy to have trees like these Shimpaku as single bonsai, let alone as parts of group plantings. It’s hot here in Vermont, my bonsai need water and so do I. Once again it’s time to dig into our archives and vacate this office. This post originally appeared summer before last and again last summer. A question about watering came up when this was originally posted. I’ll preempt this time with my answer: “My guess is the hinoki plantings are kept in shade … Continue reading Kimura Rocks

It’s Later Now – More Taikan-ten Bonsai

A Shimpaku juniper from the 34th Taikan-ten Bonsai Exhibition. The photo is from Michael Bonsai (on facebook) as are all the photos shown here. It’s later (than you think). A few days ago we put up a post titled Taiken-ten Bonsai, Some Pines First, More Later. Now it’s later. So here they are, as promised. I’m going to go ahead and guess the varieties. Not because I’m brave (or foolish, though you could take issue) but because these look pretty easy. Looks like a Japanese white pine. Ume (AKA Prunus mume, AKA Japanese apricot). The bark is a … Continue reading It’s Later Now – More Taikan-ten Bonsai

Out of the Bonsai Mainstream

This stately distinctive Hinoki is from Michael Pollock’s blog Bonsai Shinshei as are the other two bonsai shown here. Here’s Michael’s caption: “One of my lone Hinoli cypress after a quick fall cleanup. Falling deeper in love with this pot that Ron Lang and I collaborated on.” I was going to feature the tree above in our last post until I got interested in the pot and one thing led to another. So, we’ll pick up where we left off. There was a time not too long ago when most of the bonsai you saw conformed to Japanese standards. True, … Continue reading Out of the Bonsai Mainstream

Rim Shots, New and Improved

This striking formal uprignt Hinoki Cypress is the feature tree on the Pacific Rim’s new website (new to me at least). At a glance it brings to mind the Sierra’s towering Giant Sequoias. A great choice for a west coast bonsai site. First, a disclaimer. I’ve never been to the Pacific Rim Bonsai Museum. We’ve featured it several time here on Bark and have extolled its virtues based on bits and pieces we have been able to pick up on its historically woefully inadequate website and elsewhere. Now, at first glance at least, the ‘woefully inadequate’ piece has changed with … Continue reading Rim Shots, New and Improved

Flying High with Suthin

After. By Suthin Sukosolvisit. Flying high. This one’s a first; a post from 35,000 feet. Ahh, the miracles… (which brings to mind a story by Louie C.K., but we’ll save that for another time). Revisiting an old friend, if just for a few moments. Just found these Suthin before and after photos on facebook (the during and close-up photos are from his website). It’s not the first time we’ve featured Suthin on Bark and it won’t be the last. It’s a simple before and after (over a one year time span) of a Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa). Before. You … Continue reading Flying High with Suthin