Hornbeam bonsai

Elements of a Bonsai Forest

I stumbled across this European hornbeam (Carpinus betulas) by Walter Pall on his Bonsai Adventures blog. The shot looks like spring with some trees lagging behind others Following up on yesterday’s forest post, here’s one that originally appeared here in 2014. I think it’s one of our best on forests and worth another look Focal point. Without the dominant tree this forest planting by Walter Pall would be a lot less interesting. With the dominant tree contrasted with rest of the trees, the planting has a focal point. With that focal point  to organize around, balance, scale, a feeling of age … Continue reading Elements of a Bonsai Forest

Working Tirelessly to Promote Bonsai in North America & Beyond

A piece of a sinuous root Larch the belongs to Bill Valavanis. A photo of the whole tree is below. The other day Bill Valavanis generously sent us some photos for a project we’re working on for Stone Lantern. If you know Bill, you know this generosity is not out of character. Bill has been working tirelessly to promote bonsai in North America (and beyond) for a long time, all the while generously giving his energy, knowledge and encouragement to our community of bonsai artists and enthusiasts. Because of Bill’s generosity and dedication, we periodically encourage our readers (that’s you) … Continue reading Working Tirelessly to Promote Bonsai in North America & Beyond

Cedars? Hornbeams? What’s in a Name Anyway?

Great trunk, brilliant fall color, excellent pot and then there’s the apex. This powerful old tree belongs to Wolfgang Putz. The pot is by Ingrid Kralovec. The tree is a Korean hornbeam. The botanical name is Carpinus turczaninowii, though you’ll sometimes see them referred to as Carpinus coreana. Up to my old tricks. The photos shown here originally appeared in March 2013.  There’s more history involved, but we’ll leave it at that. The two trees below are Thuja occidentalis, a tree that may have more common names than almost any other species on this planet… Continued below… Our great sale … Continue reading Cedars? Hornbeams? What’s in a Name Anyway?

Fertilizing, Back-Budding & One More Hornbeam

This shohin Carpinus coreana* (Korean hornbeam) by Mario Komsta has appeared here before. As a companion plant no less (see below). No problem though. Any tree this good deserves to be shown more than once. As a companion or by itself. A few days ago I mentioned we were starting a series on the Hornbeam genus (Carpinus). There are approximately 40 species of Hornbeams on the planet and many, if not most of them are suitable for bonsai. In this case we’re showing just one by Mario Komsta. Unrelated to Hornbeams, but also by Mario is a piece on the … Continue reading Fertilizing, Back-Budding & One More Hornbeam

Walter’s Massive Forest & Other Hornbeam Bonsai

This massive Hornbeam forest belongs to Walter Pall. Walter doesn’t mention the variety in his gallery section (you might be able to hunt it down on his blog), but given that Walter lives in Germany, You might guess that it’s a European hornbeam (Carpinus betula), but I wouldn’t take it to the bank. The other day someone asked if we would do something on Hornbeams, so here it is, the beginning of a series on the Hornbeam genus (Carpinus). And in case the person who asked is actually reading this (or anyone else is interested), our archives contain several Hornbeam … Continue reading Walter’s Massive Forest & Other Hornbeam Bonsai

Bonsai Art & the Art of Bonsai

The day has barely started and I’m already running out of superlatives. I guess spectacular will do in this case. It’s a Korean hornbeam (Carpinus turczaninowii) by Ian Stewartson. The photo is from Bonsai Art’s website. After three straight new posts it’s time to delve into our archives . This one originally appeared March 2013. Bonsai Art magazine is very well named. As bonsai magazines go, it is as well-done, beautiful and professional as they come. The problem, for most of us at least, is that it’s in German. But really, the photos and overall presentation are so good that … Continue reading Bonsai Art & the Art of Bonsai

Three Bonsai (Two Cedars & a Hornbeam)

Great tree, great pot. It belongs to Wolfgang Putz. The pot is by Ingrid Kralovec. The tree is a Korean hornbeam. The botanical name is Carpinus turczaninowii, though you’ll sometimes see them referred to as Carpinus coreana. This post didn’t start out to be mostly about Cedars. The three photos and the text you see here are borrowed from a much longer post we did back in March 2013. After eliminating the out of date content, what’s left are a Hornbeam and two Cedars. Boreal Bonsai. This White cedar (Thuja occidentalis) belongs to Paul Chong of the Toronto Bonsai Society … Continue reading Three Bonsai (Two Cedars & a Hornbeam)

Refining Your Bonsai

I found this rather spectacular tree on Bonsai Nut. There was no caption but it’s part of a discussion on Korean hornbeam ramification. In these days of massive trunks and elaborate deadwood carving, it’s easy to overlook ramification. Even though good ramification is an essential mark of refinement. Especially on deciduous bonsai. In botany, ramification is defined as: 1. a structure formed of branches, and 2. configuration of branching parts. With bonsai, ramification is about branch development, starting with primary branches, then secondary, tertiary, quaternary and so forth, out to the finest twigs. Each level is thinner (and usually shorter) than the last, and when done well, the effect is … Continue reading Refining Your Bonsai

Random Shots & Gnarly Branches

This powerful Japanese white pine with its lush canopy that’s shaped like something you’d see on a deciduous tree, makes little attempt to appear like a pine in nature. Still, it’s hard to deny how the power of its trunk and the rich beauty of its canopy complement each other. I found it here. It looks like it’s part of a Japanese bonsai nursery, but I couldn’t find any verification. Still on vacation and still working. But just enough to edit (or eliminate) dated information and resize the images on this post from July 2012*.   This wild looking Hornbeam … Continue reading Random Shots & Gnarly Branches

Staying on Theme, Only this Time with a Little More Color

The color on this flowering pear was a bit ahead of most of the other trees at the Pacific Bonsai Museum. This and the other photos in this post were shot in late September by Kurt Simonson. Close up so you can see some of the leaves, the base of the trunk and the moss a little better. Were going to keep going with our the Pacific Bonsai Museum theme. This time with a bit more color. Even though late September was a little early for full force fall foliage (sorry) in the Pacific Northwest, some of the trees were … Continue reading Staying on Theme, Only this Time with a Little More Color