Just Another Before & After Bonsai?

Itoigawa juniper before and after by Gabriel Romero Aguade By now you may have seen dozens, if not hundreds of before and after bonsai posts. Some were done in a matter of hours and some took years to complete. When I first saw this one, my guess was it falls into the second group; bonsai transformations that take years. – But rather than settle on a guess, I decided to ask the artist, Gabriel Romero Aguade who posted it just a couple days ago. Here’s my question… “How many years was the process? ” And here’s Gabriel’s answer… “From the … Continue reading Just Another Before & After Bonsai?

Before & After by Bonsai Boon with a Guest Appearance by Michael Hagedorn

Here’s Boon’s caption for this before and after… “Itoigawa shimpaku removed old needles, downward growth, rewired and reposition” No bonsai is ever finished (unless it’s dead and then it’s no longer a bonsai anyway). I don’t know how many trees Boon Manakitivipart (aka Bonsai Boon) has, but I know it’s a whole lot more than most of us So what do you do when you have so many trees? Beyond basic care, like watering, feeding, treating for disease, insects etc? Well, one thing you do is spend some time bringing established bonsai back into shape, and if you have the talent, improving them in the process. … Continue reading Before & After by Bonsai Boon with a Guest Appearance by Michael Hagedorn

Small Is Beautiful (& Practical Too)

This banyan style dwarf Snow rose serissa (Serissa foetida microphylla) was styled by David Fukumoto of Fuku Bonsai in Hawaii. The pot is a Tokoname from Japan. Living in the tropics is a big plus when it comes to growing aerial roots. Monday morning, Stone Lantern’s peak season and the busiest time of year for bonsai growers, so it’s back to our archives. This one is from April, 2014 Based on thirty five years experience in bonsai business, I’d say that the majority of our readers and customers are into their middle years or beyond. I’m sure there are several good reasons for this, but … Continue reading Small Is Beautiful (& Practical Too)

Before & After – Antes y Despues

Before and after Itoigawa juniper (Juniperus chinesis ‘itoigawa’) by David Benavente. It helps to start with a magnificent tree. Still, this takes nothing away from the considerable skills of an artist like David Benavente. In fact, bringing a great tree back to shape and taking it to the next level is one of the things that defines a highly accomplished bonsai artist. Sticking with our reoccurant Before & After theme, today’s Itoigawa juniper is one of several remarkable Before & Afters (Antes y Despues) that David Benavente posted several years ago. By the way, if you’re confused about the difference between Shimpaku, Kishu and Itoigawa, here’s something from … Continue reading Before & After – Antes y Despues

Juniper Bonsai – Before, During & After

This Itoigawa juniper (Juniperus sargentii Itoigawa) belongs to Yannick Kiggen of Yama Bonsai Studio. The shot is from Noelanders Trophy 2017. The 200 year old pot is by Nakawatari. The stand was built by Pascal Houdusse This before, during and after sequence, covers four years in the life of Yannick Kiggen’s massive old yamadori juniper (yamadori is bonsai collected from the wild). Yannick bought it in 2014 from Maarten van der Hoeven of Bonsaiplaza, who imported it from Taisho-en in Japan. Continued below… BONSAI BOOK SPECIAL ENDS SOON All of Our Vast Selection of Bonsai Books 20% to 75% off List Prices But only for 2 more days This special … Continue reading Juniper Bonsai – Before, During & After

Bonsai Before & After – Transforming a Badly Damaged Tree

Here’s what Harry Harrington has to say about this impressive tree, and in particular it’s recovery and transformation from what you see in the photo below… “This is probably the best example I have of the usefulness of anti-transpirant, an Itoigawa juniper bonsai that came to me in a very bad way a couple of years ago, and was sprayed with anti-transpirant once a month to reduce further moisture loss from the leaves while it recovered and grew new roots. (Second image is from just 6 months later after styling).” We’ve been featuring Harry Harrington a lot these days. Part … Continue reading Bonsai Before & After – Transforming a Badly Damaged Tree

Which Pot Would You Choose?

Which pot would you choose for this Itoigawa shimpaku juniper? Here’s a favorite topic by our old friend, American bonsai artist and teacher, Boon Manakitivipart (Bonsai Boon). If you would like to state your choice (and reasons, if you’re up for it), you can visit Bonsai Bark on facebook (we don’t accept comments directly on our blog because of near infinite spam) or you can visit Boon on facebook. Or even better, you can visit us both. Continued below… 8.50 for 500 gram Rolls of Bonsai Wire Is Too Good to Pass up 13.50 less 30% = 9.45 per roll … Continue reading Which Pot Would You Choose?

Confused about Itoigawa, Kishu & Shimpaku Junipers?

This dynamic Juniper jumped off its digital page on my daily bonsai hunt yesterday. In addition to all its movement, there’s those two perfectly placed foliage clouds. Their gentle downward motion and soft weight help tame the upward thrust of the deadwood. Bjorn Bjorholm’s caption for this Juniper reads: “Itoigawa Shimpaku styled in 2013 during my apprenticeship at Kouka-en.” Today it’s a few dynamic Itoigawa junipers for you. The beautiful & energetic beast above is from Bjorn Bjorholm’s facebook feed. I pillaged the others from our archives. Continued below… SITE WIDE SALE 20% TO 25% OFF EVERYTHING* Don’t Worry! We … Continue reading Confused about Itoigawa, Kishu & Shimpaku Junipers?

One Bonsai, Four Shots

This artfully swirling Itoigawa Shimpaku juniper (Juniperus chinensis Itoigawa) belongs to Fabio Mantovani. The photo was taken at the recent European Bonsai San Show by Harry Harrington (I cropped it to get a closer look, the original is below). Last week we featured some of Harry Harrington’s photos from last month’s European Bonsai San Show. Because the tree’s are so spectacular and Harry’s photos are equally spectacular, there’s no good reason not keep going. This time we’re focusing on four shots (plus one cropped) of a Itoigawa Shimpaku juniper (Juniperus chinensis Itoigawa) that belongs to Fabio Mantovani. For more of Harry’s … Continue reading One Bonsai, Four Shots

‘Art Shots’ from the European Bonsai San Show

Here’s a great trunk shot of an old English yew (Taxus baccata) that belongs to Andres Alvarez. The pot is listed as Chinese, which most likely means it’s Yixing. This shot makes it look like a short muscular tree, but it’s actually quite tall. You’ll have to wait for tomorrow’s post or visit Harry Harrington’s site for a photo of the whole tree (the same goes for the other photos in this post). Yesterday’s post was devoted to Harry Harrington’s photos from the recent European Bonsai San Show. Today we’re going to continue with Harry’s photos from the show, only … Continue reading ‘Art Shots’ from the European Bonsai San Show