Juniper Bonsai – Before & After

Before and after on an already established Juniper procumbens. By Naoki Maeoka Traveling today, so we’ll make this sort and sweet. It’s what you might call a maintenance before and after. The tree is already well developed and just needs and expert’s touch to bring it back to it former glory and perhaps elevate that glory some. The expert is Naoki Maeoka. Beyond that, we’ll let you fill in the blanks MID WINTER SITE WIDE SALE 20% OFF EVERYTHING PLUS AN EXTRA 10% TO 20% OFF ROSHI TOOLS see below – Before After ROSHI TOOL SPECIAL EXTRA 10% OFF 1 – 2 … Continue reading Juniper Bonsai – Before & After

Marc’s Masterpiece & Bonsai Warsaw with More Answers

Here’s that close up of Marc Noelander’s monumental masterpiece Wall Bonsai that we featured last week (the uncropped photo is below). We’re showing it again because now we have some answers to your questions (courtesy of Marc)… “The wall planting is a Juniper procumbens. More than one… 3 big plants and 4 days work.” Sometimes we post without the information you want. In this case, there was one recent post that was short on facts (see above) and one that involved a simple act of forgetting (see below) NEW BONSAI BOOK SPECIAL Kilo Bonsai Wire Only 16.50 per roll Roshi Tool Sale … Continue reading Marc’s Masterpiece & Bonsai Warsaw with More Answers

Rock Island Bonsai

One of three impressive rock plantings from Mauro Stemberger’s recent bonsai sojourn in India. The trees in all three plantings are Procumbens juinipers. The natural sandstone river rocks were put together with cement. I don’t know anything about the pot, except that it’s a monster. Yesterday I wrote that I wanted to feature these three Juniper forests on rock islands by Mauro Stemberger and friends but needed more time to do a little research. We’ll, I couldn’t find the time, but if you’d like, you can do your own research. Here and here are two facebook links. You might also … Continue reading Rock Island Bonsai

What’s Eccentric?

This wildly elaborate juniper bonsai is from Bjorn Bjornholm’s facebook photos. It’s a case where a darker background would work better, but borrowers can’t be choosey. Here Bjorn’s caption: “Procumbens wired and ready for its trip to Tokyo.” When I saw the photo above my first thought was… it’s been a while since we did a post on eccentric bonsai, so why not? On reflection however, the whole notion of eccentric is called into question. This has a lot to do with the sudden spread of bonsai throughout the world and the cross pollination made possible by easy travel and … Continue reading What’s Eccentric?

Not Shimpaku: A Juniper Bonsai Non Starter

This lovely tree with its natural flowing feel is from a 2012 Bark post. The tree resides at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. It’s listed as a Procumbens nana, though I’ve never seen a ‘nana’ with such a massive trunk. Which begs the question… (the story is here). It’s archive time again. This post originally appeared in September 2013. It was titled Not Shimpaku and was supposed to be the start of a series on juniper bonsai. Like many starts in life, it turned out to be a non-starter (maybe later…?). Japanese Garden Juniper bonsai Shimpaku junipers rule. You … Continue reading Not Shimpaku: A Juniper Bonsai Non Starter

Technical Skills, Great Vision & An Unsolved Mystery

After. By Salatore Liporace. It’s not in a bonsai pot yet, but in this case, who cares? There are at least five things that struck me almost immediately about this tree. First, it’s a great example of a before and after bonsai. The before is full of challenges and promise (good stock is half the battle) and when you look at the after, it’s obvious that the artist (Salvatore Liporace) has done a masterful job of rising to the challenge. Second, there’s the exceptionally strong and vividly colored living vein and the way it wraps around and contrasts so well … Continue reading Technical Skills, Great Vision & An Unsolved Mystery

Chaos & Harmony

A couple things qualify this bonsai as unusual. First, as you can see, it’s got all kind of lines looping and jutting in an almost chaotic fashion. But there’s a method to the madness. All the loops and juts not only add interest and excitement, but they come together into a very compelling overall shape. Second is the fact that it’s a Procumbens juniper. A species that you don’t see that often as specimen level bonsai. You do see a lot of dwarf Procumbens as little beginners’ trees here in north America, but that’s another story. Bjorn Bjorholm is one … Continue reading Chaos & Harmony

Juniper: Before and After

After: By Michael Hagedorn, Crataegus Bonsai. Michael says the container is approx 30 gallons. This should give you some idea of the scale (it’s bigger than it looks). Michael says it’s a Juniper procumbens, but it looks a lot like a J. procumbens ‘nana’ to me (that’s the dwarf cultivar), especially in the photo below. What’s surprising about this is, that if it is a ‘nana’ it’s a monster, with a trunk whose thickness defies the normal limits of the variety. The most over-used tree in North America Juniper procumbens ‘nana’ is ubiquitous in the North American bonsai scene. Especially … Continue reading Juniper: Before and After