Juniper procumbens nana bonsai

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

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

An Impressive List of Famous Bonsai Artists

Zuiou 1996 Kokufu prize winner, Japanese Black Pine. From Peter Tea Bonsai (Peter is one of the headliners at the upcoming Bonsai Visions of the West). Here’s some of what Peter wrote about this famous tree: “A few months ago I was fortunate enough to work on this large Japanese Black Pine.  The work wasn’t major and involved thinning and pulling needles; standard stuff for Black Pines in the Winter.  Just getting a chance to work on this tree was an amazing feeling for me because it tied my past bonsai career to my ending apprenticeship…” (for more visit Peter’s … Continue reading An Impressive List of Famous Bonsai Artists

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