Don’t Be that Person!

This lovely tree will have to remain a mystery. The person who posted it doesn’t say anything about it, including where he or she found it, so we’ll return the favor. If you’ve been reading Bonsai Bark for a while, you may be aware of my occasional rants (gentle rants I hope) about failure to attribute bonsai to the artists and provide other pertinent information about the trees. And yes, as you suspect, we’re talking about social media. I think this is mostly just laziness. Somewhere in the course of a photo’s journey from one person’s timeline to the next, … Continue reading Don’t Be that Person!

Don’t Starve Your Bonsai!

This radiantly healthy, well-fed Japanese black pine is from our Masters Series Pine Book. Spring is coming. For many of you it will arrive over the next few weeks. For those of us in northern Vermont and other such brutal locations, it’s still about 12-14 weeks away. For most of you, it’s somewhere in between. Time to start fertilizing isn’t that far off. Many people underfeed their bonsai. Sometimes the mistaken notion that starvation is essential to keep trees small, wins out over the common sense understanding that regular nutrition is essential for health. In the case of bonsai (and … Continue reading Don’t Starve Your Bonsai!

Bonsai Monarch

Full cascade Japanese black pine (Pinus thumbergii). Japanese for Black pine is Kuromatsu (kuro is black and matsu is pine). Busy trying to keep up with the much-stronger-than-anticipated results of our 20% off Site Wide Sale, so once again we’ll call up a favorite from our archives. Japanese black pines are sometimes referred to a the king of bonsai. This may be in part due to their natural strength; they tend to have powerful trunks and thick lush foliage. Rugged bark doesn’t hurt either. King or not, the best of the black pines are undeniably among the most powerful bonsai … Continue reading Bonsai Monarch

More Broken Chains & Blending Tradition Chinese Penjing with Something Much Newer & More Radical

Yesterday the chains were broken. Today it’s the chains and the arm. It’s a good thing the tree and pot survived. The photo is cropped so the nitty-gritty at the bottom will show when it’s magically transported to social media (the original is below). Yesterday, we featured some photos and text (courtesy of our friend Robert Steven) from the recent 3rd National Xiaopin Penjing & Wild Grass Exhibition. Today we’ve got some more for you (and even more tomorrow). The more I look at the photos the more fascinated I become. The scope and variety and especially the concepts behind … Continue reading More Broken Chains & Blending Tradition Chinese Penjing with Something Much Newer & More Radical

Bonsai Book & Wire Sales End Monday Night

Cover tree from Fine Bonsai (see below) 25% off Bonsai Book Sale ends tomorrow night (Monday) at 11:59pm EDT Bonsai Wire Sales also end Monday night 30% off 500 gram rolls of Bonsai Wire 30% off 1 lb rolls of Copper Bonsai Wire 30% off Yoshiaki Japanese Bonsai Wire Plus an Extra 5% off orders 100.00+ FREE Shipping on U.S. orders 50.00 plus The cover The tree is a Sargent juniper (aka Shimpaku) The artist is Seiji Morimae The pot is by Adachi Choka list price for the book is 150.00 only 107.00 with current sales plus FREE Shipping in … Continue reading Bonsai Book & Wire Sales End Monday Night

A Snake, A Monster & A Well-Groomed Black Pine Bonsai

This has to be one of the most unique Japanese black pines anywhere. I can’t help but think of a monster with two gnarled feet lurching along. Now, if you can put that image out of your mind, you might enjoy the ancient bark and wonderfully confusing movement of the trunks. All three Japanese black pine bonsai shown here belong to Fumio Ideue, owner of Ideue Kikkoen Bonsai Garden in Shikoku, Japan. We borrowed most of this post from a post titled King of Bonsai that originally appeared here in December, 2013. Snake. Looks like this was taken in the … Continue reading A Snake, A Monster & A Well-Groomed Black Pine Bonsai

Before & After – Cutting a Juniper Down to Size

The old Needle juniper, with its distinctively strange shari, belongs to Michael Hagedorn (Crataegus Bonsai). Here’s some of what Michael Hagedorn wrote about this juniper in a post titled Needle Juniper Restyling: “This tree is too tall. And the branches are a bit leggy, too. One of the problems we get into in bonsai design is that with time and growth, height and branch length can begin pulling us away from the trunk. Literally destroying the design, making it weaker. And this tree has a nice trunk, which is a good enough reason to consider redesigning it, to compact the … Continue reading Before & After – Cutting a Juniper Down to Size

Before, After & Midway Through

Mugo pine by Walter Pall. Here’s what Walter wrote about this tree: “This one has exceptional potential. Unfortunately, it almost died a few years ago. Now it is recovering and some day it will shine again.” From the looks of it, I’d say it’s already shining. I can think of at least four good reasons to feature this tree… First, the artist is Walter Pall, a favorite on here on Bark and someone whose trees are featured in Modern Bonsai Practice, a groundbreaking new bonsai book. Second, it’s a Before & After, which judging by responses is a favorite topic. … Continue reading Before, After & Midway Through

Masters Series Pine Bonsai Book Is Back

One of dozens of world class trees featured in our Bonsai Today Masters Series Pine book. It’s back! To reward those of you who have been waiting so patiently, we’re going to offer it at a discount…. only 26.95 (list is 34.95). Order yours while the price is right. If you need some encouragement take a look below… Candle pinching. An essential needle reduction and energy balancing technique for almost any type of pine. Elegance. Bunjin Japanese white pine. If you’d like to grow some black pines from seed, here’s a few steps from the only source you’ll ever need. … Continue reading Masters Series Pine Bonsai Book Is Back

Pine Bonsai – Texture, Movement & Color

It’s hard not to notice what a powerful tree this is, even with the apex slightly nipped and most of the pot missing. It’s a Japanese white pine from the 34th Taikan-ten Bonsai Exhibition. Spring bonsai and other chores beckon and time is compressed, so we’ll delve back into our archives today. This one is from December, 2014. All the photos in this post are from the 34th Taikan-ten Bonsai Exhibition (with the exception of the wiring photo just below). Taikan-ten takes place once a year in Kyoto and is considered by most people to be the second most important … Continue reading Pine Bonsai – Texture, Movement & Color