I pulled this distinctive bonsai off of a gallery on facebook that was posted by Francesco Santini. There isn’t much information provided and I don’t read Italian anyway (Free Translation nonwithstanding), so I can’t say much about this tree except that the hollowed out trunk caught my eye.
An unusual tree
I have seen very few trunks that have been so completely hollowed (from side to side anyway, if not in depth). It looks like it might be a Ezo spruce though I could be mistaken. If it is an Ezo, it must be quite old to attain such size as Ezos are very slow growing. I like the first branch, it almost serves as a second trunk and is not a bad little bonsai in itself. Overall, I think that this is a excellent tree with great balance, and would be noteworthy even without the distinctive hollow trunk.
Here’s another tree from the same gallery that caught my eye. Though it’s a juniper, the reddish bark and the deadwood remind me of the Manzanitas in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.
Pirates
At least one blog has been pirating our posts, lock stock and barrel; but without our links and without any attribution to bonsai bark, or Stone Lantern. If you are reading this on any website or blog that is not ours, and is not attributed to us, then it has been pirated. Please visit us at bonsaibark.com. Thank you.
The Suzuki piece of this puzzle. This poster is also on Santini’s facebook galley. Shinji Suzuki is Michael Hagedorn’s teacher. Suzuki and Michael have both been featured in Bonsai Bark.
The styling progression on this cascade Shimpaku juniper by Shinji Suzuki is remarkable (you can see the whole step by step progression in our Juniper book). So is the end result. Remarkable and very unusual. Shinji Suzuki styled it when he was 24 years old. I wonder if he would do it differently now.
It’s not just the wild mixed interlocking swirls of live and dead wood…
… nor is it just the very long piece of deadwood that runs through the center like a dagger, all the way from near the top to the very bottom… nor the delicate deadwood branch the floats on top and undulates down into the very center of the cascade…. nor the 360 degree deadwood circle on the right… nor the crazy two piece trunk at the base, that lies flat on the soil with a big fist of deadwood above that, but….
… it’s all those things taken together
Nothing about this amazing bonsai is conventional, except maybe the pot and the stand. You might say the the foliage pads are somewhat normal for a cascade juniper, and that may be true, though you might take another look at their very open spacing the way they interact and move with and against the deadwood.
A not particularly eccentric bonsai. This powerful and tranquil old Needle juniper is probably Shinji Suzuki’s best known tree. It originally appeared on the cover of Bonsai Today issue 63 and also appears in the gallery section of our Juniper book.
Shinji Suzuki
Is world-renowned for his bonsai, both conventional and unusual. If you are interested in learning more about Mr. Suzuki check out Michael Hagedorn’s excellent book; Postdated; The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk.
Even if you’re one of those curmudgeons who complains about the overly sculpted look of some Japanese bonsai, you’ve got to admit that this powerhouse Shimpaku approaches perfection. That trunk draws your eye like few trunks anywhere, with its single living vein, mysterious hollow at its base and the spidery fingers and hole at the top. But it’s the tight lush foliage that I want to point out here; the result of some serious trimming and pinching. The photo is from our Juniper book. Artist unknown.
A question about pinching on Michael Hagedorn’s site
The following is from the Seasonal section of Crataegus Bonsai (Michael’s site). It starts with a question by Ron Verna: I have a shimpaku juniper that I’m concerned about it has lost a lot of foliage and doesn’t look as bushy as I would like. Would piching and repotting help?
Michael’s reply
Hello Ron, Although it is difficult to advise without seeing an image, in general, we pinch far too much on junipers. I recommend cutting the longer shoots that push out of a foliage pad with a scissors, a couple times a year, rather than trying to create density with pinching. That tends to greatly weaken junipers. Repotting can rejuvenate a tree that is metabolically slowing down because the pot is full of roots.
You can pinch with your fingers (but not too much!), and….
Continue reading ‘Junipers: Don’t Pinch Too Much!’
We borrowed this magnificent Sierra/Shimpaku juniper from Michael Hagedorn Crataegus Bonsai site. Michael is the author of Post-Dated: The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk.
Reworking a remarkable Weyerhaeuser Juniper
Here’s what Michael has to say about the tree above: “A rangy juniper reworked in a half-day refinement session at the Weyerhaeuser collection in Federal Way, Washington. This 40″ (102cm) tree is a collected Sierra juniper grafted with shimpaku.” You can see the whole post here, which includes the before shot.
Continue reading ‘The Bonsai Artistry of Michael Hagedorn Plus Freeze Dried Roots’
As long as we’re on the subject of ezo spruce, I thought you might like to see this potless ezo clump from Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai.
Potless and eventually boardless
Here’s what Michael Hagedorn has to say about this planting: “I have the tree on a wooden board, which will be temporary support for about two years. After that time, I hope the roots will be solid enough (with some interior bamboo shafts) to support the entire kokedama (moss ball) and be able to be placed directly on a bench—sans pot or slab.”
Post Dated
Michael Hagedorn is the author of Post Dated – The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk and an accomplished bonsai artist and teacher. Michael lives, practices and teaches in Portland Oregon. Check out our interview with Michael here on bonsaibark.
This One Seed Juniper (J. monosperma) was collected (see below) and styled by Michael Hagedorn. Michael is the author of Posted Dated, The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk. Michael lives, teaches and practices bonsai in Portland Oregon. His company is Crataegus Bonsai.
Comparisons are odious
I don’t know that the oft use phrase ‘Comparisons are odious‘ is always true, but I think there is something there. A comparison that has been showing its (odious?) head lately has to do with European vs American (or North American) bonsai. Another is Asian vs Western bonsai.
Continue reading ‘Relatively Speaking…’
Fish seaweed is mild and well-balanced for fall fertilizing.
Reduced nitrogen
Horticulturists, bonsai teachers and others have long been advising people to reduce nitrogen fertilizing in late summer and fall. The keyword is “reduce.” Some nitrogen is necessary when you fertilize otherwise the phosphorous, potassium and other nutrients can’t do their job properly.
Fall growing season in mild climates
Here’s what Michael Hagedorn of Crataegus Bonsai has to say about nitrogen and the fall growing season: “We might also begin thinking about fall fertilizing. I think fall fertilizing is more important for bonsai, particularly developed ones, than spring fertilizing. In Japan more fertilizer is sold for bonsai in the fall than in the spring. If you live in the Pacific Northwest or other areas with a long, mild fall, re-fertilizing the trees is very wise as it is as long and nearly as productive a growing season as spring.
Continue reading ‘Fall Fertilizing: Nitrogen’
A set up like this will come in handy if you live out west right now. Back here in the northeast, we’ve barely had to uncoil ours so far this summer. This image is from our Juniper book.
I never miss Michael Hagedorn’s posts on Crataegus Bonsai. He’s always got something useful to say and he’s a natural story teller (check out Post-Dated – The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk if you’re from Missouri, or just a show-me kind of person).
Michael’s last two posts are prompted by the heat wave out west. One is a very timely tip on watering and the other is a story from his time as a bonsai apprentice in Japan.
Here’s a little teaser from the latter:
Yesterday’s ‘HEAT’ post made me remember a story from Japan…
My first year as an apprentice in Japan was a record setting heat wave. Temperatures reached into the low 100’s for weeks on end, and the humidity was wilting to those watering the trees… (go to Heat Story… for the rest of this post).
Tomohiro Masumi watering Shohin bonsai at Koju-en in Kyoto. From Shohin Bonsai by Morten Albek.
Yet Another Watering Problem…
The following is by Michael Hagedorn from his website Crataegus Bonsai.
Probably the worst thing we might encounter when we have a hose in our hand is a tree that, when we think about it, has not dried out in three days of sunny summer weather. That ought to send off all kinds of alarm bells in your head. If none go off, install some.
Continue reading ‘Green Workshop: Yet Another Watering Problem’
These little critters with their protective helmet-like shields are just one variety of the approximately 8,000 species of scale. Though not all are harmful to your bonsai, the ones that are, need to be taken seriously.
Here’s what Michael Hagedorn has to say about scale
They’re here again…scale are emerging from their eggs underneath their shields, and beginning to crawl.
This is the time to control them. If we sprayed during the winter we wasted insecticide on protected eggs. In June they mature and begin moving around the plant, and can be controlled with oils. All-season oil or Neem oil work. Early summer through the warm months they are active.
It’s very important to identify when to control what. If we spray with the right insecticide or fungicide in the wrong season, we waste time and money and maybe give a beneficial organism a hard time.
Michael Hagedorn is a highly accomplished American bonsai artist, teacher and author. Michael is the owner of Crataegus Bonsai.
Continue reading ‘Pests #2: Controlling Scale by Michael Hagedorn’
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