This is part of a display from Morten Albek’s Shohin site (Morten is the author of Majesty in Miniature: Shohin Bonsai, Published by Stone Lantern). The cotoneaster’s striking fall color and the elegant stand caught my attention.
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This strange, jumbled profusion of colorful leaves in a bonsai pot is from Morten Albek’s Shohin-Bonsai Europe website. It’s a Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) by Jacques Graulus of Belgium. BTW: Morten Albek is the author of Majesty in Miniature: Shohin Bonsai (Stone Lantern Publishing).
No harm intended
This is our first post on eccentric bonsai. Our intention is to explore and expand our bonsai horizons. Hopefully our observations are not too aggressive or offensive. However, it’s my view that anyone who is daring enough to put a photo of their bonsai on the web, should be prepared for evaluation and even criticism.
Beyond convention
I like good traditional (often Japanese inspired) bonsai. At the same time, I keep an eye out for trees that clearly aren’t in that mold, but are nevertheless compelling, or at least interesting. Like the jumbled profusion of colorful leaves in a bonsai pot that you see in the photo above. The contrivance of the trunk leaning on just-stuck-there-for-that-purpose rock, the unnaturally white deadwood that looks a bit like an alien growth clinging to the trunk, and the chaotic hippyesque mess of foliage, take this tree so far out of the traditional realm, that it’s hard for me to see it as a bonsai. Still, is there something audaciously daring about this tree, that’s worth our consideration? Or is it just a mess of colorful leaves and not much else? Continue reading ‘In Whose Eye? Eccentric Bonsai’
Time to repot. Morten Albek intentionally broke the pot to show this Cork bark Japanese black pine’s dense root mass. From Morten’s book, Shohin Bonsai (Stone Lantern Publishing).
Why transplant in the fall?
If you transplant in the fall your trees can take full advantage of the next growing season. If you transplant in the spring (that’s when most people do it), by the time the tree recovers, you’ve lost part of the growing season.
Why not transplant in the fall?
If you have an early winter and your bonsai haven’t fully recovered from transplanting, then you risk serious damage (or worse). If you rootprune heavily, the risk goes up. If you want to play it safe, fall transplant only those trees that need light to moderate root pruning.
Continue reading ‘Green Workshop: Fall Transplanting Pros & Cons’
Suthin Sukosolvisit shows some serious stuff (sorry) with this powerful shohin (small bonsai) display. This type multi-tree display is the way shohin bonsai typically appear in judged shows. Check out Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai to see the rules (written and unwritten) for shohin display.
Suthiin Sukosolvisit
I’ve long been a fan of Suthin’s. Not just because of his shohin (though he is best known for those), but because he shows mastery across a range of bonsai sizes and styles. Still, shohin is what this post is about, and when it comes to shohin, Suthin is one of the best artists around.
An exquisite kusamono from our Japanese mystery book. Because I don’t read Japanese, I can’t say what the grass is (can you?), who the potter is, or even, what the name of the book is. However, I can say, with complete confidence, that the whole arrangement is beautiful.
What does Kusamono mean?
In his book Bonsai, Kusamono, Suiseki, Willi Benz says “Kusa = grass and Mono = object.” He goes on to say “If a Kusamono-Bonsai is the main object of a display, we use the term Kusamono. But if a Kusamono-Bonsai is used as an accent or complementary plant, we say it is a Shitakusa.”
Expanding the definition over time
Mr. Benz goes on to say that over time, small flowering plants have also been used as kusamono. Now many people say that any herbaceous plant in a bonsai container is a kusamono. I think this is the way most of us use the term.
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’
Robert Kempinski (author of Introduction to Bonsai) has an excellent article at Knowledge of Bonsai on Shohin Willow Leaf Ficus (the photo above was borrowed from the article). Check it and a slew of other good stuff out, including a revealing exposé on nasty (but beautifully photographed) little aphids by Heather Hartman.
While you are at it, take a look at two related books we offer: Shohin Bonsai by Morten Albek (Stone Lantern Publishing), and Ficus: The Exotic Bonsai by Jerry Meislik (Devonshire Gardens Ltd.).
Starting from scratch
Morten Albek (author of Shohin Bonsai) recently moved himself and his bonsai. This photo shows an early stage in the process of building his new backyard display. Not a bad start. Morten will be posting photos on his website as the project progresses.
Continue reading ‘Backyard Bonsai Displays #3: A Fresh Start’
This drawing is from our Masters’ Series book; Junipers, Growing & Styling Juniper Bonsai.
What is Green Workshop?
Green Workshop is a series for beginners and others who are interested in some of the basics of bonsai care and training. Green Workshop originated in Bonsai Today magazine and will be continued with regular postings on this blog.
The more you know about watering, the better.
Without timely, intelligent watering, any plant in a container is at risk. The more you know about watering, the better.
Continue reading ‘Green Workshop: The Art & Science of Watering’
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 really helps when it comes to growing aerial roots.
Shohin are small bonsai. When compared to large bonsai, Shohin cost less, take less less time to develop, take less space, are easier to move (especially as your back ages), and are less apt to be overwatered. From the back cover of Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai (except for the part about your aging back), written almost two years ago by this very person while sitting in this very spot.
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