You like unconventional? Crazy? How about daring and masterful? Notice how the color and design of the pot plays with the wild shari (deadwood) and the small touch of moss on the left mirrors the foliage. Just another bonsai from left field by crafty old Nick Lenz, master left fielder, author, and preeminent (whatever that means) master of cedars, larches and other collected North American gems. This photo is from North American Bonsai (American Bonsai Society – compiled and edited by Martin Schmalenberg), now on sale at Stone Lantern.
When is a cedar not really a cedar?
The tree featured here is commonly called a Northern (or Eastern) white cedar, when in fact it’s actually a variety of arborvitae (botanical name; Thuja occidentalis). Lots of trees that aren’t cedars are called cedar, including at least one juniper (Eastern red cedar; Juniperus virginiana), one false cypress (Atlantic white cedar; Chamaecyparis thyoides), the California Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) and no doubt others. What most of these share is fan shaped foliage (like Nick’s tree above). Interestingly, true cedars (Cedrus) don’t have fan shaped foliage. Confused? You’re not alone.
When is a cedar a really cedar?
There are a handful of true cedars (Cedrus) in the world, the best known of which are: the Deodar cedar (C. deodara) from the Himalayas, and two from the Mediterranean: the Lebanon cedar (C. libani) and the Atlas cedar (C, atlantica).
An earlier (less professional) photo of the same tree. You can find this one in Nick’s excellent book on collecting bonsai, Bonsai from the Wild (Stone Lantern Publishing).
You can find this in-training collected Larch in Bonsai from the Wild by Larch Master Nick Lenz (Stone Lantern Publishing). Good tapers on larches are hard to come by. This exceptionally strong taper is the result of what Nick calls a ’swamp layer.’ For details see the chapter on larches in Bonsai from the Wild (THE book on collecting).
Planting two trunks together that diverge as they ascend is a good way to create the appearance of taper. This image is from an article by Nick Lenz entitled Larch with Taper, that appears in The Bonsai Journal.
Check out our previous post on larches: In Praise of the American Larch: aka the Tamarack
Poison Ivy bonsai by Nick Lenz, who, in addition to be one of our most talented bonsai artists, is also a master of the unusual. This photo appears in Nick’s book, Bonsai from the Wild (Stone Lantern Publishing).
Nicknamed OSAMA
Nick Lenz calls his charming looking, but otherwise nasty little bonsai, OSAMA (no explanation needed).
Halloween bonsai
Though you may not take poison ivy bonsai seriously (or take it at all, for that matter), Nick does. Here’s a few of his words (lifted from his book): While poison ivy may be considered a Halloween bonsai, the species has great charm and interest, especially when fruiting. Unfortunately, my most cherished specimen was stolen by a very foolish teenager. Never pass up an outstanding trunk of this species and always pack latex gloves in your collecting kit.
Nick Lenz calls this rugged heavily scarred old larch a ’super hack back job’ (performed with a chainsaw). It’s noteworthy for its excellent taper and nebari (among other things), things that doesn’t come naturally with most larches. I guess you could say that the Halloween carving is also noteworthy. The photo is from Nick’s book, Bonsai from the Wild (Stone Lantern Publishing).
Round these parts it’s a Tamarack
Here in Vermont we are right on the southern edge of the Larix laricina’s range. Most bonsai enthusiasts (and many others) refer to it as the American larch, but around here almost everyone calls it the Tamarack.
So many good qualities
Of all the trees that grow around here, larches are the most prized bonsai candidates. They are easy to grow, flexible, take to pruning and root pruning, have small bright green needles and excellent fall color, the wood is easy to carve and the resulting deadwood is attractive, they develop real character with age, and so forth…
Continue reading ‘In Praise of the American Larch: aka the Tamarack’
This American larch (Larix laricina) was sent to us by John Romano. It was selected as 1 of 100 in JAL World Bonsai Photo contest 2004. It was purchased as raw collected stock from American larch hero Nick Lenz. John Romano has been devoted to teaching bonsai for the past ten years and has developed Kaikou School of Bonsai (a two year program at at New England Bonsai). Kaikou is a somewhat archaic Japanese term that means ‘unexpected encounter’ or ‘crossing paths’.
Your turn
Our Fearless Bonsai Warrior program is about you and your bonsai. In other words, I want you to send us photos. It’s easy, just attach them to an email to wayne@stonelantern.com. You don’t have to be a professional or a bonsai teacher (like John Romano), just someone with a bonsai and a camera.
Don’t worry about rejection
Don’t worry about rejection or ridicule. I like all attempts at bonsai, even the ones I don’t like. If we like yours enough, we’ll feature it here. If not, I’ll send you a kind and gentle letter explaining what I think you need to do to improve your tree. Not that what I think will necessarily be helpful, but there’s always a chance, however remote.
Continue reading ‘Be a Fearless Bonsai Warrior’
A naturalistic Norway spruce (Picea abies) by Walter Pall (from Bonsai Today issue 106). This tree was awarded third place overall in the Bonsai Today/Art of Bonsai 2006 photo contest. Walter also won first and second place in the overall category.
The Naturalistic Bonsai Movement?
In the expanding galaxy of accomplished Western bonsai artists, Walter Pall’s bonsai skills and dedication to teaching and promoting the art of bonsai make him one of the brightest stars. Walter is also one of the most prominent proponents of what could be called the Naturalistic Bonsai Movement (or something like that).
In our last Great Debate post, I promised you more from Walter on the topic. The quotes below by Walter are from an article entitled A Naturalistic Scot’s Pine that appeared in Bonsai Today issue 104 (out of print).
The other two photos in this post are NOT Walter’s trees. They are rather, my idea of two worthy examples of naturalistic bonsai by other artists.
Continue reading ‘The Great Debate part 3: More from Walter’
A pretty impressive bonsai with a modified S shape. It’s a Miyajima Japanese-Five Needle Pine (also called Japanese white pine – Pinus parviflora ‘Miyajima’) that was field grown for several years. The artist/owner is Ken Buell. The photo is from the 1st U. S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album.
Here’s the text of an email I received from Eric Killian…
I think bonsai bark has a lot of potential, but I’d love to see more on field growing. I have about 30-40 trees in the ground now but ground growing is completely new to me. Should I be giving trucks shape now? Possibly exaggerating it so in later years it will look like a nice flowing curve? I want to add character at a young age while avoiding the “S” trees that are mass produced.
Continue reading ‘Field Growing #6: What’s with S Shaped Curves?’
Have you tried field growing? You don’t need a lot of space to experiment with a small number of plants and the results will easily exceed expectations that have been conditioned by container growing.
One of the reasons the Japanese have so many well developed bonsai is field growing. In the west, we tend to grow bonsai stock in containers. In Japan, most stock is field grown; you’ve no doubt noticed the strikingly powerful Japanese Black Pines in the two photos above (from Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai). Though I don’t know how old those massive trunks are, my best guess is they are around fifteen or so, even though they look much, much older.
Continue reading ‘Have You Thought About Field Growing?’
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