A Soft Spot for Cedars

When is a Cedar not really a Cedar? Or does it even matter? Either way, this has to be one of the very best Northern white cedars we’ve seen yet. I’ve got a soft spot for Cedars, even when they’re really Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis – aka Northern white cedar – more below) and the one above is certainly no exception. I know I’ve seen it somewhere, but memory is elusive (74) and I know I’ll be embarrassed when you point it out (just heard from a couple bonsai friends north of the border – the artist is Brian Donnely of … Continue reading A Soft Spot for Cedars

Three Bonsai (Two Cedars & a Hornbeam)

Great tree, great pot. It belongs to Wolfgang Putz. The pot is by Ingrid Kralovec. The tree is a Korean hornbeam. The botanical name is Carpinus turczaninowii, though you’ll sometimes see them referred to as Carpinus coreana. This post didn’t start out to be mostly about Cedars. The three photos and the text you see here are borrowed from a much longer post we did back in March 2013. After eliminating the out of date content, what’s left are a Hornbeam and two Cedars. Boreal Bonsai. This White cedar (Thuja occidentalis) belongs to Paul Chong of the Toronto Bonsai Society … Continue reading Three Bonsai (Two Cedars & a Hornbeam)

A Famous Hinoki in a Famous Pot

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: “My lone Hinoli cypress after a quick fall cleanup. Falling deeper in love with this pot that Ron Lang and I collaborated on.” Got Artisans Cup photos with species and artist labels? I wanted to show Ron Lang’s (and Sharon Edwards-Russell’s) pots that held seven of the remarkable trees at the Artisans Cup. Problem is, my photos are spotty and mostly unlabeled and the same goes for other Cup photos I’ve been able to dig up. So we’ll … Continue reading A Famous Hinoki in a Famous Pot

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

Tough As Nails – Cedar Bonsai #5

Not a great tree, but a good tree (I’d happily add it to my collection) that provides an excellent look at the beauty of Northern white cedar foliage (see below for a close-up). This type cedar often grows at the water’s edge, so you might imagine that this one is leaning out over a pond or river. You might also imagine that years of heavy snow have weighed it down. It’s a member’s tree at The Bonsai Society at Royal Botanical Gardens, in Burlington, Ontario. In keeping with our Cedar theme (true cedars and cedars in name only), here’s a … Continue reading Tough As Nails – Cedar Bonsai #5

Cedar IV – True & Untrue

A later iteration of a Northern white cedar (Thuja Occidentalis) that we featured last year (see below). The tree’s potential has moved closer to realization (even with the photo’s missing top and right side). It belongs to Paul Chong. Both photos are originally from Lakeshore Bonsai, Toronto. Keeping with our Cedar theme, here’s a good one that we’ve featured before (below). The later version (above) shows improvements worthy of bonsai artist with a sharp eye and a sure touch. It falls into the ‘untrue’ cedar category (Cedrus are true cedars and this one is a Thuja or Arborvitae). Just in … Continue reading Cedar IV – True & Untrue

Searching for an Adjective & Upcoming Bonsai Events

I’m searching for the perfect adjective for this monumental (towering, preternatural, massive, magnificent, imposing…) planting. It’s from the World Bonsai Friendship Federation Convention that is taking place in China right now (Sept 24-28). I found the photo on Bill Valavanis’ excellent new blog. Bill is there and has posted a series of great shots from the event. FREE ADVERTISING! Would you like to see your bonsai event featured here? If so, just send me a notice with a link to the event. That’s it. But remember, no link, no show. My email is wayne@stonelantern.com. You might also want to mention … Continue reading Searching for an Adjective & Upcoming Bonsai Events

More Cedars: From Our Friends Up North

Northern white cedar (Thuja Occidentalis) by Paul Chong of the Toronto Bonsai Society. Friend out west? Two of the three cedars in this post are by Paul Chong. Though there are several other notable cedars on the Toronto Bonsai Society’s website, Paul’s jumped out at me. And, incidentally, Toronto is actually west of Vermont, not north. Another of Paul’s powerful collected cedars. Only Mother Nature (with a little help from a deft hand here and there) could accomplish something this spectacular.

Same Tree, Only Better

This is the same cedar that we featured three days ago, only much improved after being prepared for exhibition at the 2nd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. BTW: it won the ABS Award for the finest North American Species Bonsai. It’s no wonder eh? Photo courtesy of Bill Valavanis of International Bonsai. The artist is Marc Arpag of the Bonsai Society of Upstate New York. Our Site-Wide Summer Sale Ends Tomorrow Morning!

A Powerful Cedar Bonsai (Or Is It?)

I first saw this Northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) in International Bonsai magazine (2009 issue 4). It also appears on the Bonsai Society of Upstate New York’s website. It belongs to Marc Arpag and was part of the Society’s 36th Upstate New York Exhibition (2009). It jumped out at me because I have a thing for cedars, but can never seem to find any that begin to approach this natural wonder. When is a cedar a cedar (or not)? Common names often create confusion. There are only four true cedar (Cedrus) species in the world, yet an abundance of trees … Continue reading A Powerful Cedar Bonsai (Or Is It?)