Pine Bonsai, Past & Present

Dwarf Japanese five-needle Pine at this year’s Kokufu Exhibition. This and other Kokufu photos are from Bill Valavanis’ blog. Here’s Bill’s caption… “Looks like a spruce with the short needles.” Getting ready to throw the switch on our new website, so just some random pine bonsai today. Six from the past and two from this year’s Kokufu Exhibtion (Kokufu photos are courtesy of Bill Valavanis) SITE WIDE SALE ENDS TONIGHT 25% OFF EVERYTHING ON ALL ORDERS 25.00 OR MORE PLUS AN EXTRA 10% OFF OUR FAMOUS ROSHI TOOLS & AN EXTRA 10% OFF ROBERT STEVEN’S BONSAI AESTHETICS TOOLS 25% OFF … Continue reading Pine Bonsai, Past & Present

You Don’t See Bonsai Like These Everyday

You don’t see bonsai like this every day. For me, there’s a temptation to grab my thinning shears. But first, it’s a good idea to take it in as is. And there’s a lot to take in. Especially the sheer weight of the remarkably lush foliage. And, if you can pull your eyes down to the trunk, the play of the living veins and deadwood is striking. Unfortunately the tree is not identified (nor attributed), but it looks a lot a like a Shimpaku juniper Normally we shy away from unattributed and unidentified bonsai. But in this case the trees are so unusual that I couldn’t … Continue reading You Don’t See Bonsai Like These Everyday

Bonsai, Babies & Roshi Tools

Three photos of the same tree at different times. I think it’s probably the same baby too. No identification of the tree is given, but it looks a lot like a Japanese beech I try to focus on bonsai and stay away from babies and kittens (here on Bark at least), but for some reason I couldn’t pass this one up (it helps that the tree is magnificent). The babies and the photos below were posted by Matthijs Hartjes, a Bonsai Bark first timer ROSHI TOOL SPECIAL ENDS TOMORROW NIGHT 30% OFF see below – Japanese maple for sure, but no variety is given … Continue reading Bonsai, Babies & Roshi Tools

Bonsai Trifecta

This luminous little Japanese white pine belongs to Suthin. It’s a winner, right down to the pot and the yellow-green moss. Continuing from yesterday with Suthin and pines. The three little trees in this post appeared here one year ago (March, 2017) and were originally from Suthin’s facebook photos Another strong little Japanese white pine. – Deeply Discounted BONSAI AESTHETICS WIRE KILO ROLLS 17.95 Only 15.95 each for 3 or more 500 GRAM ROLLS 9.95 only 8.95 each for 3 or more 100 GRAM ROLLS ONLY 3.95 This rough little gem is a Japanese black pine. Still a little grooming to do, but … Continue reading Bonsai Trifecta

Bonsai from Scratch – Before & After

I think this qualifies as ‘from scratch.’No small amounts of skill and imagination were required to get from what you see on the left to what you see on the right. You’ve got the good makings of a trunk and a lot of potential leaders and branches to choose from, but beyond that it’s pretty rough. The artist is Paolo Salemi. Here’s his caption… “Thuja, before and after 5 years. I start working on this tree in the 2012, work in progress…” Time to pick up our recurrent before and after series. Several things struck me about this one… first, it’s a ‘true’ … Continue reading Bonsai from Scratch – Before & After

A Well Fed Japanese Red Pine & a Reminder to Feed Your Bonsai Generously

This distinctive Japanese red pine with its strong shari and sudden change of direction, shows the radiant vibrancy of a well-fed bonsai. It belongs Ken Fujiwara Summer growing season is time to generously feed your bonsai… Without adequate fertilizing, you won’t see the development you want; vibrant rich foliage, fine branching, thickening trunks and primary branches, powerful nebari and most critical of all, strong root growth. And of course, well-fed strong bonsai can better resists pests and diseases and withstand the challenges of the coming winter FEED YOUR BONSAI & SAVE All Bonsai Fertilizers 25% to 40% off List Prices … Continue reading A Well Fed Japanese Red Pine & a Reminder to Feed Your Bonsai Generously

Pine Bonsai – A Less Common Cousin

This handsome cork bark (see corrections below*) Japanese red pine, with its deeply grooved bark tells a story of age and beauty. The artist is Enrico Savini. If someone asked you to name two Japanese pines, you’d probably answer, Japanese black pine and Japanese white pine. This would make sense as most of the Japanese pine bonsai you see are Black or White. However, there is another important Japanese pine. It’s the Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora). One reason you might not think of the Red pine is that it is less common than the Black or White pine and, … Continue reading Pine Bonsai – A Less Common Cousin

A Juniper, Two Pines & an Unusual Flowering Tree

This stately (and sturdy) Shimpaku belongs to Suthin Sukosolvisit. Looks like the lime sulfur is fairly fresh and the bark was recently brushed, so I’m going to guess Suthin was preparing for a show when this picture was taken. He still has to dress up the soil surface and oil the pot, though I’d bet these were next on his list. It’s our old friend Suthin today. I’d feel remiss if we didn’t feature his trees every few weeks. There’s no particular theme to this collection (a juniper, two pines and an uncommon flowering tree). Except maybe that they are … Continue reading A Juniper, Two Pines & an Unusual Flowering Tree

Brilliant Bavarian Backyard Bonsai Garden

Harmut Muenchebach’s brilliant Bavarian backyard bonsai garden. It wouldn’t be hard to indulge in a little envy here, but better to just enjoy. Just stumbled upon these brilliant photos of Hartmut Muenchenbach’s magical Bavarian backyard bonsai garden. They’re from a post on Walter Pall’s timeline titled Jennifer Price at Hartmut Muenchenbach’s. The only other text says This is in Bavaria, Germany. 3 DAYS ONLY 40% off 2 or more 500 gram Bonsai Aesthetic Wire only 8.70 per roll and just in case you’re new to this, 8.70 a roll is so very low this special ends Wednesday night at 11:59pm EDT … Continue reading Brilliant Bavarian Backyard Bonsai Garden

Bonsai Art, Circles & Curves

Zen pine. In some types of art shapes are often suggested rather than completed. The mind of the viewer does the rest. In the case of this pine, it’s a circle (or maybe a fishhook). The tree and the photo belong to Mauro Stemberger. You can see more of Mauro’s bonsai here, here and here. Today themes are circles, semi circles and curves, as well as another bonsai by Mauro Stemberger (see above and our last two posts). This post originally appeared here just over a year ago. I’ve taken the liberty to edit my own writing. Continued below… Bonsai … Continue reading Bonsai Art, Circles & Curves