Post-Dated

Michael Hagedorn on Boon’s Intensives

Michael Hagedorn working at one of Boon’s intensives. From Bonsai Boon. A little background I stumbled across this article (below) by Michael Hagedorn while whiling away some time exploring Bonsai Boon. Michael is now recognized as one of our most accomplished bonsai artists, authors and teachers, and Boon, in addition to being one of Michael’s teachers and a first rate bonsai artist, has long been a key player in establishing and furthering the art of bonsai in North America. In Michael’s own words “I first met Boon Manakitivipart some years ago at a bonsai convention. He was energetic and animated, … Continue reading Michael Hagedorn on Boon’s Intensives

Bonsai Seasonals with Michael Hagedorn

You could spend your whole life collecting bonsai and never find one as impressive as this. From Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai Seasonals. Here’s what Michael says about this photo… “Initial potting of a large Rocky Mountain Juniper, Winter 2010 Seasonal.” Just a little understated. If this is any indication, it’s worth noting that Michael has his students working on trees of this caliber (and caliper). Study with one of the very best My guess is that three days with Michael will be worth months or even years of fumbling about in your backyard in hopes that trial and error will … Continue reading Bonsai Seasonals with Michael Hagedorn

Eccentric Bonsai: Shinji Suzuki’s Cascade Juniper

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 … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai: Shinji Suzuki’s Cascade Juniper

The Bonsai Artistry of Michael Hagedorn Plus Freeze Dried Roots

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.

Staying On Board: Michael Hagedorn’s Ezo Spruce

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 … Continue reading Staying On Board: Michael Hagedorn’s Ezo Spruce

Relatively Speaking…

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.

Heat, Watering & A Bonsai Story

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 … Continue reading Heat, Watering & A Bonsai Story

Green Workshop: Yet Another Watering Problem

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.

Post-Dated Wins Gold!

This cropped cover shot of Michael Hagedorn’s Post Dated provides a powerful hint why the Publishers Association of the West choose it for a Gold Award in design. If you been following this blog for a while, you know that we featured a review of Michael Hagedorn’s ground breaking book and a two part interview with Michael in February. Since then, my enthusiasm for Michael’s fascinating bonsai and life adventures in Japan, hasn’t wavered a bit. It’s still a great book and I still recommend it with the full confidence that you will enjoy it as much as I have.

Michael Hagedorn Interview: Part 2

This is the second and final installment of our Michael Hagedorn interview. Do you collect wild trees? Any advice if you do? I do collect. And I would definitely advise studying the techniques of taking wild trees with a very experienced collector who has a high success rate. Studying this seriously is better than learning by mistake and experiment—enough have done that already! The tree pictured above is Sonoran scrub live oak (Quercus turbinella). Michael says of this tree: I collected this oak from a mountain range in eastern Arizona in 1999, at around 5,000 ft. It was growing much … Continue reading Michael Hagedorn Interview: Part 2