Be Smart – Don’t Water Your Bonsai by Schedule!

This illustration by Kyosuke Gun is from our Masters’ Series Juniper book (due back in print in 3 or 4 weeks). It is a perfect fit for this post that is borrowed from Michael Hagedorn’s  Crataegus Bonsai Continuing with Michael Hagedorn from yesterday, we’ll stick with watering tips. This one originally appeared here in June, 2009 Before the real summer heat hits, consider how you are watering your trees. Have you ever seen your trees grow through spring just fine, only to get fried leaves at the first onset of early summer? Ever wonder why that happens? Those trees just … Continue reading Be Smart – Don’t Water Your Bonsai by Schedule!

Two Major Bonsai Events Part 1 – Where Will You Be the Second Weekend of April?

This shot of a Tsukumo cypress(Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Tsukumo’) is from one of Bonsai Boon’s famous Which Pot Would You Choose? posts. Boon is one of the headliners the upcoming 2019 American Bonsai Society (ABS) Convention, April 11 – 14 Boon Manikitipartit       Ryan Neil         Enrique Castaño  Headliners at the upcoming ABS Convention in Houston We’ve got two barn burner bonsai conventions coming up this spring.  They are the 2019 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Spring Festival and the 2019 American Bonsai Society (ABS) Convention.  Here’s the rub, they’re both on the second weekend of  April, so you’ll have to choose Today we’re focusing … Continue reading Two Major Bonsai Events Part 1 – Where Will You Be the Second Weekend of April?

More Bonsai Stories

I like the natural, almost untouched feeling of this tree. Here’s what Michael Hagedorn wrote about it…. “Foemina Juniper styled in the manner of a needle juniper, taking two yearly trims with a good cleaning out of detritus from the pad interiors. Old tree from California, begun decades ago by Shig Miya.” Continuing with yesterday’s ‘Bonsai Stories,‘ we’ve got a few more of Michael Hagedorn’s trees and their short stories. You can follow Michael on facebook or, for more in depth stories on most of his trees, you can visit his website/blog Two New Specials at Stone Lantern see below Unlike the tree above, this sign … Continue reading More Bonsai Stories

Godzilla Refines a Monster Bonsai – Before & After

Before and after Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) by Todd Schlafer. The tree belongs to Mike Andrews. For the Godzilla reference, scroll down to the bottom of the post Continuing with another before and after transformation by Todd Schlafer (see Oct 19th). Here’s a quote by Mike Andrews (facebook)… “Progression of collected Rocky Mountain Juniper. Collected by Randy Knight, delivered to my house September 2016. Initial design and structure setting with Mauro in April 2017. Fertilized heavily and full sun 2017 and 2018 growing seasons resulted in very nice dense foliage. Finally detail wired and pad formation by Todd yesterday. … Continue reading Godzilla Refines a Monster Bonsai – Before & After

More Winning Bonsai & Some Value Added

The winner of the Finest Evergreen Bonsai at the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. It’s a Rocky mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) that belongs to Tim Priest. Oscar Jonker took the photo. I cropped it for a closer look. The original is below Continuing with the prize winning bonsai from the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition, today we’ve got Oscar Jonker’s photos of the winning evergreen bonsai and the winning medium size bonsai. We’ve also got a couple more people shots by Candy Shirey (apologies to Candy for misspelling her name yesterday), only this time with their exhibition trees NEW KOYO JAPANESE TOOL SPECIAL 30% OFF LIST … Continue reading More Winning Bonsai & Some Value Added

A Juniper Orchid Bonsai – Michael’s Ingenious Before & After

Michael Hagedorn’s ingenious Juniper orchid. Here’s part of what Michael wrote about this unlikely creation… “Some of you might remember a quirky Shore Pine that we put on a post in 2017, calling it the first Pine Orchid in the yard. Yesterday this juniper was styled, and it hangs on the neighboring post that supports the shade cloth structure (thank you Bobby Curttright). The juniper is a bit of a Frankenstein” Continuing with American bonsai leading up to the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition (Rochester, NY, September 8th & 9th – it’s not too late to make your plans)… today it’s … Continue reading A Juniper Orchid Bonsai – Michael’s Ingenious Before & After

Rocky Mountain Bonsai

I lifted this Rocky mountain juniper from Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai. A photo of the entire tree is below So many thoughts zip through my mind when I see trees like this…. not the least of which is the objection that some people have to deadwood, especially lavish displays; even though if you’ve been to upper reaches of our Western mountains, you’ll see deadwood everywhere. In many cases trees with massive deadwood and only one or two living branches. Or, in some extreme cases just a few living twigs. Stories of long lives in harsh conditions told by deadwood. Continued below… NEW SITE WIDE SPECIAL … Continue reading Rocky Mountain Bonsai

Your Chance for a Golden Bonsai Opportunity

This Rocky mountain juniper is another example of Michael Hagedorn’s considerable bonsai skills.* This post is to unreservedly and enthusiastically encourage you to sign up for Michael Hagedorn’s online Bonsai Fundamentals Course. Here’s a teaser from the host of the course, Bonsai Empire: “Bonsai Fundamentals is an online tutorial offering unique insights into the fundamental concepts of Bonsai design and techniques. It provides important but often neglected instruction of plant-physiology and Japanese aesthetics, deepening your understanding of the living art of Bonsai. Available from March 11th.” If you know Michael Hagedorn you don’t need any more encouragement. If you don’t … Continue reading Your Chance for a Golden Bonsai Opportunity

Bonsai Aficionados, Artists & Visionaries…

I love this powerful old mountain monarch with it’s massive swirling deadwood and undeniable sense of great age. It’s a Rocky mountain juniper that I lifted from Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai. One of dozens of equally impressive North American bonsai in Ryan’s collection. The title of this post, Bonsai Aficionados, Artists & Visionaries… is borrowed from Mirai Live, “a revolutionary online teaching platform where enthusiasts can access a lifetime’s worth of bonsai knowledge and engage in real time with bonsai professional Ryan Neil and artists from around the world.” I won’t say much more in this post about Mirai Live, … Continue reading Bonsai Aficionados, Artists & Visionaries…

Watering Tips – It’s Already Spring in San Diego

This old collected Rocky Mountain juniper is from Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai portfolio. Even though some of us are in the midst of a vast frigid whiteness, others are experiencing the first signs of new growth (your bonsai, not you waistlines) with most of us soon to follow. So why not prepare? This post originally appeared in April, 2015. What follows has been lifted word for word, photo for photo from Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai. We usually just borrow bits and pieces, so reprinting an entire borrowed post might be a first. Continued below… 20% to 30% off Kilo Rolls … Continue reading Watering Tips – It’s Already Spring in San Diego