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

Artisans Cup Postponed

This Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) belongs to Ryan Neil. The photo is from Ryan’s International Bonsai Mirai website. A guest’s guest post. The following is from Michael Hagedorns Crataegus Bonsai blog. Artisans Cup postponed until September 2015 This is a guest post by Ryan Neil. I am in full support of his words here: Over the past fourteen months of research and planning the potential of the Artisans Cup has been a driving force in our bonsai community to grow and improve the level of our trees. The enthusiastic response of the entire Western bonsai world fueled our ambition and … Continue reading Artisans Cup Postponed

What Would You Do?

Perfect, powerful, beautifully nicely photographed and apparently growing on a rock. The shape of the tree and the deadwood have a juniper look, but the foliage looks more pine than juniper, though it’s too far away to get a good read (see below). The dramatic backdrop could only be the Grand Canyon. The photo is courtesy of Bonsai Mania. What would you do? Imagine that this tree is in a training pot and, best of all, it’s yours. What would you do (if anything) to improve it? This blurry blow up pretty much confirms my notion the the tree is … Continue reading What Would You Do?

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

Two Junipers for the Price of One?

In the expert hands of Michael Hagedorn, this collected Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) in transformed into two noteworthy bonsai. A remarkable transformation of a Rocky Mountain Juniper …actually, two Rocky Mountain Junipers. When I first posted this (just a couple minutes ago) I was convinced that Michael made two bonsai from the collected tree in the box above. It turns out that there were two distinct trunks and root systems, but Michael says that one of them is unused. Still, it looks to me like he ends up with two different trees. Take a look (you have click on … Continue reading Two Junipers for the Price of One?