Bonsai Before & After – Three Year Progression

A three year progression on a Himalayan juniper (Juniperus squamata) by Josef Burschi We’ve got new Before & After for you. This time with an intermediate stage between the before and after. There is a small caveat however. The tree is a Tanuki* (Phoenix graft). I think most Japanese bonsai artists frown on Tanuki, or at least they don’t value them as much as other bonsai. But the tree looks good, so I don’t think it’s a big deal. You can see this tree and some other good ones on Josef Burschi’s fb timeling NEW SITE WIDE SALE 20% OFF … Continue reading Bonsai Before & After – Three Year Progression

It Only Looks Like a Yamadori…

Unless you know the whole story (see below), you’d swear that this dynamic bonsai is an ancient yamadori (tree collected from the wild). But actually it’s a field grown Taiwanese juniper whose time on earth (so far) is measures in decades rather than centuries. The bonsai artist is the highly accomplished Mr Cheng, Cheng-Kung of Taiwan (you can see a spinning version on his website). The owner is Mr. Hsu,Lung-Fa. Though we have many friends and fellow bonsai lovers who to take the time and trouble to write comments, perhaps our favorite is Jose Luis Rodriquez. Jose Luis is a … Continue reading It Only Looks Like a Yamadori…

High & Wide: Min’s New Blog

After, but still in process. Collected Squamata juniper by Min Hsuan Lo. Deep & wide I was going to call this post Deep & Wide, due to the depth and breadth of Min Hsuan Lo’s work as reflected in his new blog. But Min’s spectacular photos of Jade Mountain prevailed in the end. Either way, I encourage you to take a look if you’d like to enjoy great photos and follow an excellent step-by-step journey through a restyling of a powerful old Sqaumata juniper. Before. Vigorously growing stock with character provides a good starting point. In process. A … Continue reading High & Wide: Min’s New Blog

The Winner!

Aaron Khalid’s Squamata juniper finished first in our Bonsai from Scratch contest. The prize Congratulations to Aaron Khalid, our Bonsai from Scratch contest first place winner. Aaron’s prize for finishing first is a $400 gift certificate from Stone Lantern (we’ll devote our next post to the rest of the prize winners). Judges comments Here are a few comments on Aaron’s tree by our judges: “Suberb; well-balanced and clean design.” “Great tree, though I like the back better than the front.” “Excellent Bunjin style bonsai, a dramatic improvement.” “Nice touch. The wiring on the branches is excellent.” My comment So many … Continue reading The Winner!