Maple Kissing the Rock (Arce Besando La Roca)

That’s a rock sticking out on the left side of this Trident maple. According to Juan Andrade, the maple is kissing the rock (Arce “besando” la roca) We’ve been posting recurring themes these days. For example we’ve run a whole string of Before & Afters lately. Now with yesterday (another before & after) and today, the new binding factor is Juan Andrade. Juan is one of a whole host of young Western apprentices (Costa Rica in Juan’s case) who are studying or have studied in Japan. The photos and quotes shown here are from Juan’s timeline NEW SPECIAL Watering Cans … Continue reading Maple Kissing the Rock (Arce Besando La Roca)

The Art & Science of Watering

This drawing is from our Masters’ Series book; Junipers, Growing & Styling Juniper Bonsai. Continuing with our mid-summer archival borrowing program, here’s a post that originally appeared way back in 2009. A perfect complement to this post is a post about summer misting (hamisu) by Michael Hagedorn. The more you know about watering, the better. Without timely, intelligent watering, any plant in a container is at risk. The more you know about watering, the better. But first, a quick word from our sponsor: Check out our big Summer Book Sale at Stone Lantern. 20% to 25% off of our already … Continue reading The Art & Science of Watering

Summer Relief for Your Bonsai

Deciduous Award at the 2012 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition for the Finest Deciduous Bonsai. It’s a Japanese Maple by Suthin Sukolosovisit of Royal Bonsai. It has nothing to do with the topic of this post, at least directly, but the 3rd (2012) U.S. National Bonsai Exhibiton is now on special at Stone Lantern. The following very useful piece of advice is by Michael Hagedorn from his website Crataegus Bonsai. It originally appeared here on Bark almost exactly three years ago. “Last summer I mentioned the practice of ‘hamisu’ which is the misting of bonsai during hot summer days. This light … Continue reading Summer Relief for Your Bonsai