Michael Hagedorn worked on this spectacular Ezo spruce while I labored trying to follow his wiring instructions. He used copper wire because it’s a conifer (he uses aluminum wire on deciduous trees) and he frequently stopped to mist the foliage as he went, explaining that spruces are prone to dropping needles when disturbed and that [...]
Shadow dance. Here’s one that we didn’t show on our now vanished post (see below). The tree was on display at the Noelanders Trophy Exhibition and the image is courtesy Crataegus Bonsai, as are all the images in this post. I don’t know who the artist is. One more time. A week or so ago [...]
White pine bunjin wired at Taisho en. From ‘The Art of Bonsai.’ Take it all off (but not too early) The following article by John Romano takes on a bit of conventional wisdom about wire scarring. The article originally appeared on the New England Bonsai blog, ‘The Art of Bonsai.’ In John’s own words… “Wiring [...]
The third and final set of illustrations in the series (first set, second set). This one deals primarily with shaping with wire after the pinching and pruning has been completed. I suspect that where it say RESTRAINING NEW SHOOTS (top left corner), it should say TRAINING NEW SHOOTS. From Bonsai Today issue 66. Training new [...]
This image is from an extensive article on wiring in Bonsai Today issue 1. Turning a how-to wiring lesson into a game The photos below show how to wire a primary branch and five secondary branches without crossing wires; presented as an interesting and instructive game. BTW: if you need any wire for your own [...]
This wavy image is from Bonsai Today issue 21. The instructions are geared for beginning bonsai enthusiasts. Pruning You can grow decent bonsai without wiring. However, I know of no bonsai that doesn’t require some pruning. If just pruning without wiring works to achieve a desirable effect, then just prune. Trunks and branches that grow [...]
Too long and too straight. We all know you can add curves to a branch that is too straight, but did you know that you can also use wire to shorten a branch that is too long? Much better. Now it’s much shorter and much more interesting. Share
