Out of the Bonsai Mainstream 11/21/14

This stately distinctive Hinoki is from Michael Pollock’s blog Bonsai Shinshei as are the other two bonsai shown here. Here’s Michael’s caption: “One of my lone Hinoli cypress after a quick fall cleanup. Falling deeper in love with this pot that Ron Lang and I collaborated on.”

I was going to feature the tree above in our last post until I got interested in the pot and one thing led to another. So, we’ll pick up where we left off.

There was a time not too long ago when most of the bonsai you saw conformed to Japanese standards. True, there has long been a wealth of bonsai in other east Asian countries, but it was mostly Japanese bonsai that first found its way West (this is especially true in North America).

Now, since bonsai has caught fire around the world, there’s a creative revolution taking place. Bonsai artists and enthusiasts are feeding off of each other and experimentation has become the norm. The results are often trees that amaze and inspire. And, as in the case of the Hinoki above (and its pot), trees that are so distinctive that they stick in your mind long after you see them.

I started this yesterday and now 24 hours later it looks like it’s evolving into a post on Michael Pollack’s bonsai. The two below are both from his Bonsai Shinshei blog. They don’t stray that far from our ‘out of the mainstream‘ theme, so I think it’s okay.

 

I’m not sure this tree is as distinctive as the Hinoki above, but it’s a very good bonsai and distinctive enough. And it’s our local Northern white cedar no less. A variety that is just becoming acquainted with bonsai (or is it the other way around?). Like the other two trees shown here, it belongs to Michael Pollock who had just wired it when he posted it, so it has a bit of that waiting-for-the-foliage-to-fill-in look. He also mentioned that it needed a new pot. Still, freshly wired and in need of a new pot or not, I don’t know many people who wouldn’t want this bonsai in their collection.

 

Unfinished, but still a sweet bonsai and though I’ve seen other bonsai more or less along the same lines, it’s distinctive enough. It’s a Juniper procumbens (looks like a ‘nana’) from nursery stock. I’ll take it that I don’t need to mention the pot (by Dale Cochoy).

All the bonsai in this post are from Michael Pollock’s Bonsai Shinshei blog.