A New and Improved Bonsai Turntable

Large Mugo pine on a Green T professional bonsai turntable. Green T Professional Hydraulic Lift Bonsai Turntable We are pleased to announce the arrival on the U.S. market of an essential tool that will help you work on your trees more efficiently and comfortably. In Japan hydraulic lift turntables have been the standard for years, but their prohibitive costs have limited their spread in the West. Thanks to professional researchers and the collaboration of well-known bonsai professionals, we are able to offer you a tool inspired by the Japanese turntable and improved in several details (including price). GreenT is Bigger … Continue reading A New and Improved Bonsai Turntable

Mystical Dragon

I like both the character (the deadwood) and the simplicity (the rest) of this tree. It’s a Buttonwood by Robert Kempinski. I found it here. It’s time to revisit Buttonwoods, our American (but not just American) tropical jewel . There’s lots of information on the web about buttonwoods and particularly their care. Two good places to start are: Of Bonsai Magazine and Bonsai Mary’s. And then there are our numerous posts that feature Buttonwoods. The first two photos are new to us. The others are from a Bark post titled American Tropical Jewell. This one belongs to Mary Madison. John Naka called … Continue reading Mystical Dragon

Avant-Garde Bonsai

Avant-garde bonsai. This fluid tree with its distinctive flying pot is from Bonsai Do. The caption says with Tony Tickle (I visited Tony’s blog and couldn’t find it). There’s also this quote by Thomas Browne (it’s in Spanish on Bonsai Do, but here’s the original English): Art is the perfection of nature. Nature hath made one world, and art another. Leaving for the airport in a while, so not enough time to put together a new post. I borrowed this one from February, 2013. Here are some photos I captured from Bonsai Do on facebook. The good news is they … Continue reading Avant-Garde Bonsai

What You Do to the Land You Do to Yourself

Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) collected by Andrew (aka Andy) Smith and first styled by Walter Pall. It would hard to find a better pair for the job. Andy (Golden Arrow Bonsai) is a professional forester, master collector of wild bonsai and a bonsai artist in his own right, and Walter Pall is a world famous bonsai artist, teacher, trouble maker (in the positive sense of course) and owner of a very impressive bonsai collection. The photograph is by Walter. My apologies for the fuzz. It’s the result of dramatically increasing the image size. On balance I think this size … Continue reading What You Do to the Land You Do to Yourself

Goyo Matsu, Japanese White Pine, Five Needle Pine, Peace Tree, Million Dollar Tree…

As you can see, this Japanese white pine has a strong, well-tapered trunk and nice balanced open branching. Most imported Japanese white pine bonsai have been grafted onto Black pine stock.* But this one was grown from seed. It was just wired (in this photo) by Michael Hagedorn (Crataegus Bonsai.) It belongs to a client of Micheal’s. Still on vacation, so it’s archives again. This one is from January 2013 with some value added. The Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora) is one of the world’s emblematic bonsai. In Japan, it and the Japanese black pine are the species most associated … Continue reading Goyo Matsu, Japanese White Pine, Five Needle Pine, Peace Tree, Million Dollar Tree…

Random Shots & Gnarly Branches

This powerful Japanese white pine with its lush canopy that’s shaped like something you’d see on a deciduous tree, makes little attempt to appear like a pine in nature. Still, it’s hard to deny how the power of its trunk and the rich beauty of its canopy complement each other. I found it here. It looks like it’s part of a Japanese bonsai nursery, but I couldn’t find any verification. Still on vacation and still working. But just enough to edit (or eliminate) dated information and resize the images on this post from July 2012*. This wild looking Hornbeam … Continue reading Random Shots & Gnarly Branches

Revisiting a Great Shohin Display & More

This Shohin display is from Suthin Sukosolvisit’s Bonsai Gallery. Every National Bonsai Exhibition has featured at least one these by Suthin. This year I challenged myself to pick out Suthin’s display as I walked into the Shohin section of the Exhibition. It was easy. Taking nothing away from some other wonderful displays, still, Suthin’s caught my attention from across the room. Leaving for short vacation today and pressed for time so we’ll dip back into our archives. This one originally appeared just over a year ago, right after the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. Before any winners were announced. Though … Continue reading Revisiting a Great Shohin Display & More

An American Classic

Michael Levin’s ‘Hatanaka’ Prostrata juniper, 2014 June 2015. Even though the foliage hasn’t filled out yet, this shot clearly shows the structure (the bones) of the tree and seems like a good place to start. Here’s what Michael Levin, owner of Bonsai West and long time bonsai enthusiast, artist and entrepreneur wrote about this spectacular tree… “The Juniper as you know was originally styled by Mrs Hatanaka of Anaheim California and is a true american classic started from a cutting in the 1950’s, I purchased it in the mid 1980’s . I’ve tended it for 30 years and most recently … Continue reading An American Classic

Site Wide Sale Ends Tonight – 20% to 30% off

Today is the last day of our Big Site Wide Sale including hundreds of items that are already discounted Sale Ends tonight at 11:59pm EST Monday, November 2nd 20% off orders 1.00 to 74.99 25% off orders 75.00 to 149.99 30% off orders 150.00 or more Bonsai Tools Bonsai Books Bonsai Wire Bonsai Fertilizers & Bonsai Soil Watering Cans Bonsai Pots Bonsai Today Back Issues Embroidered Bonsai Clothing Japanese Gardening Tools And much more… Site Wide Sale ends tonight at 11:59pm EST don’t miss this great opportunity to save on everything we offer

Clipping and Growing

This massive Trident maple most likely started in a field somewhere and was allowed to grow quite tall (the fastest way to thicken the trunk) before it was cut back. This first cut was the beginning of clip and grow styling (see below). The owner/artist of this outstanding bonsai is German Gomez. Most large Trident maples (and some other deciduous trees) are started in the field and developed using the clip and grow technique. The result is usually a heavy trunked tree with gentle curves, often in a more or less S shape. You can see this basic shape in … Continue reading Clipping and Growing