Old Kuromatsu for a New Year

This trunk is so heavy that you could imagine it supporting a huge mass of foliage, yet this humble crown works to perfection. There’s a lot more that could be said about this great old tree, but I’ll stop at pointing out the luminous color and texture of the trunk (not that you could miss it). The tree is around 50-years-old and was grown from seed. It belongs to Kiyoshi Hiramatsu (great name for someone who grows pines) owner of the Hiramatsu Seijuen bonsai garden in Takamatsu’s Kokubunji area in Japan. We just ended 2013 with three great Kuromatsu (Japanese … Continue reading Old Kuromatsu for a New Year

King of Bonsai

This has to be one of the most unique Japanese black pines anywhere. I can’t help but think of a monster with two gnarled feet lurching along. Now, if you can put that image out of your mind, you might enjoy the ancient bark and wonderfully confusing movement of the trunks. This is our last post of the year, so why not end 2013 with three great Kuromatsu (Japanese black pines), considered by many to be the king of bonsai? All three belong to Fumio Ideue, owner of Ideue Kikkoen Bonsai Garden in Shikoku, Japan. I originally saw the photos … Continue reading King of Bonsai

Holiday Sale Ends Friday at Noon

Stone Lantern 20% off Holiday Sale ends tomorrow (Friday, December 20th) at noon (U.S. EST) This 20% includes hundreds of items that are already discounted. Many of these deeply discounted Tomorrow (Friday) is also our last shipping day before Christmas. Orders received by noon tomorrow will be shipped tomorrow (no guarantees on delivery day, once they leave here we lose control). Orders received after 12 noon U.S. Eastern Standard time tomorrow will be shipped on the 27th (we’ll be closed the 21st-26th). You can place orders anytime night or day (our website never closes) and they will be shipped first … Continue reading Holiday Sale Ends Friday at Noon

Choosing the Right Pot

As long as we’re on the topic of choosing, I chose this one as the lead photo because it’s the only one with clean pot. A distinct advantage. All the photos in this post are from Boon Manakitivipart’s facebook postings. I took the liberty of cropping all the photos in this post and combining some separate photos into single images. Which pot would you chose? The photos and the concept are courtesy of Boon Manakitivipart (aka Bonsai Boon) on facebook (here and here). Just in case you’re not in the loop, Boon is a highly respected American bonsai artist and … Continue reading Choosing the Right Pot

World’s Most Joyful Bonsai Artist

Too cute for a serious bonsai blog? Maybe, but I’m impressed that he appears to be picking off unhealthy needles. Then there’s his strikingly high forehead and overall large cranium. Maybe he knows exactly what he’s doing. The photos in this post are all is lifted from Sandy Fathurachman’s facebook page (link disabled). Thought I’d do a quick recycle for you. This post originally appeared exactly two years ago today. It was titled, World’s Youngest Bonsai Master. I must admit, even though it’s too cute by a factor of ten (see below), I still like it and figured some you … Continue reading World’s Most Joyful Bonsai Artist

Just in Case You Don’t Know Marco…

This remarkable bonsai is labeled Taiwanese juniper (Juniperus chinensis) in Marco Invernizzi’s gallery. The stock for this bonsai was most likely field grown in Taiwan along with thousands of others. BTW: Taiwanese junipers are sometimes confused with the native Squamata juniper which grow wild in the mountains of Taiwan (there’s more on this in this Bark post from February). It has been a few months since we visited Marco Invernizzi’s bonsai gallery. Just in case you don’t know Marco, he was one of Masahiko Kimura’s first apprentices and was also one of the first Western bonsai artists to become a … Continue reading Just in Case You Don’t Know Marco…

10% to 20% off Our Already Discounted Prices

Our Roshi Stainless and High Carbon Steel Bonsai Tools are already the most reasonably price tools you’ll find. Now they just got even more reasonable. 10% to 20% off everything at Stone Lantern Here how it works: 10% off all orders up to 49.99 15% off all orders from 50.00 to 199.99 20% off all orders of 200.00 or more This includes a whole range of items that are already deeply discounted. You may already know about our great wire prices. Now they are even greater. Ditto our large selection of Bonsai and related books. And … Continue reading 10% to 20% off Our Already Discounted Prices

Great Pots Deserve Great Trees

Malpigia glabra (Barbados cherry) by Hsieh, Cheng-Hua. Still traveling so we’ll borrow one more from our archives (April 2011). In keeping with the last post, we’ll stick with Taiwanese bonsai. More Taiwanese Bonsai Here are three more bonsai from the 2008 Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibition booklet which appears on Bonsai Shari Si-Diao, Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s website. It’s the pots, as well the trees, that really grabbed me. Ficus microcarpa by Huang,Ching-Chi. Variety unlisted. By Tung, Wen Chi. Yixing Bonsai pots are available at Stone Lantern

Bonsai on the Menu with Just a Little Value Added

This powerfully built gem is from Ficus, the Exotic Bonsai by Jerry Meislik. Cattle cars with wings I’m headed out again. Tomorrow will be another day spent in an airborne cattle car. Then Thanksgiving with family. I know there are many people who’d rather the time in the cattle car than time with family, but I’m one of the lucky ones in that regard. I like my family. No know-it-all ramblings or ill-tempered put downs on the menu, though if someone is going to misbehave, it’s more likely me than anyone else (only a little and almost always with a … Continue reading Bonsai on the Menu with Just a Little Value Added

Who Doesn’t Love Good Multi-Trunk Bonsai with Their Morning Coffee?

Trident maple at the 2013 Taikan-ten Exhibition which is happening right now (Nov 18-26). There’s a lot going on with the tree; three major trunks and a baby one sticking out the back, a large mounding nebari and a whole lot of movement. I particularly like the trunk on the right that emerges from the base of the nebari (the base of the base). I borrowed the photo from Bjorn Bjorholm (facebook of course). I started this post thinking we’d show a few Taikan-ten Exhibition trees from the last few years. A sort of mini-history lesson. But that proved too … Continue reading Who Doesn’t Love Good Multi-Trunk Bonsai with Their Morning Coffee?