Cuttings

Wild Plum Bonsai, Before & After

Walter Pall’s Wild plum (Prunus cerasifera) before and six years later Continuing with our latest before and after series… Walter Pall has long been a favorite of ours. Aside from his massive bonsai collection and his considerable skills in developing and maintaining that collection, Walter takes the time to walk us though step by step transformations with a series of sharpe uncluttered photos. And not just three or four photos. In this case there are upwards of fifty (that’s on the high side even for Walter, but he’s always generous in this regard). We’ll show you five photos here and encourage you … Continue reading Wild Plum Bonsai, Before & After

Before & After Bonsai – the Desire to Improve What Most of Us Might Settle For

Before and after Shohin pine by Koji Hiramatsu. No size or species is mentioned, but you can tell it is quite small and you might guess it’s a Japanese black pine simply because it’s a favorite in Japan and the after shot looks like it might be one Continuing with another before and after, though moving way down in scale from yesterday’s monster. The photos are from Koji Hiramatsu’s fb timeline TWO NEW TOOL SPECIALS 40% off list prices on all Bonsai Aesthetics Tools & Tool Kits 40% off list prices on all Stainless Steel Tools Includes Roshi, Koyo & Other Tool Brands … Continue reading Before & After Bonsai – the Desire to Improve What Most of Us Might Settle For

Godzilla Refines a Monster Bonsai – Before & After

Before and after Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) by Todd Schlafer. The tree belongs to Mike Andrews. For the Godzilla reference, scroll down to the bottom of the post Continuing with another before and after transformation by Todd Schlafer (see Oct 19th). Here’s a quote by Mike Andrews (facebook)… “Progression of collected Rocky Mountain Juniper. Collected by Randy Knight, delivered to my house September 2016. Initial design and structure setting with Mauro in April 2017. Fertilized heavily and full sun 2017 and 2018 growing seasons resulted in very nice dense foliage. Finally detail wired and pad formation by Todd yesterday. … Continue reading Godzilla Refines a Monster Bonsai – Before & After

Shadow Shots & Stainless Bonsai Tools

Juniper with shadow. This and the other trees shown here belong to Luis Vallejo It’s time to visit Luis Vallejo, one of our favorites. I was attracted to these photos for their artist value as well as for the trees themselves. The only text Luis provided is… “Preparando exposición. 17/25 Noviembre 2018.” Though I suspect you can get it without translation, here it is just in case… Preparing for exposition,  November 17-25. (scroll down for details) NEW SPECIAL ALL STAINLESS TOOLS 40% OFF LIST PRICES SEE BELOW One tree, two shadows. I don’t know what type tree this is, and know even less about the one … Continue reading Shadow Shots & Stainless Bonsai Tools

Bonsai on Instagram – Great Trees, Great Stones

There’s a lot going on with this one. Especially the two types of exposed roots – the long aerial roots growing down to the flat stone on the right, and the other set of roots fanning down the side of the large stone (the stone is another nice feature). I couldn’t find the type tree (looks like it might be a Ficus) nor any info on the artist/owner. Unless the person who put the photo up is the owner (there’s a name embedded in the Instagram address) Just ventured onto Instragram for the first time. So far I like it. It’s an easy … Continue reading Bonsai on Instagram – Great Trees, Great Stones

Bonsai Skill & Vision – Before & After

Before and after Procumbens Juniper by Todd Schlafer at the Des Moines Botanical Gardens Continuing with our venerable Before and After tradition… This is only the second time* we’ve featured bonsai by Todd Schlafer, but there will certainly be more. Todd  is one of a significant (in numbers and skill) crop of young North American bonsai artists . You can enjoy more of Todd’s bonsai on his First Branch Bonsai website, on facebook and in the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album BONSAI SOIL SPECIAL ENDS SUNDAY 25% OFF LIST PRICES Special ends Sunday at 11:59pm EDT Before. As you can see, the trunk is already … Continue reading Bonsai Skill & Vision – Before & After

More Tiny Trees from Our Mystery Bonsai Artist

A lot of age and character packed into such a small pot. I’m not sure what kind of tree it is. Perhaps and Ilex of some sort? Continuing with our unknown artist’s tiny trees from the other day  and our love affair with small bonsai. A love affair that grows as we age (sooner or later old backs and heavy bonsai must part ways). There are no varieties listed, but some are easy. Others, not so much. Here’s your fb link for our source BONSAI SOIL SPECIAL ENDS SUNDAY 25% off list prices    The berries look like Pyracantha and so do the leaves   … Continue reading More Tiny Trees from Our Mystery Bonsai Artist

A High Degree of Bonsai Skill, Artistic Vision & No Lack of Deadwood at the Recent European Bonsai-San Show

Close up of the intricate deadwood on a Sabina juniper (Juniperus sabina) that belongs to Xavier Massanet. You can see the whole tree below Finally, some good photos from the recent European Bonsai-San Show! Salvatore Liporace was kind enough to post them on his timeline under the heading European Bonsai Show Saulieu Awards 2018!!!. No mention is made of which tree won which award, but Salvatore did bother to put up the names of the owners and the names of the trees, a real plus in our sometimes sketchy online universe, where these valuable pieces of information are often overlooked By the way, Salatore Liporace is one of Europe’s most … Continue reading A High Degree of Bonsai Skill, Artistic Vision & No Lack of Deadwood at the Recent European Bonsai-San Show

A Few Shots from the Asheville Bonsai Expo

This muscular olive is from the recent Asheville Bonsai Expo. The photo and the others shown here are by Owen Reich. I cropped most of Owen’s originals, including this one (see below) for closer looks All the photos shown here were taken by Owen Reich at the recent Asheville Bonsai Expo. Owen doesn’t mention the varieties or the owners, but this is common with photos taken at shows, where distractions (mostly people) are everywhere and it’s hard to keep track. For more photos from the Expo you can visit Owen’s timeline. I’m busy today, so I’ll spare you my usual comments TIE POTS ARE BACK … Continue reading A Few Shots from the Asheville Bonsai Expo

Tiny Bonsai & Colossal New Book Special

I’ve never seen such a small bonsai with so much deadwood. Looks like it a must be a tanuki (Phoenix graft). There no varieties given in English where I found this, but it’s pretty clear that this is a Shimpaku juniper There’s something about very small bonsai. Especially when they are hand held… a good way to tell just how small they are. There’s also something about discovering a new (to me at least) bonsai artist. Even if I can’t read their name (there is a hint in their email address – see below) COLOSSAL NEW BOOK SPECIAL 30% to … Continue reading Tiny Bonsai & Colossal New Book Special