Field Grown Bonsai that Look Like Wild Trees

After. This sweet little Shimpaku and the one below were posted by Bjorn Bjorholm. The before photos for both trees are at the bottom of the post. Just spent late yesterday digging Larches (they’re called Tamaracks around here) on a friend’s land, and now I need to get them into the ground right away, so we’ll save time by borrowing from our archives. This one originally appeared August, 2014. Before I make another mistake and look foolish in the process, here’s my disclaimer for this post: I don’t know for a fact the origin of the bonsai shown here. Much … Continue reading Field Grown Bonsai that Look Like Wild Trees

How Much Would You Pay for a Bonsai?

Would you pay 6,000 dollars (5,500 euros) for this bonsai? How does someone who wants to sell a bonsai arrive at a price and how does someone who wants to buy that bonsai decide if that price is fair? There really are no firm guidelines on valuing bonsai, at least that I know of. The best I can say is the value of a bonsai depends on what at least one person is willing to pay. Unless of course, you’re in the business of buying and selling bonsai. Then there are at least two values involved. The three trees shown … Continue reading How Much Would You Pay for a Bonsai?

Bark, Deadwood & the Ravages of Time

I’ve long been fascinated by close ups. Especially shots of deadwood and bark with their richly illustrated stories of time and the elements. Sunday morning. Crocuses, peepers in the pond and pure unobstructed sun. Time to get outside. So rather than taking the time to put together another new post, we’ll borrow from our archives. This one originally appeared in March, 2015. All the photos shown here are by Salvador De Los Reyes. I believe that all but one are of his trees (here and here are couple earlier Bark posts that feature Salvador’s bonsai). You can view more photos … Continue reading Bark, Deadwood & the Ravages of Time

Bonsai Before & After – Transforming a Badly Damaged Tree

Here’s what Harry Harrington has to say about this impressive tree, and in particular it’s recovery and transformation from what you see in the photo below… “This is probably the best example I have of the usefulness of anti-transpirant, an Itoigawa juniper bonsai that came to me in a very bad way a couple of years ago, and was sprayed with anti-transpirant once a month to reduce further moisture loss from the leaves while it recovered and grew new roots. (Second image is from just 6 months later after styling).” We’ve been featuring Harry Harrington a lot these days. Part … Continue reading Bonsai Before & After – Transforming a Badly Damaged Tree

Bonsai by Tickle

As you can see by the copyright, this muscular Myrtle belongs to Tony Tickle. So do the rest of the trees in this post (provided Tony hasn’t sold them) It’s been a while since we visited Tony Tickle, a man with a distinctive name and some very distinctive bonsai. All the photos shown here are from Tony’s Bonsai & Yamadori blog. If you want more, here’s your link to some earlier Bark posts that feature Tony’s bonsai The Growing Season Has Begun time to feed your bonsai 25% off All of our Bonsai Fertilizers sale ends Sunday at 11:59pm … Continue reading Bonsai by Tickle

Straight Up & Tightly Bunched

You don’t see that many Ginkgos bonsai and when you do, they’re usually not this good. A couple things that stand out are the brilliance of the new leaves and how that brilliance is reinforced by the green moss, the green pot and even the barely perceptible little green buds on the trunk. And then there’s the perfect little trunk that looks a bit like a termite mound. I borrowed the photo from Bill Valavanis’ blog, Welcome to My Bonsai World. Getting a late start today, so we’ll take the easy way out. This one originally appeared in June, 2015 … Continue reading Straight Up & Tightly Bunched

Two Maple Bonsai Looking “Kind of Good Today”

There are numerous plants in this world with red or reddish leaves, but very few can rival the sheer brilliance of this Deshojo Japanese maple. And just in case your eyes are completely drawn in by the intensity of the leaves, it might be worth pointing out the brilliance of the pot as well. Both of these rather impressive Japanese maples were posted on facebook today by Bill Valavanis. Here’s what Bill wrote about them… “Two of my maple bonsai looked kind of good today so I thought I’d share their beauty with friends. Deshojo Japanese maple and Shishigashira Japanese … Continue reading Two Maple Bonsai Looking “Kind of Good Today”

Mugo Pines – Achieving the Recognition They Deserve

This powerful old yamadori (collected from the wild) Mugo pine would be exceptional even if it didn’t have that piece of deadwood that doubles back on the trunk. With this feature it’s a tree you won’t easily forget. My one question has to do with balance. The long left side nebari provides an anchor, but is it enough to visually stabilize the strong lean to the right? I found this photo on Carlos van der Vaart’s timeline. All three bonsai photos shown here are from earlier Bark posts. However, most of the text was written this morning in front of … Continue reading Mugo Pines – Achieving the Recognition They Deserve

Refining a Masterpiece Japanese White Pine

Left side of a recently trimmed and wired masterpiece Zuisho Japanese white pine. The artist is Naoki Maeoka. This Zuisho Japanese white pine must be one of the most outstanding formal upright bonsai in the world. It’s perfect taper, perfect branching with just the right amount of open space between each branch, perfectly rounded apex, and so on, all attest to this view of near perfection. But then near perfection is the goal with formal upright bonsai. And Naoki Maeoka is a master when it comes to refining extraordinary bonsai. 20% off all Bonsai Wire Sale Ends Tonight at 11:59pm … Continue reading Refining a Masterpiece Japanese White Pine

It’s Taxus Time

This old Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) belongs to Mauro Stemberger. The color coordinated pot is by Petra Hahn (even the moss has reddish spots). I found the photo on The Art of Bonsai Project. Just for the fun of it, I searched our archives for the word Easter today. As you might suspect, all the posts with Cotoneaster came up. No surprise there. But so did several others, including this one (from December, 2015). My humble apologies… I didn’t realize that it’s tax time until after I dug up this old ‘Taxus’ post. Once I did realize, I couldn’t resist … Continue reading It’s Taxus Time