Styling

Bonsai Yogi

A little change of pace. We almost always just focus on bonsai and avoid photos that feature people (that’s facebook’s job), but this one is just too good to pass up. The peaceful Bonsai Yogi is Gedemerta (aka Gede Merta) of Bonsai Bali. I cropped this photo (with apologies to Scott Jackson and his great tattoo). The uncropped version is here. So. I’m mentally packing my bags for Bali. I could sweep floors and wash dishes in exchange for bonsai lessons. Maybe a little contemplation instruction too, though I’m not sure how long I can sit on the ground with … Continue reading Bonsai Yogi

Fertilizing for Back Budding

This shohin Carpinus coreana (Korean hornbeam) by Mario Komsta has appeared here on Bark before. As a companion plant no less (see below). No problem though. Any tree this good deserves to be shown more than once. Companion or by itself. Speaking of Mario Komsta, this instructive photo about back budding, a lesser known benefit of fertilizing, is something he cooked up. I don’t remember where I found it (facebook?). It and the text below (edited just a bit) originally appeared here on Bark in October, 2010. Fertilize! Skip ahead to the fourth point unless you are a beginner. Many, … Continue reading Fertilizing for Back Budding

Forever Young? How Not to Fertilize

You can bet that this Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) was fertilized with a master’s touch. Speaking of masters, this photo is from our Masters’ Series Pine Book. Staying in our archival mode, here’s another post on fertilizing (from last June). Well, fertilizing and needle reduction on Black pines (as opposed to fertilizing Black pines). Anyway, it’s the fertilizing part we’re most interested in now, which was the topic of our last post. But we left out one very important point: don’t fertilize old trees the same way you fertilize young trees. Whenever Michael Hagedorn writes, I read. What follows … Continue reading Forever Young? How Not to Fertilize

Fear of Water & Kokufu Too

After Michael Hagedorn’s expert touch (the before photo is below). This photo is from Michael’s latest post which is about his trip to Japan to visit his teacher and the famous Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition. I’ve taken the liberty of combining pieces from three of Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai posts: His two latest posts from his recent visit to Japan and an an older post about Turface and Bonsai Soil. One of the many positives about visiting Crataegus Bonsai is that I always learn something. There’s more than just learning for sure, including great trees, Michael’s personable easy-to-read writing style and … Continue reading Fear of Water & Kokufu Too

Modern Masters Bonsai Soil

This Hawthorn in bloom is from Walter Pall’s Bonsai Adventures, as is the article below. The rest of the photos in this post are from Walter’s online gallery. It’s about the soil. This post originally appeared here on Bark June last year. We’re revisiting it because it’s about soil and because we’re about soil, at least for the moment (see our new Masters Bonsai Soil at Stone Lantern). Walter Pall, world famous bonsai artist and much more… We’ve feature Walter’s bonsai numerous times here on Bark (and in Bonsai Today) and will continue to feature them for as long as … Continue reading Modern Masters Bonsai Soil

The Most with the Least

Even though the crown is leaning back a bit in this shot, still, I’m going to call this side the front. Especially if we take front to be the best view of the trunk and deadwood rather than imposing some imagined rule. The four photos of this tree are by Haruyosi, as is the tree itself. We don’t usually show four shots of the same bonsai, but I like this little tree a lot and the shots were just sitting there begging to picked up and shared. It’s a Shohin (you could even say Mame) Shimpaku juniper by Haruyosi. From … Continue reading The Most with the Least

A Bonsai Story (Sometimes You Just Can’t Tell)

You can get some idea that this might be a pretty big bonsai from this photo (the little leaf at the bottom helps). But how big, you could only guess. This and the other photos in this post are from Peter Tea Bonsai. I started this post with the title Sometimes You Just Can’t Tell. That’s because I wanted to talk about how difficult it is to tell just how big some bonsai are without something to indicate scale. In photos that is. Now you might not think this is a big deal, but it is. Photos, even when there … Continue reading A Bonsai Story (Sometimes You Just Can’t Tell)

Capital Bonsai Shadows

Here’s Capital Bonsai’s caption for this photo: Three point display with Trident Maple. In training since 1895. Donated by Prince Takamatsu. Mt. Fuji scroll and Japanese Blood Grass. A few years ago there was a lot of buzz about bonsai being a fine art. Now, the issues seems settled. If you start with the right material and add a masterful eye and touch, both the process and the result can be called art. Photographing bonsai, when done well, is also art, and the photos shown here are no exception. They are a small sampling (I chose just one tree) from … Continue reading Capital Bonsai Shadows

Can’t Really Pick a Favorite, But…

Suthin has a way with Hinoki cypress. And a way with bonsai altogether. The more I look at this tree, the more I like it. If I were to go back through our nine hundred or so posts so far and pick my favorites, this one would surely make the grade. This photo and the others in this post are from Suthin’s facebook timeline. It would be very difficult if we had pick a favorite bonsai or a favorite bonsai artist. There are simply too many good ones, with so many different types of trees and styles. However, if I … Continue reading Can’t Really Pick a Favorite, But…

Good News for Bonsai Art & Culture

A good example of the kind of results Cheng Cheng Kung gets with his Sidiao method. Hint: it’s the deadwood. We just heard that Cheng Cheng Kung has confirmed to be one of the demonstrators at Robert Steven’s International Bonsai Art & Culture Biennal 2014. This is good news indeed for those of us who are planning on attending (here’s the registration form if you haven’t gotten around to it yet). Just in case you don’t know Cheng Cheng Kung, here’s the short version: Mr Cheng is one of the most famous bonsai artists in the world and the creator of … Continue reading Good News for Bonsai Art & Culture