Styling

American Bonsai Originals

I think this tree has something to say about just how far American bonsai has come. It’s a Japanese white pine by Ryan Neil. From his Bonsai Mirai website. Yesterday we featured a Bald cypress that belongs to Ryan Neil (Bonsai Mirai). This got me thinking about just how long we’ve been featuring Ryan’s trees. Turns out it has been exactly seven years (August, 2011). Here it is, our first post devoted solely to Ryan’s bonsai. It was titled Elevating the Art of Bonsai in the West. As always I’ve made a few changes NEW SPECIAL ALL BONSAI & GARDEN TOOLS 25% … Continue reading American Bonsai Originals

Roshi Tools 30% to 40% off Special Ends Tonight – Roshi Bonsai Tools Are Famous for Precision, Durability, Beauty & Great Prices

Our selection of over 50 high quality and affordable Roshi Bonsai Tools come in both stainless and high carbon steel, and right now our Stainless Roshi tool are 40% off list and our Cabon Steel Roshi tool are 30% off list ROSHI TOOL SPECIAL ENDS TONIGHT 40% OFF ALL ROSHI STAINLESS BONSAI TOOLS 30% OFF ALL ROSHI CARBON STEEL BONSAi tools SPECIAL ENDS FRIDAY, AUGUST 10th at 11:59pm EDT Our famous Roshi tools are known for precision, durability and beauty  and very reasonable prices – now even more reasonable – When I fist saw Roshi tools I was struck by their beauty. Then, when … Continue reading Roshi Tools 30% to 40% off Special Ends Tonight – Roshi Bonsai Tools Are Famous for Precision, Durability, Beauty & Great Prices

The Evolution of Bonsai

This photo and the others shown here are from a post by Ryan Neil titled, Bald Cypress #1, Evolution I recently found these photos and an eye opening story by Ryan Neil on his Mirai blog. It’s titled Bald Cypress #1 Evolution. Ryan’s story touched on American trees and American bonsai and how they can’t be judged except on their own terms. But rather than me trying to explain, here’s part of what Ryan wrote… “Bald Cypress #1 embodies the diversity of landscape and form Mirai strives to explore through our trees. Its rapid taper, flat-topped foliage, and overall Dr. Seuss-esque form demands … Continue reading The Evolution of Bonsai

Bonsai Superlatives

I’m running out of superlatives. How about… ‘somewhere north of magnificent.’ My only question is, could the pot be a little bigger? By Hsieh, Shun-Chin of Taiwan Continuing with spectacular Ficus bonsai… Though the Taiwanese aren’t alone, a large dose of creative bonsai energy seems to be emanating from that unique island. And it’s not just Min Hsuan Lo and Cheng, Cheng-Kung, they have plenty of talented company. If you want some evidence, check out the Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibitions FALL POTTING SEASON SPECIAL 25% OFF LIST ON ALL HIGH IMPACT PLASTIC BONSAI POTS 25% OFF LIST ON ALL BONSAI SOIL … Continue reading Bonsai Superlatives

More Ficus Bonsai – Amazing Roshi Tool Special Ends Friday

Finest Tropical Bonsai & Finest Accent Plant. The tree is a Tiger bark Ficus (Ficus microcarpa) by Hoe Chuah. I’ve cropped this lead photo to show just the tree (a photo showing Soon Chuah’s companion is just below and a photo of the tree with the companion is below that). The first three photos in this post are from Bonsai Empire. Continuing with our 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition theme from yesterday and our Ficus bonsai theme from the day before.  And of course, our encouragement for you to visit the 6th U.S. National next month A family that does … Continue reading More Ficus Bonsai – Amazing Roshi Tool Special Ends Friday

6th U.S. National – Bonsai on a Steady Upward Curve

This award winning dwarf Japanese garden juniper (Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’) belongs to Creighton Bostrom of Waxhaw, North Carolina. The photo is from the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. You can find it and all the other trees in the Exhibition Album. The same goes for the 4th Exhibition (the albums for 1, 2 and 3 are out of print) Thanks to Bonsai Empire for the photos shown here (and for identifying the varieties and the owners). They just made my job easier. And of course, thanks to Bill Valavanis and all the kind folks who put together the previous U.S. National Bonsai Exhibitions … Continue reading 6th U.S. National – Bonsai on a Steady Upward Curve

Elevated Company

The sheer power of this magnificent tree places it in elevated company. It’s a 50cm (20″) tall Ficus microcarpa by one of our favorite South American bonsai artists, Nacho Marin of Venezuela. The pot is by John Evans of the USA. Yesterday we featured a Ficus from Taiwan, so picking up that thread… and because I’m still on  mini-vacation, we’ll take the quick path  This one originally appeared here in May, 2015 Though this post was inspired by Nacho Marin’s powerful Ficus (above) and though Nacho is South American, when we start looking at Ficus bonsai we seem to circle back to Taiwan NEW FALL … Continue reading Elevated Company

Movement, Power & Artistic Freedom

Abstract bonsai art. I think there’s a temptation to judge trees with elaborately carved deadwood. But maybe it’s best to just appreciate the skill involved and not worry about too much deadwood or whether the result look like our sense of what’s natural or not. Not to downplay the importance of bonsai the look like trees in nature, rather to appreciate the vast variety of approaches and results in our wonderful world of bonsai Yesterday we featured Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s colorful side. Today we’ll touch upon his famous Sidao carving method and some results. Hopefully this will peak your interest. If … Continue reading Movement, Power & Artistic Freedom

Not All Bonsai Need Deadwood

It takes a strong tree to handle a pot like this. This Pistacio (Pistacia chinensis Bunge) has at least two features that qualify: its muscular trunk which works well with the depth of the pot (deep pots with thin trunks just don’t work) and its lushly hued full crown which contrasts with the pot’s brilliance. Today is the first day of a short summer vacation. We’ll try to keep Bark going by employing some favorites from our archives. This one is from January, 2016 (with a couple revisions today) The trees shown here are all Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s creations. Cheng is famous for his Sidiao method (a … Continue reading Not All Bonsai Need Deadwood

Great Bonsai Deserve a Great Turntable

Everything looks good on a Green T turntable and this powerful rock planting by Jan Culek is no exception Just in case you missed it, we’re going to feature our famous Green T  Turntables again (it’s always worth another look). The time is always right for you to own and enjoy your own Green T Turntable (Basic or Plus models) while enhancing your bonsai enjoyment ORDER YOUR OWN GREEN T HYDRAULIC LIFT TURNTABLe now A few Good Reasons to join the hundreds of Bonsai Lovers who are now the happy owners of Green T Turntables SAVE – Both models are now on Special Free Shipping in the Continental U.S. and ownership of … Continue reading Great Bonsai Deserve a Great Turntable