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

Two Tricks with Bonsai Wire & 3 Day Wire Special

Japanese white pine from our 2017 Bonsai Calendar (sorry, sold out). This tree has no doubt been repeatedly wired over years of development. In addition to sharing a couple useful tricks with bonsai wire, this post is to let you know that we have just begun a 3 day Bonsai Wire Sale. 20% off all of our wire (Bonsai Aesthetics wire, Yoshiaki wire, U.S. manufactured Copper wire). When you combine it with our extra 10% off orders 100.00 or more and Free Shipping on Continental U.S. orders 49.00 or more (but only if you select Free Shipping when you check … Continue reading Two Tricks with Bonsai Wire & 3 Day Wire Special

Principles of Bonsai Design – 2 Years & Going Strong

This magnificent old Chinese hackberry (Celtis sinensis) is a tree that I’ve had the honor of seeing up close and personal. It lives at the Pacific Bonsai Museum in Washington State. A not-to-miss experience if you’re ever out that way. Though the distinctive split trunk needs no comment, you might also notice the highly developed ramification (fine branching). The tree was donated to the Museum by Ben Oki. It has been almost two years now since we posted this glowing introduction to Dave DeGroot’s indispensable Principles of Bonsai Design. With the slow inexorable erosion of print media in this digital … Continue reading Principles of Bonsai Design – 2 Years & Going Strong

Tropical Bonsai, Not Exactly Your Common Houseplants

Tropical bonsai wasn’t exactly what came to mind when I first glimpsed this powerful tree. More like some old cold hardy conifer. But a second glance reveals the leaves. Could this be a Bucida spinosa (aka Black olive*)? Well, yes, it could be and I think it is, even the though the artist, Enrique Castano calls it a Terminalia molineti (if hacking through the thicket of plant names is your thing, you might enjoy doing a little research). It has been a while since we’ve featured tropical trees. This might have something to do with our bias for the cold … Continue reading Tropical Bonsai, Not Exactly Your Common Houseplants

Fine Branching Is Key to Superior Deciduous Bonsai

This now famous Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) received the coveted Kokufu prize at the 88th Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition. Aside from its overall magnificence, this tree provides a perfect example of what great ramification looks like. The photo is from the World Bonsai Friendship Federation. Identification and other details were provided by Bill Valavanis. Ramification literally means branch development, or how branches grow. However, when it comes to the art of bonsai, it has come to mean branch development that displays a couple key features: taper and fine branching. These features are critical when it comes to developing quality deciduous (and … Continue reading Fine Branching Is Key to Superior Deciduous Bonsai

Found Bonsai – Exceptional Trees from Humble Origins

Front left shot of a Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) that was collected in 2009 from an old hedge growing in West London. It belongs to Harry Harrington. The pot is by Victor Harris of Erin Pottery Most of the bonsai we feature start with aged, often highly developed (usually expensive) stock. From there to a show-worthy bonsai might require mostly refinement. In other cases more radical styling might be involved, but either way, when you start with superior stock, superior results are more likely. Conversely, most of Harry Harrington‘s (author of The Foundations of Bonsai) bonsai come from more humble origins… … Continue reading Found Bonsai – Exceptional Trees from Humble Origins

Cliff Bonsai – Before & After

As always, we’ll start with after photo. The tree is a Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) The artist is Michael Hagedorn. The before photo is below. I lifted today’s post straight from Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai. Michael posted fourteen step-by-step photos on this dramatic ‘cliff dweller’. We’ll just show you three of these. I encourage you to visit Crataegus – one of our favorite bonsai destinations – to enjoy the whole sequence. Here’s part of what Michael has to say about the creation of this remarkable planting… “We often think of cliff or rock faces being the place where cascade bonsai get … Continue reading Cliff Bonsai – Before & After

Bonsai Brilliance Multiplied

Both the tree and the pot are brilliant and each could stand on its own. But together their brilliance is multiplied. Based on the flowers, I’d say the tree is a quince. The photos trees and pots shown here all belong to Michiko Koide. It’s noon already and the project I was working on this morning is bogged down (blogged down). We’ll set it aside for the moment and resort to an old trick. This one is from March, 2016, with a little value added – a couple new photos from Michiko Koide’s facebook timeline. I don’t know much about … Continue reading Bonsai Brilliance Multiplied

Bonsai Art Techno Style – An Uprising of a New Generation?

I lifted these shots from a video that’s a part of an article from ABC Australia, titled, Japan’s ancient art of bonsai threatened by waning interest among youth. The embedded text – 30 minutes from scratch – might give some pause for thought. You may have heard some buzz lately about lack of interest in bonsai by Japanese youth. The other day I stumbled upon an article & video about this very topic, and what one person is trying to do about it. Though it’s never a bad idea to experiment and add some fresh inspiration to any established convention, … Continue reading Bonsai Art Techno Style – An Uprising of a New Generation?