Ferociously Contorted Scot’s Pine

Gabriel Romero Aguade says of this magnificent, ferociously contorted, Scot’s pine, “Maintenance work and small improvements in a pinus sylvestris from a client. Reposition the angle of planted, settlement of the low branch, cleaning of leaves and selection of outbreaks.” I’ve been seeing a lot of Gabriel Romero Aguade’s bonsai these days and every time I do, I think I should post some. Now, finally, the moment has arrived. Continued below… Fertilizer Sale Ends Tonight 25% off all Green Dream Organic Slow Release Pellets Sale ends tonight (Thursday) at 11:59pm EST Close up The artist with the tree. Though … Continue reading Ferociously Contorted Scot’s Pine

Best of Show Bonsai – part 2

Noelanders Trophy award; Best of Show. A Juniperus Sabina by Xavier Massanet. I’m sure someone will clue me in, but I’m a little confused about how there can be two Best of Show trees (see yesterday’s post). The first day of a quick two day escape, so we’ll make this short and sweet. Today we have the second Noelanders Trophy Best of Show Bonsai. As mentioned yesterday, thank you to Bonsai Empire for the exceptional photos and thanks also to Mark Noelanders for putting together a world class bonsai extravaganza. Continued below… Here’s the Wire Sale you’ve been waiting for… … Continue reading Best of Show Bonsai – part 2

Bonsai Nibbler & The Foundations of Bonsai

A piece of a European Larch that was carved by Harry Harrington with his Bonsai Nibbler. Here’s Harry’s caption: “Images of a European Larch I carved and styled last year, with the help of a Bonsai Nibbler fitted to a Dremel multi-tool!” We’ve been featuring Harry Harrington a lot lately. Not only have we long been fans of Harry’s unique and innovative bonsai, but his book The Foundations of Bonsai is due to arrive at our warehouse early next week.* Bonsai Aesthetic Tool Sale Ends Tonight 30% off Bonsai Aesthetics Tools 30% off our already low prices a great opportunity … Continue reading Bonsai Nibbler & The Foundations of Bonsai

Bonsai Art, Circles & Curves

Zen pine. In some types of art shapes are often suggested rather than completed. The mind of the viewer does the rest. In the case of this pine, it’s a circle (or maybe a fishhook). The tree and the photo belong to Mauro Stemberger. You can see more of Mauro’s bonsai here, here and here. Today themes are circles, semi circles and curves, as well as another bonsai by Mauro Stemberger (see above and our last two posts). This post originally appeared here just over a year ago. I’ve taken the liberty to edit my own writing. Continued below… Bonsai … Continue reading Bonsai Art, Circles & Curves

Rock Island Bonsai

One of three impressive rock plantings from Mauro Stemberger’s recent bonsai sojourn in India. The trees in all three plantings are Procumbens juinipers. The natural sandstone river rocks were put together with cement. I don’t know anything about the pot, except that it’s a monster. Yesterday I wrote that I wanted to feature these three Juniper forests on rock islands by Mauro Stemberger and friends but needed more time to do a little research. We’ll, I couldn’t find the time, but if you’d like, you can do your own research. Here and here are two facebook links. You might also … Continue reading Rock Island Bonsai

A Dancer, a Famous Snake & Other Impressive Bonsai

The Dancer by Mauro Stemberger. Mauro’s caption reads: Never give up!!!! Swedish Scots pine “The Dancer.” You can see that Mauro is planning a new planting angle and most likely a new pot. You might imagine a bunjin type pot; shallow, round, maybe a little rough… Today I set out to put together a post on some rock plantings that were created during Mauro Stemberger’s recent (on-going?) trip to India. However, time wasn’t on my side, so I decided to wait until I could do a little more research. Meanwhile, to set the tone we’ll borrow this one from our … Continue reading A Dancer, a Famous Snake & Other Impressive Bonsai

Reviving a Powerful Old Shimpaku Bonsai

After. A dynamic & powerful Shimpaku juniper that belongs to our friend Suthin Sukosolvisit, one of a handful of the most highly talented and accomplished North American bonsai artists. This is our third straight before and after. All three started with superior but neglected junipers and ended with masterful bonsai. And all three were revived and upgraded by highly accomplished and well known bonsai artists; Naoki Maeoka for the previous two and Suthin Sukosolvisit today. Continued below… NEW Sales 20% of Yoshiaki Tools, Turntables, Sieves & Wire plus an extra 10% off orders 100.00+ Before. Great skill is required to … Continue reading Reviving a Powerful Old Shimpaku Bonsai

No Problem that 20 Hours of Expert Work Can’t Solve

After. If you look at the before photo below, two big differences jump out. First is the trunk, where hours were spent meticulously applying lime sulfur on the deadwood and cleaning up the living vein. And then there’s the total restyling of the crown. The resulting form is classic Japanese style and the mastery is impressive. Naoki Maeoka wrote that he he spent 20 hours reviving this tree. Yesterday’s post was about reviving a neglected bonsai and so is today’s. The artist in both cases is Naoki Maeoka, and both trees are junipers, but this time it’s a Shimpaku. Yesterday’s … Continue reading No Problem that 20 Hours of Expert Work Can’t Solve

Reviving a Neglected Bonsai

After. The fresh lime sulfur causes the deadwood to be a little too white, though it will fade in time to create a more natural look. If you look closely, you can see some of the foliage is still recovering from stress. Today we’ve got just one tree for you. A dramatic before and after. Well actually, after, before and then after again. The artist is Naoki Maeoka. His short caption reads Styling a Tosho (Needle juniper). Continued below… Last Day! 30% off Roshi Bonsai Tool Sale ends tonight Roshi Tools are known throughout the world bonsai community for exceptional … Continue reading Reviving a Neglected Bonsai

Wild Apples & Other North American Natives

This humped back Wild apple appears on the back cover of Nick Lenz’ Bonsai from the Wild (long out of print). In fact all of the photos shown here are from Nick’s book. I’m a little pressed for time, so we’ll use our old archives trick. The photos are from a June, 2011 post. The text is heavily edited. It’s no secret that Nick Lenz is a brilliant, innovative and daring bonsai artist. It’s also not much of a secret that Nick is a genuine holder of extensive bonsai (and horticultural) knowledge and wisdom, with perhaps more expertise when it … Continue reading Wild Apples & Other North American Natives