Lava Flow Bonsai

MiraiLPPine

This simple and graceful old tree belongs to Ryan Neil (Bonsai Mirai). Here's what Ryan's caption says about it: "Lodgepole Pine. Pinus contorta latifolia. Collected in 2009 from a lava flow in the Cascade Mountains. Rapidly becoming one of Mirai's favorites!" Interesting how the trunk looks kinda like a lava flow.

I have no idea why Lodgepole pine bonsai are so rare, but they are. In the entire history of Bonsai Bark (almost seven years and several thousand bonsai) we have shown only three. Counting the three shown here (we’ve shown the one at the bottom before). Which is to say, that all three Lodgepoles that we know of, belong to Bonsai Mirai (or belonged to Bonsai Mirai; Ryan may have sold one or two).

MiraiLPPine2

An impressively full cascade. Which is to say that the distance between the base of the tree and the tip of the cascade is uncommonly long. From Bonsai Mirai's website.

MiraiLPineCU

An almost equilateral triangle (negative space) and a whole lot of character. The mark of long years and harsh conditions.

MiraiLPPine3

I believe that this is the only Lodgepole pine we've shown before now.

All three trees shown here are from Bonsai Mirai (the one at the top appears on facebook, the other two are from Mirai’s website).

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Tough, Durable, Flexible & Beautiful

KimuraJun

This wild masterpiece is a Shore Juniper (Juniperus procumbens) by famous bonsai innovator Masahiko Kimura. The photo is from our Juniper book.

This post originally appeared in January, 2010.

Junipers are tough, durable, flexible (they take to wire like they were made for it) and pruneable. They don’t mind having their roots heavily pruned and they take to container culture. Their needles tend to be small and dense and both their needles and bark come in a range of attractive colors and textures.

Perhaps best of all, junipers take to carving like few other plants; and their deadwood is both attractive and long lasting (all deadwood eventually rots, but juniper wood rots more slowly than most), especially if you keep it clean and apply lime sulfur.

Junipers grow almost everywhere in the northern hemisphere (they don’t occur south of the equator), from the Arctic tundra to the Central American mountains and African tropics. This means that there are varieties for almost any climate, including some that can survive indoors (only under just the right conditions, with the emphasis on survive, rather than on grow; as indoor cultivation is tough on most plants – but that’s a story for another time). All this makes junipers a first choice for bonsai, from beginners all the way to the masters.

stowellJun

Dwarf Japanese garden juniper (J. procumbens 'Nana'). By Jerald B. Stowell. Procumbens nana is a very popular variety for beginners, at least here in the States. However, you seldom see a masterpiece, as the trunks tend to stay fairly thin.

Three of our favorite books
Our Juniper Book is just back in print
The Magician is all about Masahiko Kimura
(that’s his tree at the top of the post)
and his phenomenal bonsai innovations

Masters' Series Books

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Crazy Shimpaku Bonsai

One of several great Shimpaku junipers from a post by Bjorn Bjorholm. I picked this one in part because of the little curlycue jin (dead branch) hanging down. I've seen plenty of other intriguing jins, but this one is so distinctive and in a place so prominent that it comes close to stealing the show (in spite of the light background that diminishes its effect, and in spite of the many other wonders of this tree).

We’re busy around here, but we’re still trying to post everyday. So, it’s the archives again. This one is from April 2014. I picked it because it ties in nicely with yesterday’s post.

Not that anybody remembers or cares… still it’s time to come through on an old promise. In February of last year we posted some excellent pines from Bjorn Bjorholm’s website and made this promise at the time: “Just pines this time. I’m so taken with these trees that I’ve decided to make this a two part (or more) series. This first installment is devoted to pines. Next we’ll feature some of the equally impressive Shimpaku on Bjorn’s site. Maybe some others too.”

So, fourteen months later, here are the promised Shimpakus (plus one crazy Procumbens).

But first, just in case you are wondering, I do know that the world is overrun with Shimpaku that posses amazing deadwood. How many more do we need to look at? Still, we haven’t shown many lately and in spite of their abundance, the best are still mind-stoppers. Including the ones shown here.

Doing the twist. There are plenty of other twisted Shimpakus, but you have to admit that this one is exceptional.

A crazy short, chubby twister. Not so sure this is the right pot though.

Two headed monster. I have a soft spot for good double crowned trees. Especially when one crown is clearly subordinate. Beyond that, you might admire the way the long fluid sweep of the trunk is mirrored by the long fluid sweep that leads to the second crown.

Pointing the way. You don't often see two trunks in two different styles on the same tree. In this case, the dominant trunk is informal upright and the other one is semi-cascade. A couple other things stand out: the way the two trunks snuggle in together and the way the two trees come together to create a single crown.

We've shown this crazy tree before, but this is a better photo. Like the other trees in this post, it's from Bjorn Bjorholm's Bjorvala Bonsai Studio. It's a Procumbens juniper that looks a whole lot like a Shimpaku juniper (except for the foliage).

B1-SET-JUNPINE-2 Speaking of Pines and Junipers. These excellent benchmark bonsai books are now only 44.95 for the set of two (list price 59.90). What’s more, you’ll earn FREE Shipping (on orders 40.00 or more – U.S. only)

If you don’t need both books, they are discounted individually too (Pine book or Juniper book).

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2016 Bonsai & Japanese Garden Calendars Are Here

Our 2016 Calendars are here.* A little later than we hoped, but there's still time to have yours before the new year.

Because our 2016 Calendars are late, we are immediately discounting them (we usually wait until after the new year) so we can get them into your hands before the new year begins. This means the price is right for you to enjoy beautiful bonsai and Japanese gardens every time you check the date.

*We don’t have good 2016 photos yet, so all the photos shown here are from last year. But don’t worry, our 2016 Calendars are equally beautiful.

I know this says 2015. We don't have good 2016 photos yet so we're using photos from last year. But don't worry, 2016s are every bit as beautiful.

*All the photos above are from last year’s calendars.

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Brad Pitt, Bonsai Artist?

BBstew

Brad Bjorn posing with an impressive (Stewartia?) bonsai. From an article in Architectural Digest titled "Meet the Brad Pitt of Bonsai."

We don’t usually feature photos of people. I almost always find people in bonsai photos distracting. Rather than ‘look at me with my beautiful bonsai,’ I prefer ‘look at this beautiful bonsai.’

However, occasionally photos of people with trees work. In this case, because the article is about Bjorn Bjorholm, “the tall, blond, all-American,” a couple photos of Bjorn with bonsai are appropriate and necessary. Otherwise how would you know?

The article in question, ‘Meet the Brad Pitt of Bonsai‘ appears in the October, 2014 issue of Architectural Digest, one of the one percent’s most prestigious and beautiful magazines.
Continued below the photo…

BBjwp

Japanese white pine are among Bjorn's favorites. All the photos in this post are from the Architectural Digest article or a slide show that accompanies the article. The little icons in this and other photos appear in all the slide show photos.

Here’s a great excerpt from the article that anyone who has ever really messed something up (I guess that covers us all) can relate to: “Today Bjorholm is fluent in Japanese, “though some days are better than others.” And, he admits, when it comes to his life’s work, mistakes have been made, the most dreadful being when he accidentally snapped off a picturesque and highly important deadwood branch on a bonsai that had taken his employer years to perfect. “My heart sank because I knew he was going to tell me to go home,” Bjorholm says. Instead Fujikawa, his face a furious red, simply turned and walked away and refused to talk to his American apprentice for weeks.”

BBtaxus

This powerful old yew looks familiar.

BBcascade

Too bad about those little icons, but still, this is an undeniably super cascade in a perfect pot.

BBbefore&after

Before and after

BBwtree

Brad Pitt, bonsai artist.

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A Dose of Creative Bonsai Energy

 I'm running out of superlatives. How about 'somewhere north of magnificent.'  My only question is; could the pot be a little bigger? It's a Ficus by Hsieh, Shun-Chin.

This is one of our two busy seasons (the other is spring). Of the two, this is the most intense; everything comes to a head in just a few short weeks. Long story short, I’m swamped. One solution is to resurrect old posts from our vast archives. This one is from December, 2010.

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 2008 Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibition. There are plenty of other examples of Taiwanese bonsai, but the photos in this one are particularly good .

A little change of pace. The tree on the right (Elaeagnus Pungens) has the mark of Min. At least the Min Hsuan Lo many of us have come to know. The Crape myrtle in full bloom provides a touch of wildness, freedom and color. From the 2008 Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibition.

Powerful, unique and full of movement, though knowing our audience, I imagine some may feel that the foliage is overly groomed. Premna microphylla by Yang, Chun-Cheng.

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Coffee, Bonsai & Something for the Season

Trident maple at the 2013 Taikan-ten Exhibition. There's a lot going on with the tree; three major trunks and a baby one sticking out the back, a large mounding nebari and a whole lot of movement. I particularly like the trunk on the right that emerges from the base of the nebari (the base of the base). I borrowed the photo from Bjorn Bjorholm. The color seems a bit off, but you still get the drift.

It’s a busy time when catching up seems even less likely than usual. One solution is to delve back into our archives. This one is from two years ago. It was titled “Who Doesn’t Love Good Multi-Trunk Bonsai with Their Morning Coffee?“

I started this post thinking we’d show a few Taikan-ten Exhibition trees from the last few years. A sort of mini-history lesson. But that proved too ambitious for a Sunday morning (it was Sunday then), so I settled on three Taikan-ten trees with multiple trunks. Much easier and why not, they’re great trees and who doesn’t love good multi-trunk bonsai with their morning coffee?

I'm not sure what this is (Ezo spruce?) but I am sure that it's a great tree. I wonder if Michael Hagedorn was inspired by this tree when he started working on his now famous Ezo spruce. The photo is from the 2011 Taikan-ten gallery at Empire Bonsai.

This one looks like a Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora). It's from the 2011 Taikan-ten bonsai exhibition. The photo was also borrowed from Bonsai Empire. It’s hard to tell from this angle if all the trunks are sharing a single root-system. It could be a twin-trunk tree and a triple-trunk clump combined.

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Robert’s Bonsai & Our Disclaimer

premna

Premna is all Robert Steven says about this remarkable tree, but maybe that's enough; it can tell its own story of a wild life with more than its fair share of abuse (like some people we might know).

As you may have noticed, we feature Robert Steven’s bonsai more than any other artist, so maybe it’s time to issue a disclaimer. But before we do that, we’ll note that Robert is one of the most prolific and talented bonsai artists we know. Beyond that, he teaches bonsai to a depth seldom seen and he expresses boundless energy and enthusiasm in promoting the art of bonsai.

Now here’s our disclaimer: We sell Robert’s book (Mission of Transformation) and we also import, distribute and retail his Bonsai Aesthetics tools (now on sale for 25% off) and his Bonsai Aesthetics wire (also on sale for 25% off). Beyond that, Robert has been very helpful with our bonsai questions and has provided our readers with his highly instructive (and free) bonsai critiques.

All the bonsai shown here were styled by Robert Steven. And though I can’t say for sure, my guess is that at least some of them were originally collected by Robert.

gentlewind

Gentle wind. When I saw this tree, my first thought was, yeah nice but... Until I read Robert's caption "Gentle Wind." In our fascination with wildly dramatic bonsai, it's easy to miss subtle qualities. No variety given.

strongwind

Strong, incessant wind (my caption, Robert doesn't say anything about this one). Unless you've tried to style a convincing windswept bonsai, you might miss the skill involved with this tree. No variety listed.

Feronia lucida

This unusual tree with trunks growing out of, or sheathed in, what looks like old deadwood, is a Feronia lucida. Here's some of what Useful Tropical Plants has to say about it. "Feroniella lucida is a small to medium-sized tree armed with numerous long, slender, sharp thorns. It grows from 10 - 15 metres ( tall with a straight bole 20 - 30cm in diameter. The edible fruit is gathered from the wild for local use. The plant is also occasionally cultivated as fruit tree in Cambodia and Java. Range: E. Asia - Indonesia."

pemphis

Pemphis. We'll call this wild jumble (in the best sense of the word) root-over-rock bonsai, but can you tell where the rock ends and the roots begin?

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Careful!

This sweet to look at, but otherwise nasty little bonsai is from Yorozu Shohin Bonsai Nursery in Japan. It caught my wary eye recently on a post by John Romano on Bonsai Study Group Forum. I'm going to assume that it's an Asian Poison ivy (see text below).

We’re busy with the Holiday rush amping up, so we’ll take the easy way out. This one originally appeared almost four years ago. It was titled “You Can Look but You Better Not Touch.”

One genus, several species
What follows is for those of us who get excited when we see Latin names. If you don’t fall into that unique subset of above average humans, you can skip this part and just enjoy the photos.

The genus is Toxicodendron (previously Rhus). I don’t know how many species there are worldwide in this foul grouping, but for our purposes, there are at least three (well, maybe four) worth mentioning.

The first is our east coast Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). Nick Lenz’s little gem below is a pretty good example this noxious menace. The second is our west coast Poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) and the third is the Asian Poison ivy (Toxicodendron orientale), which according to Wikipedia is so similar to our Poison ivy that some texts treat it as just a variety of the American species.

The forth, Atlantic Poison oak (Toxicodendron pubescens) comes as a surprise to me. Apparently this little thug makes its home mostly in our Old Confederacy (that’s down south for those of you who failed American History – but then you wouldn’t be reading this far anyway).

This one is from Nick Lenz' Bonsai from the Wild. It's an East Coast Poison Ivy. Judging by the leaves and bark, it's doesn't appear to be the same species as the one above. Still, according to Wikipedia (see text above) it's very close.

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Suburban Yamadori

YewMauro

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.

We’ve been featuring Yews and carved deadwood a lot lately. An auspicious match, as you can readily see in the photos shown here.

One of the great things about Yews is they grow almost everywhere. Half the landscapes here in the Eastern U.S. sport a yew or two. For some of us, it’s possible to find good ones for bonsai in our own front yards (suburban Yamadori). Or someone else’s front yard (just don’t get caught…*).

*Just kidding

This powerful and famous Yew by Bonsai Master Masahiko Kimura is in a class by itself. It's from our book The Magician, the Bonsai Art of Kimura 2.

Every time I open Bonsai Today issue 106 and lay my eyes on this wicked old English yew (Taxus baccata), my mind does a little double take. It may not look exactly like anything you'll see in nature, but it certainly jumps off the page. The extensive and very time consuming carving (as well as the trimming and wiring) is by Kevin Willson. Photo by Simon Carr.

This photo from the 3rd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album is a good example of the quality photos you’ll find in all of the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Albums. The tree is an old Japanese yew from the Pacific Bonsai Museum.

This muscular Japanese yew resides at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum in Saitama, Japan, along with numerous other top tier bonsai. The pot looks like it could be Tokoname. Though you can't see the back, it's possible that the single live vein in the front supports all of the foliage in the tree's substantial crown.

Rugged tree, rugged pot. It's hard to say if the two trunks share a single root system, but my guess is they do. Or maybe there's only one trunk with a large hole in the center. It's another Japanese yew. It belongs to Walter Pall. The pot is by Walter Venne. The tree was originally collected in Korea and is said to be over 100 years old.

 The powerful Yew with its flowing (melting) deadwood and reddish bark belongs to Mauro Stemberger (as does the tree at the top of the post). And then there's that wonderful little piece of deadwood that's used as a companion. The pot is a Tokoname.

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