You Don’t See Bonsai Like These Everyday

shimpalu

You don't see bonsai like this every day. For me, there's a temptation to grab my thinning shears. But first, it's a good idea to take it in as is. And there's a lot to take in. Especially the sheer weight of the remarkably lush foliage. And, if you can pull your eyes down to the trunk, the play of the living veins and deadwood is striking. Unfortunately the tree is not identified (nor attributed), but it looks a lot a like a Shimpaku juniper

Normally we shy away from unattributed and unidentified bonsai. But in this case the trees are so unusual that I couldn’t resist

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pine

Root-over-rock pine. This one is similar to the tree above. At least when it comes to dense foliage. If you take a close look at the base, you can distinguish the trunk from the rock

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A Quick Before and After Bonsai

b&aBefore and after Juniper by Bonsai Mike made quick and easy (or at least quick). Here's part what Mike wrote about this tree and the event where the transformation took place...  "I’d like to thank the Puget Sound Bonsai Association for bringing me up to Seattle... Here’s a before and after of my demo tree. Deadwood still needs to be finished."

Yesterday we featured a before and after by Bonsai Mike. Today, we’ve got another of Mike’s B&As. Both are junipers and both are impressive in their own right. After that, most similarities end. Yesterday’s was a monster yamadori where the process spanned five years. Today’s spanned hours
Continued below…

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before

Before. Good stock, but plenty to do to get from here to after

Continued from above…
Transforming a tree in a few hours requires vision, quick decisions and technical competence. Experienced bonsai artists usually pull it off with flying colors, but there are no guarantees (the material they start with has a lot to do with the end result). In this case, the result speaks for itself

After

After. Not bad, especially considering it only took a few hours

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Two Legged Juniper – Before & After

SIERRA

Sierra juniper (Juniperus occidentalis), before and after by Bonsai Mike. You can see the potential peeking out underneath the foliage in the before shot. Still, an impressive transformation

Today’s tree belongs to Bonsai Mike, a first timer here on Bark (as distinguished from Michael Bonsai, who has appeared here numerous times). Here’s what Mike wrote about this old yamadori juniper… “One of my best trees. I collected this Sierra in 2011. It has gone through 3 stylings since then and keeps improving. The foliage is getting a little heavy now. In order to show greater age, some branches must be removed in order to create more open space.”

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beforefull

Before. I cropped off the edges in the B&A photo for a better fit. Here's the uncropped version

 

between

Further along...

after1

Mike put up several after shots. This one presents a good picture of the living veins

after2

Two legged beast. Shot at night

 

afterdard

Another night shot

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Tiny Flowering Bonsai – NEW Site Wide Sale

har33-1

This little Japanese quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) looks old and yet is so small. I know I've mentioned this before, but there's something about the brilliance and purity of quince flowers.

Let’s make it three straight for Haruyosi, a favorite here and anywhere people love small trees. This isn’t the first time for this post (nor is it the second time). Must be one of our favorites.

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haruprunus2

Here's Haruyosi's caption... "This cherry tree 'Okame' bloomed half a month earlier than last year. (Prunus incamp cv. Okame)"

 

haruprunus

 

haruredpot3

Prunus mume. I like this shot with just a touch of the pot showing

haruredpot

Red is the new black! Here the whole tree in its brilliant red pot. Red pots have long been uncommon with bonsai, the glaze is expensive and such a strong color can distract from even the most brilliant tree. But now, in this age of daring colors, red pots are popping up everywhere

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har1-1More delicate spring beauty. This time the pot is yellow. It turns out that, like red pots, yellow pots haven't been all that common but that may be changing too. The tree is Malus halliana (Hall's crapapple).

 

haruume

Another Prunus mume

 

less2-1

I think this one qualifies as Mame ('bean' in Japanese), a common word for the smallest bonsai. Both the tree (Pyracatha) and pot are by Haruyosi.


har41Just another of Haruyosi's masterpiece pots. Red and yellow together, but I guess you probably noticed.

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More Pots, Pines & Other Small Bonsai

HSHIM2

Shimpaku juniper with stand and stone in a show display. I know the tree is Haruyosi's and I'm pretty sure the pot is also his. I'm not sure about the stand, though I wouldn't be surprised if Haruyosi made it

Continuing where we left off with Haruyosi’s small bonsai. If you want more, you can enjoy a wealth of great photos on  Haruyosi’s fb site and here on Bonsai Bark as well
Continued below…

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HSHIM1

Another small Shimpaku. This too is part of a show display, but I cropped it to focus on the tree. You can see the original on his fb post

Continued from above…
I’ve become inspired by Haruyosi to try field growing small bonsai. Especially Shimpaku, which do well here in northern Vermont. However, the biggest issue is time; it takes  forever for trees to develop here with our short growing seasons. I’ve got some that have been in the ground for 7 or 8 years (maybe longer) that could still use a few  more years

 

HPOT3Haruyosi's pots have become more ornate lately. If you look at some of our earlier Haruyoshi posts (here), you'll see much simpler pots

 

HTRI1Trident maple in full fall color

 

HP3WITHThe sacrifice branch on this little pine is there to strengthen the apex

 

HP3

Mission accomplished

 

HPOT1CU

Another ornate pot

 

HP2

Pines seem to be Haruyosi's favorites

 

HPTRIMMED

The trunk speaks of age on this one. You might notice that some fairly significant branches have been removed
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Pots, Pines & Other Small Bonsai

hpmain

Haruyosi Shohin pine with a twist

Continuing with yesterday’s small bonsai theme… Today it’s our old friend Haruyosi, a highly accomplished and prolific small bonsai and small pot artist. None of today’s photos have been shown here before. If you want more, you can enjoy a wealth of great photos on  Haruyosi’s fb site and here on Bonsai Bark as well

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hcracu

No identification is provided, but this one looks like a Crabapple

 

HP6

You can see clearly that this is a two needle pine. Both Japanese black pines and Japanese red pines (Pinus densiflora) have two needles per fascicle, but black pines are much more popular, so that would my guess

 

HPOT4

Haruyosi makes his own pots

 

HP5

You don't see small pines with this much character every day. As you can see, the needles have just been thinned, but it looks like more need to come off

 

HSHIM3

Twisted. Looks like a little Shimpaku

 

HPOT2

Apologies for the fuzz. I cropped the original for a closer look at the details

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Small Bonsai Are Still Beautiful Bonsai

berries

This little deciduous tree with its profusion of small orange fruit isn't identified, so we can only guess. Based on the fruit and the bark we'll try Crabapple. If we're wrong and you know what it is (or think you do) you can put it in the comments on our timeline.

Short trees and short time today, which is why we’ll take that easy way out and bring back a favorite from our archives. This one originally appeared almost exactly one year ago (Dec 5th, 2017). I’ve long had a soft spot for Shohin bonsai and these are some of my favorites
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JBeautyBerry33rdTaikan-ten

We don't have to guess this time. Here's the caption... "Japanese Beautyberry on display at the 33rd Taikan-ten in Kyoto, Japan."

haru

Here's one that is attributed to the artist. It's a Juniper by Haruyoshi, who happens to be one of our favorites. So much so, that I'm sure we've shown this very tree. Maybe even more than once.


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pyrac

Piled up Pyracantha (Firethorn)

blackpine

This burly little beast is a Japanese black pine

five5needle?

Japanese white pine

BlackPine at Taisho-en

This tiny one says "BlackPine-at-Taisho-en"

gardenia2

Can't tell if this Gardenia qualifies as a Shohin (no dimensions given) but either way it's great tree in a sweet little pot. Nice stand too

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Two More Trees – Bonsai Tool Special Ends Tonight

db3cu2

No identification is given with this tree, but it looks like it could be a Yew (Taxus)

Continuing with two more of David Benavente’s bonsai that are featured on a  fb site called Una siesta in el nebari (A nap in the nebari)

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db321

The uncropped original of the tree above

 

db1cu

Another yew?

 

db1

Another uncropped original

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A Nap in the Nebari

db2

As you can see, this muscular bonsai belongs to David Benavente, one of Europe's best know bonsai artists. The tree isn't identified on our source, but it looks a lot like a Japanese white pine

Today we’ve got a quick study of two David Benavente’s pines. We’ve long been impressed with David’s bonsai and have featured them many times here on Bonsai Bark. I found these photos on a fb page titled Una siesta in el nebari (A nap in the nebari)
Continued below…

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db2cu

Few things lend as much age (or impression of age) as well developed bark. And it's an honest, hard to fake impression; bark is only looks old when it is old. Nebari is another feature the adds to this impression, and though this nebari isn't overwhelming, it's pretty good for a pine

Continued from above…
We’ll allow for poetic license when it comes to the title, A nap in the nebari.  And just in case you aren’t familiar, Nebari is a Japanese word that refers to the base of a bonsai trunk, where exposed surface roots flare out. Both trees shown here have somewhat modest nebari, which is to be expected with pines (unlike some maples for example, which can have very dramatic nebari)

db4Another muscular pine that also looks like a Japanese white

 

db4cu

Given the impressive bark, there's no denying the age on this tree. And like the tree above, it has a well developed nebari (for a pine, at least)

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