The King of Bonsai

Full cascade Japanese black pine (Pinus thumbergii). Japanese for Black pine is Kuromatsu (kuro is black and matsu is pine).

Japanese black pines are sometimes referred to a the king of bonsai. This may be in part due to their natural strength; they tend to have powerful trunks and thick lush foliage. Rugged bark doesn’t hurt either. King or not, the best of the black pines are undeniably among the most powerful bonsai in the world.

All the photos shown here are from the 89th Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition that took place February 2015 in Tokyo. We found them at Michael Bonsai.

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Is this Black pine or a semi-cascade or full-cascade? What distinguishes full from semi-cascade, is full cascades reach below the bottom of the pot. In the case the lowest point is just barely below the bottom of the pot.

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Short, squat and powerful. Is that a trunk or a massive hunk of living wood with bark and branches?

Another powerful trunk, though this one has bit more of a trunk-like form. And then there are those prized deep furrows.

Another massive, strangely shaped trunk. Do you think the pot a bit too big for the tree?

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Spinning Through the Seasons with a Magnificent Maple

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Even though Sergio Cuan (the artist behind this magnificent tree), wrote that "out of the group, the two photos of the tree leafless are probably the most interesting and show off the tree at its best," still, I couldn't resist leading with this full-fall-splendor photo (it's about grabbing your attention). The tree is a Sharps pygmy Japanese maple. You may have seen it at the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition (or in the Exhibition Album) where it was the winner of the Finest Deciduous Bonsai award.

The still shots you see here are of Sergio Cuan’s now famous Sharps pygmy Japanese maple from September to early November, 2014. By themselves they make for an excellent post and I’m delighted to share them.

However, if you’d like to see something that’s goes beyond our usual bonsai fare, ~~Sergio has~~ (see NOTE below) Sergio and Max have created a 360 spinning progression. I highly recommend you treat yourself to a look. It’s a click well worth making.

By the way, thanks to Max Barros for suggesting I take a look at what Sergio is up to, and for putting us in contact.

NOTE from later the same day: Just got this from Sergio: “I wanted to make a quick note that the actual movie was done in collaboration with Max Barros. He actually put all my photos together to create the virtual. Not sure, if there is a chance somewhere but I’d love for him to also get credit.”

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Here's one of the early winter shots Sergio is talking about.

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Late summer.

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The other winter shot.

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Though this post is about a deciduous bonsai and copper wire is commonly used on conifers, still, I can’t resist telling you about our new annealed copper wire. It’s made right here in the U.S. and it’s on an introductory special for only 19.95 for 1 lb coils.

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Copper Wire & Bonsai Books

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This luscious Satsuki azalea is one of a multitude of remarkable bonsai photos from the very aptly named, Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature.

This post, which happens to be a near perfect way to roll out a new book sale, is borrowed from February of this year.

There’s a theme to this large gallery and a method to our madness. Most of the photos are from bonsai books that we sell and all our books are currently 25% off (plus and additional 10% orders 100.00 or more). Gardening books are also 25% off.

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You can find this somewhat unruly and very distinctive apple bonsai on the back cover of Nick Lenz’ landmark book on collecting, Bonsai from the Wild.

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Windswept Japanese white pine tray planting from Zhao Qingquan's remarkable book, Penjing, the Chinese Art of Bonsai. In this case, I think the wind is a gentle but persistent on-shore breeze.

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After. Finished for the moment. The challenge was for Masahiko Kimura to style a bunjin (literati) bonsai with only one branch. It’s a Japanese red pine from our Masters’ Series The Magician, the Bonsai Art of Kimura 2.

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Time to repot. Morten Albek intentionally broke the pot to show this Cork bark Japanese black pine’s dense root mass. From Morten’s book, Shohin Bonsai, Majesty in Miniature.

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The cover tree for Botany for Bonsai. It’s a collected Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans) that belongs to Enrique Castaño, who happens to be the author of Botany for Bonsai and the winner of the 2010 John Y. Naka award (for this tree). BTW: it looks a lot like what is usually called Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus) in Florida and sometimes called Button Mangrove (just to thicken the plot).

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Norway spruce (Picea abies) by Francois Jeker. From the first volume of his two essential books on Bonsai Aesthetics.

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A piece of the cover of Michael Hagedorn's delightfully readable Post-Dated: The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk.

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The tree is an old Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) from the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. It’s one of 248 fine bonsai that are featured in the 3rd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album.

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My guess is that this is one of the very best and most famous full cascade bonsai in the world. It's from the Black pine gallery in our Masters’ Series Pine Book.

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Playfully sitting bonsai from Kenji Kobayashi's Keshiki Bonsai.

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And just in case you are wondering; yes, we do offer a whole range of Japanese garden books and some others as well.

Visit Stone Lantern and enjoy 25% off all of our already discounted books. Plus 10% off orders 100.00 or more.

Copper Bonsai Wire is back….

While we're at it, annealed copper bonsai wire is back and on special for only 19.95 for 1 lb (.454 kg) rolls. This time it's made right here in the U.S. The photo above is from Bonsai Today issue 1 (English language rights owned by Bonsai Focus)

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Caught in the Act

Caught in the act of flowering. This ubiquitous little Hawthorn belongs to Morten Albek, shohin bonsai artist, author and teacher. The display appeared during a visit to Denmark by Tomohiro Masumi.

Still out of the office. This one originally appeared in 2011. It was titled ‘Small Is Beautiful.’

Tomohiro Masumi, Morten Albek & Shohin bonsai
Rather than bore you with my take on things, I’ll just post a few photos I think you might appreciate. If you want more (photos and information), you can visit Morten’s facebook post on Tomohiro Masumi’s visit to Denmark, or you can go directly to Morten’s website. If you’d like to dig deeper, you can also visit Tomohiro’s website. And then there’s always Morten’s famous Shohin book.

Though I couldn't find this on Morten's site, I'm guessing it's his, given that it has his look and there's other circumstantial evidence. I'm also guessing that it's a Crimson barberry.

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Morten's classic Shohin Bonsai book. Published by Stone Lantern and still in print. You might also notice the stainless satsuki shears. A reminder that today is the last day of our Roshi Bonsai Tool Sale. 30% off (plus an extra 10% for orders 100.00 or more).

A close up of the sweet little companion that appears above (and below).

The whole display. When it comes to showtime, shohin bonsai is all about display. Morten goes into the topic in great depth in his book.

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Masterpiece Shohin & Mame Bonsai

There are few things more delicate and beautiful than fresh spring Maple leaves (Trident maple in this case). This exquisite tree and exquisite pot are perfect expressions of the artistry of Haruyoshi.

Still out of the office (working at my unpaid job through the weekend) so we’ll continue borrowing from our illustrious past. This one is from April of last year.

I won’t bore you, except to say that Haruyosi does a couple things that set him apart. First, he puts up a very large number of masterpiece shohin and mame bonsai and pots; and second, he puts up a lot of photos that reveal the process. For both trees and pots.

Red on red. In a previous Haruyosi post (Very Red and Very Rare), we mentioned that red glazes are expensive and not that easy to do. Apparently, neither the cost nor difficultly deter Mr Haruyoshi. The tree is an Elaeagnus pungens (Siverthorn in English, Kangumi in Japanese).

More delicate spring beauty. This time the pot is yellow. It turns out that, like red pots, yellow pots aren't all that common. The tree is Malus halliana (Hall's crapapple).

This luscious little Japanese quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) looks old and yet is so small. As is the sweet little pot (small, not necessarily old). I know I've mentioned this before, but there's something about the brilliance and purity of quince flowers.

Just another Haruyosi masterpiece pot. Red and yellow together, but I guess you probably noticed.

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Bonsai Pot Master & Fall Potting Season

I don't know who styled this wonderfully crazy azalea (I don't read Japanese) but I do know that Master Potter Gyozan Nakano made the pot.

Still out of the office (working at my unpaid job) so we’ll continue borrowing from our illustrious past. And as long as we’re delving into the archives, why not go all the way back to our first pot post. It’s from July, 2007.

A remarkable book about a remarkable potter
Four years ago (twleve years ago now) I was given a most remarkable book by the World Bonsai Friendship Federation, who received it courtesy of Masahiro Tokuo (President of Kindai Publishing). Since then, it has spent most of its time just sitting on my shelf, though occasionally I thumb through and marvel at the photos (I don’t read Japanese).

The book is about Master Potter Gyozan Nakano and consists mostly of high quality photos of his pots. Most pots stand alone, but some are holding great bonsai or companion plants. I wish I could show you the whole book, but I can’t, so we’ll settle for a few photos.

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It’s fall potting season and even though the pots below are not Master Nakano’s, they are very good. And very affordable.

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When I chose to resurrect this post at 5am this morning, I had not decided to put pots on sale. But it is fall potting season for many of us, so why not?

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Point Your Car Toward Portland Oregon

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Only Mother Nature. There is no way anyone will ever grow a tree quite like this magnificently wild Rocky Mountain juniper. Taking this a step further, there is almost no way anyone will ever be able to collect and style a tree like this, though there are a handful of people who have the requisite skills and knowledge. In this case, it's a combination of two who share the skills and knowledge: Randy Knight found it, collected it and made sure it survived the trauma, and Ryan Neil styled it, potted it and currently keeps it alive and well at his Bonsai Mirai.

I’m out of the office until Monday, so we’ll resort to reruns once again. In case it’s a very timely rerun (from January this year).

It’s not too late to get yourself to Portland for the Artisans Cup. If you live within a day or two, all you have to do is get in your car and point towards Portland. If you have to fly, this time of year shouldn’t be bad for last minute tickets and off season lodging should be okay too.

When you visit Portland Oregon (for the Artisans Cup at the Portland Art Museum, Sept 26-28), be sure to sign up for a Portland Bonsai Village tour. Portland is a lot about the future (and present) of American bonsai and the Bonsai Village is a big part of that.

Though I’m sure you can find other reasons, when it comes to bonsai, two things about the Portland area stand out: a number of Americans who apprenticed in Japan have settled (or plan on settling) in the Portland area (thus the Bonsai Village), and the Willamette Valley is perhaps the prime North American growing area for temperate zone plants (most of the world’s greatest bonsai are temperate zone trees; though our friends who live in the tropics might take issue).

All the trees in this post are from Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai (Ryan is the main inspiration and organizer of the Cup), the home of what must be the best collections of North American yamadori bonsai in the world (yamadori are trees collected from the wild).

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If you took away the little deadwood hook on the right, this Sierra juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) would still be spectacular. With the hook, it's tree you'll never forget.

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Ryan calls this a Colorado spruce (Picea pungens). You might know it as a Colorado blue spruce, or simply Blue spruce (even though this one is clearly green).

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One fairly common yamadori feature is the unpredictable relationship of the roots to the trunk (and the rest of the tree). This can make potting a real challenge, with some pretty strange and often spectacular results. The tree is a Limber pine. Is that a dowel or rebar sticking up?

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This California juniper reminds me of any number of Japanese Shimpaku yamadori. Compared to the other trees shown here, it's quite staid and sober looking. But only compared the others.

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See you there! September 26-28.

It’s hard to style quality trees without quality tools.
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The Dark Horse

What a great photo. It helps to have such an excellent subject for sure (Japanese black pine). It's from post titled 'The Dark Horse' on the Bjorvala Bonsai Studio blog. The full tree and pot are shown below.

Getting ready for a few days out of the office (my other job) so it’s a good time to dig back into our archives. This one originally appeared in 2013. It was titled ‘Drifting a Little Farther Afield.’

There’s really not much of theme going on with this post, other than a digital tour of some bonsai blogs/websites. So we’ll leave it at that… except to say that we’re going a little farther afield than we usually do.

I have a soft spot for hand painted bonsai pots. This one is from the 'for sale' section of Ryan Bell's Japanese Bonsai Pots Blog. Here's the caption: "Echizen Hosui 5-color painted pot, with original Turmeric cloth stamped by artist. 5.6" by 4" by 1.6". SOLD!" (too bad about the sold part). When you see just how small the pot is, the painting is that much more amazing.

Sierra juniper by Boon. We featured one of Boon's Sierra junipers (J. occidenatalis) on the cover of our very last issue of Bonsai Today (issue 108, back in 2007). Boon calls this one Kirin.

I don’t know if you are interested, but, in addition to being a Japanese beer… “The Kirin is a legendary Asian creature similar to the Western unicorn. It is said to look like a horse, with the tail of a lion and golden scales on its body. It has golden fiery manes and a head looking like a cross between horse and dragon. It has a single horn on its forehead in most depictions (courtesy of Anwers). Can you see it?

I can't be sure if this is a Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) or an Arborvitae (Thuja, aka Cedar). There are plentiful varieties of each, and sometimes they look quite similar. If it's a Hinoki, I don't think I've ever seen one that's raft-style. Actually, the same goes if it's a Cedar. Whatever it is, it was one of the trees shown at the 2013 Swindon Winter Image Show (in the U.K.). I found it on the Bonsai-Passion blog.

To my somewhat unsophisticated eyes, this is a truly remarkable stone. Though we almost never show Suiseki and Gongshi (Japanese and Chinese for viewing stones) on Bark, we used to feature them in Bonsai Today now and then. As you probably know, there is a bonsai tie-in with suiseki, especially when it comes to display. In fact, this one is from a fall Tokonoma display at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. It was featured on Capital Bonsai way back in 2012. Their caption reads: "This close-up view of the stone shows the various mineral deposits within the stones matrix."

Here's the whole Dark Horse from the top of the post.

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A Post Dated Love Letter

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We've featured this famous Hiroshima Japanese white pine before, but it's never looked quite like this. The highlighted foliage takes on a life of its own, like wild junipers on a mountainside. This photo is one of many unusual and beautiful shots taken at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum by Stephen Voss.

Yesterday it was a video to promote Stephen Voss’ Kickstarter campaign for his upcoming book (if enough of us chip in it’s a sure thing). Today it’s just a few of Stephen’s stark yet rich and evocative stills from the U.S. Bonsai & Penjing Museum. Enjoy!

The title of this post, A Post Dated Love Letter* is a quote from Stephen’s In Training video.

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Aged deadwood and some robust living veins on a California juniper

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A towering Bald cypress in the winter

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California juniper

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Chinese quince

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*Post Dated has nothing to do (beyond serendipity) with Michael Hagedorn’s famous book, though Michael did write a very positive review of Stephen’s In Training video and his Kickstarter campaign

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Bonsai In Training

This 'great and beautiful' video by Stephen Vos is a must watch for any serious bonsai artist or enthusiast.

Stephen Voss’ video speaks for itself, so normally we would leave it at that. However, we almost never miss a chance to quote the informed and always skillfully written words of our friend Michael Hagedorn (the Bonsai Village guy and superb American bonsai artist, teacher and author).

In Michael’s own words:
“My friend Stephen Voss has embarked on a great and beautiful project, a book of fine art photographs of bonsai. He’s running a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the book, and he’s got a really great video on it that has so much more in it than simply trying to give birth to a book. It’s a video that quietly teaches. Please take a moment to see it, and if you feel so moved, contribute to his efforts to bring us another book into the bonsai library.
Stephen generously donated several of his prints to our Portland Bonsai Village Indiegogo campaign, and helped make it a grand success. Let’s do the same for him.”

Coming soon… Stay posted for some still photos by Stephen.

We have extended our 25% off Bonsai Tool & Garden Tool Sales until 11:59pm EDT tonight. Ending sales in the middle of our Labor Day holiday weekend just didn’t make sense.

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