One Scots pine, four pots. Do you have a favorite?
We found these images on the National Bonsai Foundations facebook feed. They originated with Boon Manakitivipart (Bonsai Boon). Over the years Boon has put up several ‘which pot do you prefer’ posts, some of which have appeared here on Bark along with numerous other posts featuring Boon’s Bonsai.
So, without further ado, which pot do you prefer? If you’re ambitious you might tell us why.
Pot number 1
Pot number 2
Pot number 3
Pot number 4
Here’s what our friend Michael Hagedorn has to say about this lovely Japanese maple: “This maple in Shinji Suzuki’s tokonoma is in a pot typical of this kind of tree. It works better aesthetically, in two ways. A shallow pot will make the nebari continue spreading, and the delicacy of the trunks is enhanced by a shallower pot. But a maple is also a tree that appreciates water. And a shallow pot will retain more moisture than a deeper one, in a soil-to-soil relative way. It’s a wetter pot.” All the photos in this post are from Crataegus Bonsai.
Rain last night instead of snow, a sure sign that spring might come after all; even for us poor souls who happen to be stuck in the far north. A little late this year due to a winter straight from some cold hell, but I’m betting that it will come and that bonsai potting season is about to break out. So I’ve decided to revisit a transplanting post from last year (edited a little). It’s a good one, thanks to the bonsai wisdom of Michael Hagedorn.
We’ve been talking about basics a lot lately. Specifically watering, fertilizing and bonsai soil. Might as well get into transplanting while we’re at it.
A good place to start is with an article by Michael Hagedorn (Crataegus Bonsai) about pot depth for various type trees. You don’t see much on this topic, but it turns out to be critical when it comes to plant health. BTW: Michael is a real bonsai pro and a very good writer and his article bears that out. I won’t say much more except to quote just a bit from Michael and encourage you to visit Crataegus Bonsai.
“Many trees like their roots far away from anything saturated, which is the bottom of the pot. Two in particular, pines and azaleas. And in muddling about the Western bonsai world I’ve been haunted by the number of pines planted in very shallow containers. “ To dig a little deeper, visit Crataegus Bonsai.
This White pine is ready for Shinji Suzuki’s inspection and then Kokufu (Suzuki was Michael’s teacher, lord and ruler during his apprenticeship in Japan). This photo is from the previous Crataegus post titled Kokufu, Matt Reel, Snow. Notice that the pot is suitably deep for a pine.
Michael remembering his apprentice days. “You can certainly plant your pine in a shallow pot (loud thwack of a chopstick on my fingers), but consider mounding it.”
Still the best bonsai read in the English language.
Available at Stone Lantern
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Whoa! I am floored. Have you ever seen a bonsai feature more dynamic and powerful than this tree’s massive deadwood swirl? If so, please send a photo. The tree is one of many large bonsai from the private collection of Frank Bardella that were delivered to the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt in Oakland, California. The image is from Golden Statement Magazine’s facebook photos.
If you love bonsai but don’t know Golden Statements Magazine, it’s time to get acquainted. I won’t say much more, except that Golden Statements has been around for a long time (it must have been one of the first bonsai magazines outside of Asia), as has bonsai in the Golden State (there’s a whole story here, but we’ll save it for another time) and that you might want to take a close look at the photos in this post; they’re just the tip, but they should give you a pretty good idea of the quality of the magazine (sorry about the brutal run-on, parenthetical sentence – any pro-bono editors out there?). You might even want to subscribe and that would be a good thing.
Golden Statements magazine is published by the Golden State Bonsai Federation.
Another great cover. This time it’s a Sierra Juniper from the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society‘s 31st Annual Bonsai Show (2014). No artist’s or owner’s name given.
This Coastal Redwood bonsai (Sequoia sempervirens) was shown at the 31st Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS) annual show on 23 and 24 August 2014. You can see more photos of redwoods in the Nov/Dec 2014 issue of Golden Statements Magazine. No artist’s name was given on facebook.
This delicious pine is one of dozens of great trees you’ll find at Golden Statements (facebook again). There’s no caption to tell us who the artist is or the type tree, but based on the strong trunk, heavily plated bark and long luminous candles, I’m guessing it’s a Japanese black pine.
Mark you calendar. Here’s a link to the email address above.
Looking forward. The cover of the Spring issue. The quarterly magazine is full of bonsai stories, regular columns, and upcoming activities. And it’s not too late to subscribe for 2015.
Backcountry Bonsai doesn’t show any Ponderosa bonsai, so we borrowed this yamadori Ponderosa pine from Ryan Neil’s Mirai, American Bonsai. There are signs of what some people might call corking (see the close up at the bottom of the post), but I don’t think Back Country Bonsai would qualify it as a cork bark Ponderosa.
I just stumbled across a new Backcountry Bonsai post and, in addition to getting all excited about rediscovering Steve and Dan’s excellent blog (here’s the original discovery), I learned something new. Namely that there is such a thing as a Cork bark Ponderosa pine.
Here’s a quote from Backcountry Bonsai. “One could easily be fooled into thinking they had found a cork ponderosa as many can have very impressive bark. But just because there is a lot of great bark doesn’t make it a cork-bark….” Steve and Dan have a lot more to say about Ponderosas (Cork bark and otherwise) and collecting in general, but rather than trying to steal their thunder, I’ll just encourage you to visit Backcountry Bonsai.
This Backcountry Bonsai photo of a wild uncollected Ponderosa pine shows what real cork bark looks like. There’s even a very prominent wing sticking out on the left (opposite the hand). A sure sign of a cork bark.
A little closer. Speaking of wings, take a look at the branch on the upper left.
Even this small branch shows corking.
This wild Ponderosa doesn’t have anything to with cork bark, but I wanted to share this quote about collecting (and not collecting) from Backcountry. “Speaking of un-collectible trees… Here’s another one I stumbled upon this spring. What an impressive tree! But please, if you find a tree like this that does not promise collection with a viable root mass, don’t collect it! Don’t let greed win over reason and ethics. One of the things I love most about the bonsai community is our respect for awesome trees. We have a responsibility to conservation, just as much as anyone else.”
You can see the way the bark is layering at the base of the trunk in this closeup of the tree at the top of this post but I’m not so sure Steve and Dan would call this corking (see the quote above). Still, of all the Ponderosas on Mirai Bonsai, this one has the thickest and most impressive bark.
Speaking of Ryan Neil’s Mirai, American Bonsai, it’s time to remind you once again of the upcoming Artisans Cup Bonsai Exhibition in Portland, Oregon this fall. Given what we know so far, I think this promises to be a seminal North American bonsai event.
The Ponderosa shown on the cover of Larry Jackel’s excellent book has the reddish bark you find on so many Ponderosas. Available at Stone Lantern.
A few stills captured from Capital Bonsai’s video on grafting that features Ryan Neil owner of Mirai American Bonsai and major player in this fall’s Artisans Cup bonsai exhibition in Portland, Oregon.
I’m out of town visiting friends for the weekend, so to spare me putting together a new post, we’ll jump into our time machine this morning. All the way back to November, 2012. We could just forgo a post today and no one would complain, but I wanted to remind you that our Stone Lantern FREE bonsai wire offering ends tonight at 11:59pm EDT (Just write FREE in the comments when you order – see below for details).
Note from the present: Capital Bonsai blog (next paragraph) has been dormant since Aarin Packard moved from the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum to the Pacific Bonsai Museum (we just posted something from the Pacific Bonsai Museum couple days ago). However, you can still visit Capital Bonsai and enjoy its rich cornucopia of bonsai wisdom.
Now for the original post:
Capital Bonsai (the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum‘s excellent blog) is at it again. This time it’s an outstanding video on grafting featuring Ryan Neil of International Bonsai Mirai.
Fall versus spring grafting. Here’s what Ryan has to say about fall versus spring grafting (loosely paraphrased): Grafting in the fall is more successful than in the spring if you can provide winter protection from freezing. If you graft in spring you have to protect from sun and wind. In the fall you have to protect from freezing.
The right tool for the job. A quality grafting knife is essential for quality grafts.
This compelling photo of suiseki at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum is from Capital Bonsai.
Here’s an opportunity to do something that will have a long-lasting positive effect on our world (I don’t think this Campaign is current, but the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum accepts contributions year round).
A word from our sponsor…
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Selecting a lead tree isn’t always easy. Especially with so many good Gede Merta (Bonsai Bali) bonsai to choose from. I settled on this one partly because it’s a full cascade and good full cascade bonsai aren’t that common, and partly because of the tree’s overall relaxed feel; the unusual way the foliage seems draped across the top and just how loose all the foliage hangs. Not to say that its wild shape and extraordinary deadwood aren’t enough to make this tree worthy. But then most of Gede Merte’s bonsai show wild shapes and extraordinary deadwood. The tree is Pemphis acidula. A very common plant in Indonesia.
Usually when we think of Asian bonsai, Japan and China come to mind. However, if you’ve been paying attention you can’t help but notice that something is afoot is Southeast Asia. In this case it’s Indonesia, which to my eye is leading a revolution in certain wild styles of collected Tropical bonsai. And one of the undisputed leaders in this revolution is Gede merta (Bonsai Bali). All the trees in this post are his (from facebook). About three years ago, we caught on to Gede Merta and have featured his bonsai several times here on Bark.
Another extraordinary Pemphis acidula.
And yet another. Gede Merta’s caption says ‘theme: bird.’
This makes four Pemphis acidula in a row. The theme is ‘dance.’
Aha. A non-Phempis. The caption says Hokian tea. A more common name might be Fukien tea.
Finally, another Pemphis acidula. The theme is ‘People.’ Is this because we grow up the first part of our life and then down after that? Or am I missing something?
There’s a story behind this delightfully complex Suiseki for those of you who know how read such things. The photo is from the Pacific Bonsai Museum’s website. It’s there to tell you about an event that starts tomorrow (see just below).
The following was lifted from the Pacific Bonsai Museum’s website:
“Viewing Stones from Members of the Puget Sound Bonsai Association Suiseki Interest Group. April 3 – May 4, 2015
“Viewing stones, or suiseki as they are called in Japanese, are naturally formed stones valued for their beauty and ability to represent a scene from nature. This includes anything from mountains and islands to animals and plants. Believed to have originated in China two thousand years ago, the ancient art form was introduced to Japan in the sixth century A.D. and has been practiced ever since. When paired with bonsai each enhances the qualities of the other and creates a scene that would be found in nature. Come experience this unique art form and find beauty in the unexpected!”
This Domoto Trident maple bonsai has nothing to do with Suiseki, but it is from the Pacific Bonsai Museum and its story is truly fascinating (it survived Mr Domoto’s WW2 interment among other things). Though you can’t tell from this photo, one thing that stands out about this old tree is just how huge it is (see just below).
Toichi Domoto and the trident maple
Bonsai with Suiseki from 2nd Mini-bonsai Exhibition at the Changzhou Qinxin Garden in China. Photo by Morten Albek. From a Bark post last November.
Another example of bonsai with Suiseki. I’m not sure, but I think this photo was also taken by Morten Albek, but I can’t find where it’s from.
The definitive book on Suiseki with bonsai. On special at Stone Lantern
Your bonsai may never look like this, but they can be this healthy. It’s a Chinese Quince (Pseudocydonia sinensis) from this year’s Kokufu Exhibition. I picked it for a couple of reasons. First it shows early spring leaves (forced for the mid-winter Exhibition) and for some of us it’s early spring now. Second, this post is about fertilizing, and this tree is from Japan where bonsai growers know the value of timely fertilizing.
It’s archive time again. The tree above appeared here on Bark a couple months ago. Most of the rest of what you see here is from an old Bark post (March 2010) titled Feed Your Bonsai (Note: after I was thoroughly committed to this post I noticed that this is not the first time we’ve reposted it – oh well, there is some value added).
This magnificently robust Willow leaf ficus (Ficus nerifolia) is by Jim Smith of Dura-Stone in Vero Beach Florida. The photo is from Bonsai Today, issue 61 and was taken by Jim.
Your bonsai depend on you
Bonsai do not survive on water, light, and love alone. Because most bonsai soil has very low nutritive value (if any), your bonsai depend on you for feeding.
Feed generously
Feed generously if you want your bonsai to thrive (this is especially true of younger trees where rapid growth is desirable – see just below). The best way to do this is frequent moderate doses during the growing season. This is especially true if you use liquid fertilizer. With pellets and cakes, how often you apply them depends on how they break down (more on this below).
Note: What follows (in italics) is a part of a post by Michael Hagedorn (on his famous Crataegus Bonsai blog) that we originally posted last spring.
“For fertilizing bonsai, we can make this one basic distinction: Begin fertilizing a young, unrefined tree when it begins growing early in the spring. Wait a bit with an older, refined tree—usually begin fertilizing when it’s just hardening off it’s spring growth…
Quiz: If we were to fertilize everything the same, strongly, starting early in the year, what would happen?
The young trees would stay forever young
The old, developed trees would become young again.”
The perils of not feeding enough
Most people underfeed their bonsai. This may be because they want them to stay small, so they don’t feed much, if at all. What you end up with if you don’t feed enough, may or may not be small, but it will be unhealthy.
Healthy trees
Healthy trees take better to the deprivations of small container growing and other insults like severe top pruning, bending, carving and rootpruning. So make sure your bonsai get the nutrition they need, especially during the peak growing season from spring through mid summer.
When you use pellets or other solid fertilizers, each time you water, nutrients are washed down into the soil. Illustrations are from our Juniper book (out of print but due back in the fall).
Organic fertilizers
Many bonsai enthusiasts and professionals swear by slow release organic pellets and cakes. Japanese bonsai growers have been using them for a very long time with excellent results. Some people supplement with liquid fertilizer. There are benefits to using more than one type of fertilizer, as each type has its strengths. There’s a lot more that can be said about organic vs non-organic and the use of liquid fertilizers, but we’ll save that for another time.
Most pellets and cakes and other organic fertilizers (for example liquid fish) are mild (have fairly low N-P-Ks) and tend to have a broad spectrum of macro and micro nutrients.
When trees are in the pot for a long time, the roots spread to the edge of the pot, so you want to place the fertilizer near the edge; the fine feeder roots that absorb water and nutrients are mostly at the outer reaches of the root system. These fertilizer balls (or cakes) are large, so not too many are needed. If use pellets, then you need more. In my experience, most people sprinkle the pellets over the entire soil surface, not just the edges. Still to encourage roots to grow out, the edges are important.
Pellets and cakes
Perhaps the best way to fertilize is with pellets, cakes or other solid forms that break down over a period of several weeks. This provides a slow steady supply of nutrients as the cakes or pellets break down. Having said this, plenty of people get good results with liquid fertilizers. Others combine solid fertilizers and liquids.
After transplanting it’s good to place the cakes (or pellets) halfway between the trunk and edge of the pot as the freshly pruned roots will not reach the edge for a while.
Add new pellets regularly
If you are using pellets which break down faster than the larger cakes, you can add a few pellets every week or so during the growing season. This will assure that some are at their nutrient-releasing peak at all times (this is how I fertilize with Green Dream pellets, even though Colin Lewis – Mr Green Dream – says that the pellets break down in a way that provides a steady stream of nutrients if you only apply them a few times during the growing season).
On forest style plantings, spread the cakes or pellets around so that each trunk gets its share. Be sure to put some on the inside of the forest.
There is so much more that can be said about fertilizing and fertilizers, so we’ll just consider this a good start. Meanwhile you can find more information online or in bonsai books. Though you need to stay alert. Misinformation is easily as common as good information.
Harry has outdone himself this time.
Harry Harrington has been styling and posting Privet bonsai for a long time. To my eye, Harry’s previous Privets (two below) have been very good, but now he has outdone himself (as witnessed by the tree above and the closeup just below).
It’s not just Privets for Harry; his website Bonsai4me presents a whole range of excellent bonsai (and plenty of educational writing as well), but his Privets stand out for a couple reasons: first, they are good and getting better, and second, Privet is an excellent candidate for bonsai that is widely underused (if you can say such a thing); they are strong growers, take very well to pruning (hedges you know) and can be quite striking. And they are all over Europe and America (I’m not sure about the rest of the world). Just waiting there for you in millions of hedges (and hedgerows, see just below).
There is a bit of a mystery about some of Harry’s Privets. How did he find ones with such massive trunks? In all my years as a gardener and plant lover, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any Privet trunks nearly as large as two of the three shown here. Oh, it just dawned. In England there are no doubt hedgerows (as distinguished from domestic hedges) containing Privets that have been growing wild and unimpeded for hundreds of years.
All the photos in this post were borrowed from Harry Harrington. For more Privets and other bonsai you can visit Harry on facebook and his website Bonsai4me.
We first showed this raft style Privet back in 2011. We found it at Bonsai4me. Harry originally found it in a hedge.
Here’s another of Harry’s collected (from a hedgerow this time) Privet bonsai that we’ve featured here on Bark (2013). If you slow down for just a second, you can’t but notice the pot. It’s by Victor Harris.
After. This Bougainvillea is a uniquely compelling bonsai with or without flowers. Still, it would be nice to see it in full bloom, We’ll keep our eyes open and let you know. All the trees and the photos in this post belong to Suthin Sukosolvisit.
Just the other day I wrote that Suthin Sukosolvisit is one of the great American bonsai artists. We could amend that to one of the world’s great bonsai artists. This post and all our numerous other posts featuring Suthin’s bonsai help support this contention. Further support can be found by visiting Suthin on facebook and his website.
Before. Could this be the same Bougainvillea? This photo and the one above are from facebook.
A powerful, freshly defoliated Willow leaf ficus. Over the years I can’t help but notice how much Suthin favors Willow leaf ficus (other trees to be sure but Willow leafs are a consistent theme). This photo is from facebook.
Great tree, nice apple.
Futher Willow leaf ficus evidence. The photo (by Joe Noga) is from Suthin’s website.
Suthin may be best known for his Shohin bonsai displays. BTW, that’s another Willow leaf ficus bottom left. Like the photo just above, this photo is also from Suthin’s website and was also taken by Joe Noga.
Speaking of Shohin bonsai, this is the only book in English (that I know of) that explores Shohin and only Shohin. And speaking of bonsai books, today is the last day of our 25% off Book Sale (that’s 25% off already discounted prices).