Running Out Of Superlatives

I’m running out of superlatives. How about ‘somewhere north of magnificent.’ My only question is; could the pot be a little bigger? By Hsieh, Shun-Chin.

One of the problems with reheating old posts (like this one from three years ago: What’s with Taiwan? Min Hsuan Lo and Friends) is some of my writing then seems a little cringe worthy now. To me at least. So you’ll forgive me if I’ve done a little editing (like the previous post, let’s just call it value added).

I picked this one to resurrect for a couple reasons. First, are the trees which are in no way cringe worthy. Particularly the one at the top (taking nothing away from the other two) which has to be one of the best Ficus bonsai on the planet. Which bring us to the second reason; our last post featured Ficus, so in the name of continuity…

Look out for Taiwan
A friend of mine who is a computer engineer and often works in Taiwan with Taiwanese engineers, says that they are poised to rule the world (just a little hyperbole). That many of them are brilliant, fearless and wildly creative in an unconventional kind of way (some of the English names the younger engineers have given themselves are Zinc, Purple, Pedro, Comet… you get the drift).

Bonsai too
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 (to which the three in this post readily attest).

 

A little change of pace. The tree on the right (Hibiscus tiliaceus*) 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 and color. From the 2008 Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibition. *I originally identified the Hibiscus as Elaeagnus Pungens, until our old friend Jose Luis set me straight.


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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Bonsai on the Menu with Just a Little Value Added

This powerfully built gem is from Ficus, the Exotic Bonsai by Jerry Meislik.

Cattle cars with wings
I’m headed out again. Tomorrow will be another day spent in an airborne cattle car. Then Thanksgiving with family. I know there are many people who’d rather the time in the cattle car than time with family, but I’m one of the lucky ones in that regard. I like my family. No know-it-all ramblings or ill-tempered put downs on the menu, though if someone is going to misbehave, it’s more likely me than anyone else (only a little and almost always with a sense of humor).

So, what I’m trying to say is, time is getting a little compressed and I’m up to my old tricks; plundering our archives and recycling yet another post. This one is from almost four years ago, so my best guess is you haven’t seen it anyway and if you have, you’ve forgotten it.

And… as a favor just in case you have seen it (and you remember it), we’ve added a little value. Namely larger photos, and, of a more questionable nature, a few more words by yours truly.

Big ficus fan
If you want to grow bonsai indoors (winter or year round), you’ll be hard pressed to find subjects better suited than ficus, though some varieties are better suited than others. A couple that I’ve had luck with are the Green Island (F. microcarpa) and the Too Little (F. benjamina ‘Too Little’). I’ve also had some luck with the Willow Leaf ficus (F neriifolia – there is some disagreement about the botanical name – here’s a discussion by Robert Kempinski, author of Introduction to Bonsai). If you have any experience with other varieties (successful or otherwise), let us know.

 

A large Willow leaf ficus with some impressive aerial roots from Ficus, the Exotic Bonsai.


A large Benjamina with a well developed nebari by Bradley Barlow.


This simple Willow leaf planting is from a bonsai exhibit on Morikami Museum & Japanese Garden website. Though it’s far from a masterpiece, it does have some charm and is the type of project that almost any beginner might attempt.


The classic for Ficus and other bonsai that are suitable for growing indoors. Available at Stone Lantern. List price 27.95. Now on special for only 19.95.

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Who Doesn’t Love Good Multi-Trunk Bonsai with Their Morning Coffee?

Trident maple at the 2013 Taikan-ten Exhibition which is happening right now (Nov 18-26). 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 (facebook of course).

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, 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 is at least the second time we’ve shown this pine (looks like a Japanese white; Pinus parviflora). It’s from the 2011 Taikan-ten bonsai exhibition. The photo was also borrowed from Empire Bonsai. 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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Rehashing Raw Stock

Robert Steven’s simulation of a tree that was submitted by David Royinsyah (below).

Another broken promise
Even though I promised I wouldn’t do any rehashed posts for a while, my day is already full and it just happens to be my birthday, so I’m going to cut myself a little slack. Anyway, what better to rehash than a Robert Steven critique? This one originally appeared almost three years ago.

Robert’s vision and artistry
This one is quite unusual. The stock is totally raw and not that interesting. Robert simply manufactured all the branching and the foliage from nothing and the trunks have been transformed from taperless sticks to what looks like naturally time-worn wood. He even created a new pot from scratch. Testaments to Robert’s vision and artistry.

 

David’s original provides an usual challenge for Robert.

Robert’s comments

Usually I only critique finished bonsai and not raw material. However, David Royinsyah sent me this photo to challenge me, because I often mention that I believe any material can be made into nice bonsai.

Many people, including David, would consider this poor bonsai material, because the trunk lines are very straight with no taper and nothing seems to be interesting.

I agree that this material can hardly be done into nice bonsai if we are thinking the “textbook” way with the 1-2-3-apex rules. No way to correct the taper and train an ideal apex with the 1-2-3 branching. But once we master the “transformation” concept (read my book Mission of Transformation), then we can easily simulate nature and turn this material into nice bonsai.

In my opinion, this is ideal material for a triple-trunk design. The position and the size of the middle trunk is just perfect for the focal point, and the leaning motion of the front trunk nicely adds dimension to the front. Now, our job is to design the overall composition in a reasonable manner that follows horticultural clues.

To handle the straight clear-cut trunk, let’s assume this tree used to be much taller with tapering trunks, but an accident happened that caused them to be shortened. Then this tree went through a transformation process to form its new shape. To simulate this, I would carve the tops of the trunks and create deadwood down the trunks to suggest the accident and simulate the aging process. At the same time, the shari will lend a tapering illusion. The dead apex and the shari will enhance the story and create beauty.

Thanks to the fact that the tree is a Pemphis, we can easily expect new shoots from almost anywhere on the trunk and rapid growth in the training pot. This allows us to easily train new branches with the ramification shown in the simulation. A handmade pot will suit the design.

General comments
There is more than one way to design any bonsai and my critiques and recommended solutions might not always fit your taste and personal preferences, but I always try to give my opinion based on artistic and horticultural principles.

To understand my concepts better, please read my books Vision of My Soul and Mission of Transformation which are available at Stone Lantern.

You can also visit my bonsai blog.

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Chaos & Harmony

A couple things qualify this bonsai as unusual. First, as you can see, it’s got all kind of lines looping and jutting in an almost chaotic fashion. But there’s a method to the madness. All the loops and juts not only add interest and excitement, but they come together into a very compelling overall shape.
Second is the fact that it’s a Procumbens juniper. A species that you don’t see that often as specimen level bonsai. You do see a lot of dwarf Procumbens as little beginners’ trees here in north America, but that’s another story.

Bjorn Bjorholm is one of several talented Westerners (American in this case) that are currently apprenticing in Japan. We won’t say much more about him than we already have (here, here, here and here), except that the photos you see here present a sampling of some trees that he’s been putting up on facebook (most don’t belong to him, but you might assume he has worked on some of them, if not all of them). The ones I chose are similar in at least on regard; they are all somewhat unusual (a couple may even qualify as eccentric), at least to my eye.

 

I picked this one because it looks like a Tanuki (Phoenix graft), but it’s not (Bjorn is explicate about this). Other than that, it’s a great tree that is distinguished by flowing lines enhanced by the open cascading crown.

 

Speaking of unusual…

 

I like this tree. It’s unlike most bunjin style bonsai with its almost completely straight trunk. But then there’s all that movement in the branches and the curlicued jin at the top. It’s a Japanese red pine from Bjorn’s personal collection.

 

Would you call this tree a bunjin? Whatever you call it, at least two unusual features stand out. There’s that hard-to-miss loop in the middle and then there’s that strange, convention-defying jin that juts out to the right. While we’re on the subject of jins, the little hanging one on the left is just so sweet. Which begs the question…

All of the photos in this post have been borrowed from Bjorn Bjorholm’s facebook photos.

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Pretty Good, But Not Good Enough

Robert Steven’s simulation of a Pemphis acidula that was submitted by Nurul Fajri (the original photo is below).

When I opened my email from Robert Steven and glanced at the before photo (below), I thought it was the after photo. But only for a moment. It’s the pot that gave it away. The rest looked pretty good. Beyond pretty good actually (some of us might trade our entire collections for a tree like this). But not good enough for Robert who always seems to find ways to improve any bonsai (maybe we should challenge him improve a Kimura masterpiece… just for the fun of it).

The photo that Nurul Fajri submitted to Robert.

Robert’s Critique
Pemphis acidula that are collected from nature often have rocks attached. Composing harmonious designs that incorporate these rocks while retaining a tropical look, requires well-developed bonsai sensibilities and skill.

The trunk, the foliage and the pot, which are the basic elements in the design above, look like they are all from different sources and lack unity. The neat round crown suggests a formal tree and does not fit with the casual character of the trunk; it’s apical shape breaks the flow from the trunk to the releasing tip. Also, the pot is too big for the rocky base; its bulky heavy feel distracts from the natural beauty of the tree. Consequently, the overall design lacks harmony and the tree’s dynamic movement is not adequately expressed.

The ideal shape for the crown is irregular. This fits much better with tree’s the casual feel. In order to improve the visual balance, the trunk is leaned slightly to the left. Due to the heavy rock, the best way to minimize the bulky base is to use a shallow hand-made container. Its natural shape also fits well with the other elements. As a result of these changes, a more dynamic and harmonious mood is created.

Robert’s General Comments
There is more than one way to design any bonsai and my critiques and recommended solutions might not always fit your taste and personal preferences, but I always try to give my opinion based on artistic and horticultural principles.

To understand my concepts better, please read my books Vision of My Soul (out of stock for now) and Mission of Transformation which are available at Stone Lantern.

Your are also welcome to visit my facebook pages and my bonsai blog.


Looking forward. Robert helped Nurul Fajri make this background for his display in next year ‘s International Bonsai Art & Culture Biennale 2014.

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Making an Apex Look Like an Apex

After. Compacting the apex of a Japanese white pine. Borrowed without permission from our friend and teacher, Michael Hagedorn (can you really borrow something without permission?). The before photo is below.

It has been a while since we plundered from Crataegus. It’s the before and after apex that caught my attention (the other photos are just for the fun of it). Reason being, that for many of us, figuring out how to make an apex look like an apex is no mean feat. Maybe this will help.

 

A little slice of Crataegus Bonsai. Those doors lead into Michael’s spacious and remarkably clean workshop.

 

We’ve featured this distinctively playful bonsai before, so thought we might as well bring you up to date. While I’m thinking of it, you might notice that there’s no pot. I think Michael likes this no pot idea (there’s another now famous potless bonsai in the photo immediately above).

 

I think it’s safe to say that Michael has a thing for Chojubai quince (just substitute ‘love’ for ‘grow’ in the following quote to get the real picture): “All four reasons we grow Chojubai in one photo—brilliant flowers, checked bark, idiosyncratic branch patterns, and diminutive leaves.”

 

Here’s that before photo I promised you. You can visit Crataegus Bonsai for the detailed in-between wiring shots (speaking of wire…).

Paying the mortgage…. (and just in case you’re wondering, I didn’t set out to do this post so we could advertise these books… just couldn’t pass the opportunity up).

If you’d really like to dig into Japanese pines (white and black) here’s the book for you.

Michael’s Post-Dated. Still the best bonsai read around.

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Invisible (& Visible) Bonsai

Aside from the fact that this is a remarkable bonsai, there’s the play of light and shadow on the wall. Though I didn’t set out to chose photos with shadows, because there are so many great trees to chose from, it seems like a good way to narrow it down a bit. The photo is from Segundo Congreso y Concurso de Bonsai via Bonsai Fachforum.

The remarkable bonsai you see here turned up on Bonsai Fachforum, a German language site that is overflowing with photos of great trees. The Spanish language poster (see below) says Segundo Congreso y Concurso de Bonsai (Second Congress and Bonsai Contest). It took place in Austurias, Spain, less than two weeks ago. Though there is much more that could be said, we won’t bother. We’ll just stimulate your optic nerve with a few photos and let you do the rest.

 

Spain seems to full of outstanding Olive bonsai and this one is no exception (could it be one of Luis Vallejo’s trees?). And then there’s that sly shadow on the wall.

 

We’ve got an added bonus in this photo; a shadow of an invisible tree (Bonsai Factorum has a photo of both trees here). I’m going to guess that the visible tree is one of those powerful English yews that keep popping up on European sites. We’ll leave the invisible tree to you.

 

I guess it makes sense that the deadwood, instead of the live tree, was chosen to be the front. Nice shadow by the way. Is it a Needle juniper?

 

The slick & shiny venue. Bonsai as modern art?


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Capital Color

This Japanese Maple was donated to our National Bonsai and Penjing Museum by Ryutaro Azuma. It has been in training since 1906. The photo, like all but one of the photos in this post, is from Capital Bonsai.

It has been at least a month since the colors peaked here in northern Vermont, but we can imagine that somewhere, where the climate is a little more relaxed, some lucky people can still look out and see trees all ablaze. Perhaps if you live in the D.C. area, where most of these photos are from (via the Capital Bonsai blog), you are still feasting on fall colors.

If you do live in the D.C. area, maybe you could find your way over to our wonderful Bonsai and Penjing museum and enjoy some of the best bonsai in north America while they have some luminous leaves left to show off. My guess is that it’s just the tail end of the season there and I’ve long thought that the more subtle post-peak pastels provide some of the best leaf peeping of all.

While we’re at it, just in case you’re not familiar with Capital Bonsai, Aarin Packard’s excellent bonsai blog that features bonsai and bonsai events at our National Arboretum (other bonsai stuff too), this is a good time to check it out.

 

There are at least two things to love about Liquidambar. First, is the brillance of their fall colors (Aarin of Capital Bonsai writes “the photo doesn’t do the tree justice regarding its actual color. Its almost a neon red. When you see it in person the tree seems like it is glowing”). Second is… you don’t have to live in a cold climate to enjoy this brilliance. In some southern and far western climes (like Northern California) liquidambars provide by far the most brilliant fall color (in some places they are the only tree with real fall color). BTW, this luminous little tree was donated to the National Museum by Vaughn Banting.

 

A truly distinctive tree showing off its fall colors and much more. Here’s Capital Bonsai’s caption… “Trident Maple, Donated by Stanley Chin, Age Unknown.”

 

I like this Cedar Elm (Ulmus crassifolia) close up. Feels like you’re standing under a full-sized tree. It was donated to the Museum by Arch Hawkins and has been in training since 1981.

 

This one is not from Capital Bonsai but I couldn’t resist. It’s a root-over-rock (root-swallowed-rock) Trident maple from Kaede Bonsai-en that we featured here on Bark almost a year ago.

 

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Less Is Still Enough

Shimpaku juniper. This photo is titled ‘Shugaten 2013 – Tokyo Ueno.’ Guillaume Billaud posted it on facebook. I’m not sure I need to say anything about this magnificent little bonsai except that that’s a whole lot of tree to fit into such a small pot and I’m delighted that someone bothered. BTW: Shugaten is being held right now (until the end of this month).

Shohin again (see our previous post). Enough said for now…

 

Shohin Pyracantha with yellow berries. A couple things jump out. First are the luminous berries. Without these, I don’t think we’d bother. With these, we’d most def bother (which as you can see, we have). The other thing that jumps out is the funkyness of the roots-turned-lower-trunk. Exposing roots so they become part of the trunk is common practice. In some cases it works, in other cases less so. You can be the judge. The tree belongs to Edson Cordeiro who lives in Brazil. It’s from a series titled “Pyracantha em 3 anos de formação” on facebook.

 

Kadsura berries this time. This photo, like the one at the top, is also from Shugaten 2013 and was also posted by Guillaume Billaud on facebook. This tree would be worth posting with or without the beautiful little berry clusters, though with is a real winner.

This photo is from a early vintage Bark post (2009). Here’s the original caption: “This banyan style dwarf Snow rose serissa (Serissa foetida microphylla) was styled by David Fukumoto of Fuku Bonsai in Hawaii. The pot is a Tokoname from Japan. Living in the tropics really helps when it comes to growing aerial roots.”

 

English yew (Taxus baccata) from Morten Albek’s blog. I like the heavy little trunk and the tightly groomed crown.


Morten’s excellent book (Stone Lantern Publishing) is on special for only 9.95.

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