Photoshop Enchanced Fall Color – Not!

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This remarkable Trident maple turned up on Bonsai Mania via facebook. It’s from the photo album of Alex Probst.

A little update (1/7/2011)
Now I know that this tree belongs to Walter Pall. I also know that it most likely was not photoshopped. My apologies to Walter.

Enhancing color
I realize that everyone’s monitor isn’t the same, but still, this looks like a case of photoshopping to enhance color, when color is the point of the photo. In this case it’s yellow that’s enhanced. You can tell by the yellowish trunk and the yellowish wooden slab that the pot rests on. The pot also has a yellow tinge, but if it were the only thing that did, you’d have to assume that that’s its natural color.

It doesn’t really need it
None of this is to say that this isn’t a remarkable tree. It clearly is, with its extraordinarily powerful well tapered trunk and near perfect, natural looking nebari (not over the top like some maple nebari, but rather flowing naturally from the soil to the lower trunk). The overall shape of the canopy is excellent too, as is the choice of the pot (it’s a temporary display pot, too small to grow the tree in for very long).

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Bonsai Crazy

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Is this bonsai a yew (Taxus)? And is it one of the most powerful and dynamic bonsai around? Or, is it a Phoenix graft masquerading as one of the most powerful and dynamic bonsai around (even if it is a Phoenix graft, it is still quite spectacular)? I suspect it isn’t a Phoenix, though the large hunk of deadwood on the right does give pause. One thing I do know is that it’s from the album Bonsai Crazy by Adrian Lee Eu Wyn.

C2011front2011 is closing in. Don’t be caught without your bonsai calendar.

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Stewartia: Graceful, Elegant & Not Very Common

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This slender delight is showing off its inner charm. It’s late winter and the new buds are swelling. Without the leaves you can better see the subtle beauty of the bark and the delicate fine branching. The nebari is quite strong (but still in keeping with the delicacy of the tree). Much of its size and strength comes from having two trunks. This provides a good tip for creating nebari: leave smaller second and third trunks, at least for a while, if a strong nebari and lower trunk is your objective.  Photo is from Bonsai Today issue 6.

George Buehler on Stewartias
There’s an excellent Stewartia article by George Buehler on the Greater Louisville Bonsai Society site. Rather than me paraphrasing (plagiarizing?), I think it’s better to just let George do the talking.
Here’s a small piece of what George has to say: “During summer, it is not very showy tree and, in fact, has dark green leaves that are slightly large for bonsai use. There does not seem to be any leaf size reduction benefit with defoliation, even with repeated attempts. Flowers are very unobtrusive, often going unnoticed in the dense foliage. Flowering is irregular, sometimes skipping several years in a row. However, when it does flower during June, it normally is followed by small very hard seed pods. Each pod contains three to five seeds that I have yet to get to germinate. Fall leaf color is an orange to dull red that rapidly dries up, but usually hangs on the tree until it is exposed to a freezing temperature for several nights in a row….”
Here for the whole article.

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This one isn’t quite as developed, but is still an excellent bonsai. From Bonsai Today issue 3.

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Of Scrolls & Tokonomas

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This tokonoma with its spectacular scroll, is from Daiza Iwasaki’s house in Japan. A more cropped version of this photo appears in Morten Albek’s book, Majesty in Miniature, Shohin Bonsai. The original completely uncropped photo is below.

Bonsai display
I don’t think too many people pay very close attention to bonsai display. I’m sure there are some who do, but judging from countless photos on facebook and elsewhere, display isn’t a major concern for most people (especially outside of Japan).

Relationships
Display is a lot about the relationship of the elements. Though I’m far from an expert on the subject, there are a couple things that stand out for me in the photo above: The scroll and tree are playing peekaboo in a way that might cause you to feel that they are part of the same mountain scene. Also, with the way it is leaning and the movement of the foliage, the tree leads you into the scroll. The flowering companion below could be a wild flower part way up the mountain (notice how it is just off center). I’ll leave reflections on the vase and all the rest up to you.

Majesty in Miniature
Majesty in Miniature, Shohin Bonsai, Morten Albek’s comprehensive book on the subject of small bonsai (Stone Lantern Publishing), goes into bonsai display in some detail. Actually, Morten sent us a lot more detail, but we thought a 1,000 page book wouldn’t appeal to most people, so, sadly, numerous photos and some text had to be left out.

Scrolls
Though there’s plenty more to say about scrolls and display, for now we’ll just recommend Morten’s book. Or, if you’re ambitious and are interested in making your own, we just put up a new book: How to Make Handmade Wall Scrolls, by Jonathan Maples.

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Morten’s original uncropped photo gives you a little glimpse into a part of a Japanese house.

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American Kokufu (Old News but Good News)

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Doug Paul's Japanese hemlock (Tsuga diversifolia) was displayed at the 2010  Kokufu ten Exhibition in Japan. Kokufu is widely considered the preeminent bonsai exhibition in the world, and just being excepted to display a bonsai in Kokufu is considered a great honor.

Borrowed from Bill
The photos and most of the text in this post are borrowed from Bill Valavanis. In Bill’s words (from the Internet Bonsai Club): “The 84th Kokufu Bonsai Ten Exhibition opens tomorrow (February, 2010) in Japan and history is being made. I believe for the first time an American has a bonsai on display.

“Doug Paul’s Japanese hemlock (Tsuga diversifolia) bonsai was recently accepted to display in this year’s Kokufu Bonsai ten Exhibition. The attached photo shows how it is displayed at Kokufu Bonsai Exhibiton in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno Park.

“Mr. Doug Paul has one of the finest, and perhaps largest private collection of fine-quality bonsai in the United States. “The Kennett Collection” is private and not open to the public and also includes beautiful koi”

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On display at Kokufu ten.

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A Perfectly Beautiful Bonsai, Berries and All

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This showy cotoneaster is from our 2010 bonsai calendar. The pot looks like a temporary show pot (for health purposes, the tree will most likely spend most of its time in a somewhat larger pot). Beyond that, the tree speaks for itself.

Speaking of calendars
Our 2011 calendars are in.

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Robert Steven’s Super Mini Bonsai

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Super mini Premna microphylla by Robert Steven. I took the liberty of cropping it a bit, but I think you get the drift anyway (The uncropped original is below).

The smaller the more difficult…
Robert sent us these incredibly tiny bonsai a few days ago. Here’s what he has to say about them and small bonsai in general: As you know, the basic concept in bonsai is to make a mature looking tree that is scaled way down. The smaller the bonsai, the more difficult it is to make. This is because it is difficult to form ramification (branching) and reduce leaf size enough so that the proportions evoke a mature tree in nature.
One of the best species to make super mini bonsai is Premna microphylla because the leaves size can be reduced significantly from its original of approximately 9 cm (3.5 inches) to only 2 mm (1/12th inch). Here’s proof from an earlier post.

This post shows some super mini bonsai in my collection. Their size is approximately 2 cm (a little less than 1 inch).

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Robert Steven
Robert Steven is a internationally respected bonsai artist, teacher and author. His widely acclaimed and trans-formative books are Vision of My Soul and Mission of Transformation. In addition to traveling, teaching, writing, publishing, creating his own blog and developing his own trees, Robert has been kind enough to offer critiques of our reader’s bonsai. Send us a photo and Robert will generously offer you his critique.

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Continue reading Robert Steven’s Super Mini Bonsai

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Slow Motion Gallery

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I’m pretty sure this is an Ume (Japanese flowering apricot), though I can’t be %100 sure. Whatever it is, it sure combines some very showy flowers with impressively ancient looking bark. It’s from a Japanese book (not available in English) called Gyozan Nakano, Sakai: A 35 Year Anthology. Mr. Nakano is a rather famous (in Japan) Master Potter (this is not the first time we’ve featured him). Most of the book is devoted to his pots sans trees. However, there are a few in the back with trees. This is one of them.

Slow motion gallery
In this case, slow motion means one at a time. Normally we put up more than one tree per post, but I’m gone a lot in October and November (hiking and family) and don’t have the opportunity to spend much time blogging. So this provides an easy solution; I can relax and get away a bit, and you can still enjoy fine bonsai (hopefully I’ll find time for a few comments).

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Finally! Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees

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Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees: The Life and Works of Dan Robinson – Bonsai Pioneer

Thank you for your patience
We’ve actually had the book for a couple weeks now, but a detail that needed to be worked out arose at the last minute. Now all is well and we are ready to ship.

The Picasso of bonsai
This is surely one of the most important (and beautiful) bonsai books ever published. Will Hiltz, author and photographer elevates the art of book making, and Dan Robinson, bonsai artist and master, elevates the art of collecting, growing and styling bonsai. Dan’s approach is uniquely his own and shows profound respect for trees, nature, art; the whole process that we call bonsai. Bonsai pioneer is a good choice of words to describe who Dan is. The Picasso of bonsai might be equally good.

Sorry, no discounts
We have an agreement with the author and publisher, Will Hiltz not to discount this book. It’s actually a good idea, given that it’s such a jewel (even in this economy, some things are just too good to discount).

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Just one of a multitude of quality photos by Will Hiltz (and others) that you’ll find in Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees.


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