More Than Just Pots

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I love this schefflera by Sara Rayner, even though it’s a bit jammed in the photo. It’s completely unique and has a natural uncontrived feel. I found it and the photo below at The Art of Bonsai Project.

Sara Rayner, potter plus bonsai artist
For a long time I thought Sara Rayner just made fine bonsai pots. I didn’t know she made fine bonsai as well. I would venture a guess that I’m not the only one who has held such thoughts, as Sara is quite well known for her pots, and less well known for her trees (at least that’s my impression). Anyway, her trees are every bit worthy of her masterful pots. Their are others in the bonsai world who make their own pots, but few who match both sets of skills so well.

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Ponderosa pine and pot by Sara Rayner. Another one of a kind. The tree is unique and the tree pot combination echo that uniqueness.

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Hamisu: Summer Misting

The following very useful piece of advice is by Michael Hagedorn from his website Crataegus Bonsai.
Last summer I mentioned the practice of ‘hamisu’ which is the misting of bonsai during hot summer days. This light topical watering wets the foliage, trunk, pot and first half inch or inch of soil. It refreshes the tree.

If you water the trees in the morning on hot days, they will often need this lighter watering once or twice following that. This is especially true when the temperatures rise above 90 degrees F. Hamisu is most effective when the sun is lowering in the sky.

Be careful watering too late in the day when you have fungus problems. There is juniper tip blight, Phomopsis, to be concerned with, for instance. Any water on the foliage should dry before night sets in during the warm months.

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Becoming Picasso

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Lodge pole pine by Dan Robinson (Elandan Gardens). From The Art of Bonsai Project. Photo by Victrinia Ensor.

Seriously, Picasso?
I didn’t make the Picasso thing up (though it’s the second time I’ve used it). It’s from a chapter entitled ‘Becoming Picasso’ in Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees: The Life and Works of Dan Robinson – Bonsai Pioneer, by Will Hiltz. No matter who first thought to equate Dan and Picasso, I think it might be apt. Passion, willingness to break with convention, constant experimentation, a profound respect for the medium, and of course, a fair dose of natural talent, accurately characterizes both Pablo Picasso and Dan Robinson. Of course, you could have all of these things and still not be one of the all time great artists. As far as that goes, I’ll let you be the judge.

GB-PicassoExcerpt-PressA spread from the ‘Becoming Picasso’ chapter in Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees.

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One of the Most Important (and Beautiful) Bonsai Books Ever Published Is Coming Soon

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This perfect Mountain hemlock expresses Dan Robinson’s respect for how nature does it. Not that he doesn’t add his touch; he does, and it’s masterful. Photo is from the book.

Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees: The Life and Works of Dan Robinson – Bonsai Pioneer
This will surely be 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.

Order yours now
High quality hardcover with dust jacket, 10 1/2″ x 9 1/2″  292 pages. Due in October 2010. Order and pay now for earliest delivery.

GB-BruennerHinoki-PressYou could randomly open to almost anywhere in the book and come up with a spread as magical as this.

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Balancing Growth on Pine Bonsai

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Before decandling. Cork bark Japanese black pine from Bonsai Tonight.

Decandling, candle plucking, candle pinching…
The photos and instructions in this post are all from Bonsai Tonight. The topic is decandling (also called candle plucking or candling pinching) Japanese black pines (specifically a cork bark black pine). The purpose of decandling is to balance growth, develop ramification and reduce needle size. Not all pines are the same, nor should they be treated exactly the same. Still, the basic principles can be applied to pines other than the Japanese black.

1afterAfter decandling.

Four zones, twenty days
The following is a small piece of a series of posts on Bonsai Tonight.
“Divide the tree’s growth into 4 zones depending on vigor. Zone 1 is the weakest, zone 4 the strongest. (See “Decandling basics” for details)
Remove the new growth in zone 2.
10 days later, remove the shoots in zone 3.
Another 10 days later, remove the shoots in zone 4.
The process takes 20 days to complete. How does it work? The longer a shoot has to develop, the more time it has to gain vigor. By removing weaker shoots before removing the more vigorous shoots, we give the weaker shoots more time to “catch up” and grow strong. Stronger shoots get less time to develop – this keeps them in check. The very weakest shoots are left alone. Decandling very weak branches can significantly slow them down or bring them to a stop. Letting them grow for a year increases their strength.”

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Jinning: A Tidy Two Tool Tecnique

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The type is almost microscopic, so we’ll synopsize a bit (see below for a slightly magnified version): 2. Use a concave cutter to score around the base of the branch you are jinning. 3 and 4. Crush the bark with pliers. 5. Pull the bark off with your fingers. 6. Create a natural shape by using concave cutters to apply small cuts and to pull of the resulting wood threads (you can use pliers to pull the threads if you want). From a article by David Benavente in Bonsai Today issue 85.

An elegant solution, but what about other tools?
I use a draw knife for jinning and carving. It’s a great tool; the more you use it, the more you realize just how versatile it can be. And of course, there are a host of other hand tools and power carving tools you can play with and achieve great results. Still, using just two very common tools (pliers and concave cutters) is an elegant solution, especially if your tool box is sparse.

TFKThis box of Flexcut carving tools includes a draw knife (on the left), an indispensable tool for a range of tasks. The other five tools all come in handy as well.

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Thinking Ahead Two Years

2012 NATIONAL BONSAI POSTER

It’s not so far fetched
Most of the time we think day to day or even moment to moment. Occasionally, we need to think a little further out (time wise that is). This is especially true if you want to exhibit a bonsai or perhaps become a vendor at the 3rd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. Or, given the pressures on your schedule, if you just want to attend. Though it may seem far fetched now, if you don’t plan ahead, other obligations might worm their way into you schedule.

BTW: The 2nd was a roaring success.

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In Training Since 1795

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Here it is. It’s a Pinus densiflora (Japanese Red Pine) that was donated to the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum by The Imperial Household of Japan. It has been in training since 1795.

The Japanese Collection
It’s right here in North America and it’s one of the best collections of bonsai anywhere.
Here’s an excerpt from the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum’s website:
“The Japanese Collection began with the gift of 53 bonsai from Japan on the occasion of the American Bicentennial in 1976.  The trees, which were from private collections, were selected by the Nippon Bonsai Association with financial assistance given by the Japan Foundation.”

nbf5

Not 1795, but not exactly yesterday either. This striking Japanese Camellia (Camellia japonica ‘Higo’) with its full display of remarkable flowers has been in training since 1875. It was donated by the Kyushu Branch of the Nippon Bonsai Growers Cooperative.

Reverse taper
Does the reverse taper on the camellia (above) jump out at you? When it comes to flowering bonsai, Japanese growers don’t seem to mind features that would be considered flaws in non-flowering bonsai. As long as the flowers themselves are beautiful and well displayed, all is forgiven.

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BCI’s Fall China Tour

BCI-3This enchanted (and somewhat fuzzy) scene if from BCI’s (Bonsai Club International) web pages on their upcoming China tour.

China anyone?
It’s too bad the photo above isn’t sharper. Still, it’s clear that the scene beckons you to sail amongst those towering cliffs (at least in your imagination). I doubt if BCI’s tour includes sailing, but you will enjoy plantings like this one.

BCI-China

Disney World? Nope, it’s a little piece of China. From BCI.

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