A Simple Air-Layering Technique: part 2

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Back to the beginning
Mr. Sinichi Watanabe has decided that this impressive old Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) needs to be air-layered. The photo shows two assistants holding a training pot (cut in half for the photo) to show what the tree will look like after it’s layered. The original article appeared in Bonsai Today issue 48.

Picking up where we left off
In our last post we showed the first few steps in Mr. Watanabe’s air-layering technique. This post will show the last step in the previous post and the next series of steps. We’ll need a third post to complete the process.

Continue reading A Simple Air-Layering Technique: part 2

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Contest #6: Paint-by-Numbers!!??

The image that was in this space has been removed at the request of the artist. My apologies for any problems we’ve caused for the artist or anyone else.

I picked this image up on Bunjin Journal. It’s a strange and wonderful site, with some parts just wonderful and some parts wonderfully strange. The image originally came from The Art of Bonsai Project.

Be brave!
You have one month. You can print and paint then scan it, or you can color using Illustrator. Or you can do something else. Anyway, just do it. Be brave! It’ll be fun and you might learn something (that’s part of the point).

Break out!
I don’t care if you follow the numbers or the lines. Do what you want. I just want to see color paintings or illustrations, then I’ll pick a winner (and maybe second and third places if we get enough) and award a $50.00 gift certificate (and maybe something for second and third) to Stone Lantern.

You have one month!
The contest closes on the last day of August. But don’t wait, if you procrastinate, you may forget and miss out on the fun.

Good luck!

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Speaking of Kusamono & Companion Plants

kusomysterybookAn exquisite kusamono from our Japanese mystery book. Because I don’t read Japanese, I can’t say what the grass is (can you?), who the potter is, or even, what the name of the book is. However, I can say, with complete confidence, that the whole arrangement is beautiful.

What does Kusamono mean?
In his book Bonsai, Kusamono, Suiseki, Willi Benz says “Kusa = grass and Mono = object.” He goes on to say “If a Kusamono-Bonsai is the main object of a display, we use the term Kusamono. But if a Kusamono-Bonsai is used as an accent or complementary plant, we say it is a Shitakusa.”

Expanding the definition over time
Mr. Benz goes on to say that over time, small flowering plants have also been used as kusamono. Now many people say that any herbaceous plant in a bonsai container is a kusamono. I think this is the way most of us use the term.

Continue reading Speaking of Kusamono & Companion Plants

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Wendy Heller’s Bonsai & Companion Pots

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One of Wendy Heller’s pots with a hen-and-chick type succulent that I dug up in my yard.

Some very sweet little pots
A couple years ago I worked with Wendy Heller on a publishing project. In the process, I had the good fortune of getting to know Wendy a bit (phone and email) and decided to purchase a few of her very sweet little pots. I’ve been gradually filling them with little plants (mostly companion type plantings, though I do have one small bonsai in the works), and the more I see them and feel them in my hands, the more I’ve come to appreciate Wendy’s artistry. If you get a chance, check out her site. Meanwhile, here’s a few more photos.

Continue reading Wendy Heller’s Bonsai & Companion Pots

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Contest #5: We’ve got a Winner (Sort of)

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Still a mystery
I lifted this shohin black pine is from the American Shohin-Bonsai Association gallery. I couldn’t find who the artist is anywhere (and their contact link isn’t working), so I figured if I used it for our contest, someone would let me know. No such luck, so it’s still a mystery to me.

No longer Mr. Second Place!
However. two people did answer some of the of questions correctly (at least I think they were correct; the site doesn’t say anything, so I’m guessing). Of the two Vinicius Costa (formerly known as ‘Mr. Second Place’) was first, so he’s the winner. Congrats Vinicius!

I’d still love to know
Meanwhile, I’m not completley comfortable posting unattributed images (or text), so I’d still love to know who’s the owner/artist is. Anyone?

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Green Workshop: Yet Another Watering Problem

b1shohinwaterTomohiro Masumi watering Shohin bonsai at Koju-en in Kyoto. From Shohin Bonsai by Morten Albek.

Yet Another Watering Problem…
The following is by Michael Hagedorn from his website Crataegus Bonsai.
Probably the worst thing we might encounter when we have a hose in our hand is a tree that, when we think about it, has not dried out in three days of sunny summer weather. That ought to send off all kinds of alarm bells in your head. If none go off, install some.

Continue reading Green Workshop: Yet Another Watering Problem

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Jin & Shari #5: Carving Jin with a Draw Knife

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In this series of photos (from our Juniper book), Hideki Nakayatsu turns a needle juniper on its side to work on the apical jin (jin can be either a dead branch or a dead top of the trunk). He is using is a draw knife to carve natural looking grooves in the wood. Though there are other ways to get grooves in deadwood (dremels come to mind), a draw knife is a tried and true old standard.

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This close up, though far from perfect, shows the grooves a little better. Deadwood naturally cracks and grooves along its length as it ages, so offering a helping hand is a quick way to give your bonsai an old weathered look. One secret to achieving a natural look is to let the knife move with the wood’s grain. It’s easier and the results are better.

Continue reading Jin & Shari #5: Carving Jin with a Draw Knife

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Contest Deadline; Midnight Friday Night

It’s time to wrap up our latest contest. Submit your answers (if you have any) by 11:59pm EDT (Eastern Daylight Time, USA), Friday the 24th. If no one comes up with all the correct answers, then whoever comes closest is the lucky one. Ties go to the earliest submission. Good luck!

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Green Workshop: Bonsai Branching Basics

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Both illustrations in this post are from Bonsai Today issue 92.

Learn the rules first, then break them
Though nothing is written in stone, understanding the basics can be very helpful. If the points shown here are not that familiar, you might want to take some time with each one. As you apply them, your bonsai will immediately improve. Once you get the basics, you can experiment with breaking the rules.

A little story to make a point
I’m told that when the first Westerns saw Japanese bonsai they (or at least some of them) thought there was some sort of magic involved. This is because they had no clue that there was method behind the art. Though we now understand that it’s not a matter of  magic, still, most of us aren’t able to figure out what the basic secrets are until they are pointed out. Once you understand them, choosing quality stock and styling bonsai isn’t so daunting (going beyond the basics and styling truly creative bonsai is another story).

Continue reading Green Workshop: Bonsai Branching Basics

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