Defoliating to move energy down
These illustrations show a few very simple points. In both methods we are trying to strengthen the the two weak secondary branches (the first two branches). These need help as energy tends to flow past them towards the tips of the primary branch. This movement of energy towards the outer tips of branches is natural and occurs in virtually all plants.
Cut…
Use sharp scissors to defoliate. Cut in the center of the petiole (leaf stem). If you cut too close to the base of the leaf stem, you may damage the buds that form there.
…don’t pull
Don’t use you fingers to pinch or pull leaves off. This is a recipe for damage (the unreadable text with the illustration above says: Don’t pull, it could damage the buds).
Here’s another shot of the man and the tree. Both are very impressive in their own way, though neither provided much mystery, at least for those of you who responded. BTW: here’s where we borrowed this photo and the photo that appears in contest #4.
The winner…
… is John Callaway. John wasn’t the only one to get it right, but he was the first one to get it right.
The man…
…is Mr. California Juniper, Harry Hirao.
The tree…
…is (appropriately) a California juniper. The botanical name is Juniperus californica.
And the source…
…is Kofu Review; Kofu Bonsai Kai. Check it out, it’s a great site.
In case you wanted to complain (you probably didn’t)
Occasionally people complain that we don’t tell them when something is almost gone forever. So, you can consider this little promotional post a service (or simply a way for me to try to get into your pocket). Either way, now you know…
… that it’s time to panic!
Just kidding, you don’t have to panic. However, as of this moment, we have only seven Bonsai Today issue 31 left. All still new (in the unused sense – issue 31 is from 1994) and all still full of timeless bonsai techniques and more.
Issues 36 and 38 are also at risk
Continue reading Three More Bonsai Today Issues Almost Gone Alert!
Win a $25 Gift Certificate from Stone Lantern
The first person to properly identify the man in the red apron and the botanical name (genus and species) of the monster tree in the photo above, will win a $25.00 gift certificate from Stone Lantern. When we have a winner, we’ll post the site (with link) where we found the photo.
This Trident maple penjing was designed by Quingquan Zhao in 2001 at the Mid Atlantic Bonsai show. It was purchased by Dr. McNear and given to National Bonsai Foundation in honor of his daughter Emily Jane McNear. It reside at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington DC.
Continue reading Vacation Gallery: Enjoy, I’ll Be Back July 2nd
These little critters with their protective helmet-like shields are just one variety of the approximately 8,000 species of scale. Though not all are harmful to your bonsai, the ones that are, need to be taken seriously.
Here’s what Michael Hagedorn has to say about scale
They’re here again…scale are emerging from their eggs underneath their shields, and beginning to crawl.
This is the time to control them. If we sprayed during the winter we wasted insecticide on protected eggs. In June they mature and begin moving around the plant, and can be controlled with oils. All-season oil or Neem oil work. Early summer through the warm months they are active.
It’s very important to identify when to control what. If we spray with the right insecticide or fungicide in the wrong season, we waste time and money and maybe give a beneficial organism a hard time.
Michael Hagedorn is a highly accomplished American bonsai artist, teacher and author. Michael is the owner of Crataegus Bonsai.
Continue reading Pests #2: Controlling Scale by Michael Hagedorn
You can view this striking Satsuki azalea by Si Van Nguyen in all its glory from all 360° on ausbonsai.com.
Recently Steve Hantos alerted me to a great feature on ausbonsai.com. All you have to do is go there, drag your cursor over the image, and viola! you’ve got 360° bonsai. Here’s a cascade juniper by Steve.
This Scot’s pine (Pinus sylvestris) by Walter Pall is from the cover of Bonsai Today issue 104. It was presented by Walter as an example of a naturalistic bonsai.
“… too many of these bonsai look like they are made of plastic…”
The whole quote, which was written by Walter Pall, and appears in Bonsai Today issue 104, goes like this: “I have seen that the trend in styling is toward more and more refinement, which often takes away all the naturalness. I find that too many of these bonsai look like they are made of plastic and are not real.”
You be the judge
To my eyes, Walter Pall’s Scot’s pine is a wonderful bonsai. That’s why we chose it for the cover of Bonsai Today. But we’ve also featured some much more stylized and refined trees for covers; trees that we like. Are these trees overly refined and plastic looking?
If you’re new to bonsai and want to get started using wire, this video by Lindasy Farr of Bonsai Farm (on YouTube) offers a simple, clear lesson.
