Back Budding – Feed Your Bonsai!

This shohin Carpinus coreana (Korean hornbeam) by Mario Komsta has appeared here on Bark before. As a companion plant no less (see below). No problem though. Any tree this good deserves to be shown more than once. As a companion or by itself. You might wonder why we’re headlining a dormant tree in mid-summer. Well, it’s a great tree and it goes with this post which has appeared twice already here on Bark (with some value added each time). I have been trying to get a few of my trees to back bud lately. So far to no avail. But … Continue reading Back Budding – Feed Your Bonsai!

Don’t Starve Your Bonsai

Lush summer foliage and impressive deadwood on an old Shimpaku juniper.The lush foliage is the result of timely feeding. The photo is from our Masters Series Juniper book (due back in print in December). I know the tree is from Japan, but don’t know who the artist is. Many, if not most people underfeed their bonsai. There are many reasons why ample fertilizing is critical to developing healthy and beautiful bonsai. I’ll list a few (if I missed something important, please let us know in the comments). 1. It’s up to you. Most bonsai soils don’t contain nutrients. This means … Continue reading Don’t Starve Your Bonsai

An Astonishingly Eccentric Two Headed Monster

Calligraphy anyone? I think this is the third time we’ve shown this astonishingly eccentric two headed monster, but it’s been about four years, which means many of you haven’t seen it, and I think everyone should have at least one chance. I don’t know its full history, but I do know that it appeared on The Art of Bonsai Project in a post titled The Bonsai of Mario Komsta, as did all the photos shown in this post. Yixing pot. Once again it’s time for Mario Komsta (Super Mario), one of Europe’s and the world’s new wave of younger bonsai … Continue reading An Astonishingly Eccentric Two Headed Monster

Bonsai Art: Running Out of Superlatives

The day has barely started and I’m already running out of superlatives. I guess ‘spectacular’ will do in this case. It’s a Korean hornbeam (Carpinus turczaninowii) by Ian Stewartson. The photo is from Bonsai Art’s website. Getting ready for another cross country hop (west to east this time), so to save time we’ll pull something out of our archival hat once again. This one originally appeared March 2013. Bonsai Art magazine is very well named. As bonsai magazines go, it is as well-done, beautiful and professional as they come (taking nothing away from International Bonsai Magazine and several other good … Continue reading Bonsai Art: Running Out of Superlatives

Old Japanese Whites plus One

This distinctive Goyo-matsu (Japanese white pine) is from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. I don’t know if the split trunk was by the hand-of-man or the result of a natural occurrence. Either way, the twin trunk effect is wonderful. At the risk of stating the obvious, you might notice the similar movement and direction of the each trunk’s twists and turns. We’re digging back into our archives once again and we’re always looking for catchy titles, even when it’s a bit of a stretch. All the trees shown here are from two earlier Bark posts. The plus one in the … Continue reading Old Japanese Whites plus One

FREE Bonsai Wire & Tool Sale

This is what a professional wiring job looks like. I borrowed the image from Mario Komsta who happens to be one of our favorite bonsai artists. We’ve featured Mario’s bonsai here on Bark numerous times. Free Bonsai Wire. Here’s how it works. You will receive free rolls of 100 gram bonsai wire with any Stone Lantern order over 10.00. Orders from 10.00 to 20.00 get one roll, orders from 20.00 to 40.00 get two rolls and so forth at increments of twenty dollars (yesterday it was 30.00 increments, but we just got more generous). Wire diameters. When you order you … Continue reading FREE Bonsai Wire & Tool Sale

It’s All About Yew

The powerful tree with its heavy flowing deadwood (it reminds me of melting wax) and luscious reddish bark is truly wonderful, but then there’s that little companion too. Have you ever seen a piece of deadwood used as a bonsai companion? This Taxus (yew) and charming little piece of deadwood belong to Mauro Stemberger. The pot is a Tokoname. On the road again today, so we’ll go ahead and borrow from our archives once again. This one originally appeared in December 2012. Species specific series. I’ve been thinking about starting a species specific series (in this case it’s actually genus … Continue reading It’s All About Yew

Fertilizing for Back Budding

This shohin Carpinus coreana (Korean hornbeam) by Mario Komsta has appeared here on Bark before. As a companion plant no less (see below). No problem though. Any tree this good deserves to be shown more than once. Companion or by itself. Speaking of Mario Komsta, this instructive photo about back budding, a lesser known benefit of fertilizing, is something he cooked up. I don’t remember where I found it (facebook?). It and the text below (edited just a bit) originally appeared here on Bark in October, 2010. Fertilize! Skip ahead to the fourth point unless you are a beginner. Many, … Continue reading Fertilizing for Back Budding

Developing Fine Branching on Deciduous Bonsai

This Hornbeam by Mario Komsta has appeared on Bonsai Bark in a number of incarnations. Though it does appear even more ramified in later photos (see below), still, this particular stage in its development shows a pretty good example of ramification on a deciduous bonsai, while maintaining an overall sense of proportion. In the photo below, the branching almost overwhelms the trunk, while in this photo, it serves as a perfect counterpoint that emphasizes the power of the trunk. Nice choice of pots too. Continuing our mid-summer semi-vacation, I’m taking the easy way out once again. This post is drawn … Continue reading Developing Fine Branching on Deciduous Bonsai

Great Bonsai, Great Photos

We’ve featured this tree before, but now I can’t find it (read, just back from vacation, too much to do and don’t want to be bothered). It looks kinda Ilex like, but neither my guessing skills nor my memory are up to much. Anyway, it’s a great little tree (if you can take your eyes off the pot long enough to see it… which is not to say that I don’t like the pot, because I really like it and I also think it’s a daring choice for the tree). This photo and all the photos in this post are … Continue reading Great Bonsai, Great Photos