Bonsai Brilliance in Brooklyn

Cork bark Chinese elm in fall brilliance at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. You don’t see that many good Chinese elm bonsai. This photo and the others in this post are from the bonsai collection on the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens website. The positive response to yesterday’s post, got me looking for Wisteria bonsai in our archives, and finally to this post on some bonsai at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden from October, 2015 (the Wisteria is below). Enjoy! Bonsai Aesthetics Tool Special Ends Tomorrow Night 40% OFF OUR LIST PRICES see below – This large root-over-rock bonsai is a Trident maple; the most … Continue reading Bonsai Brilliance in Brooklyn

Feed Your Bonsai for Health & Beauty

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. I know the tree is from Japan, but don’t know who the artist or owner is. For some of you lucky ones, it’s already spring. For most of the rest of us, it’s time* to start enriching the soil with slow release fertilizers. This post is one of our archival favorites (July, 2015). Nothing has changed since then, except our lower fertilizer prices. Many, if not most people underfeed their bonsai. There are … Continue reading Feed Your Bonsai for Health & Beauty

Walter’s Big, Brilliant Japanese Maple Bonsai

This brilliant Japanese maple belongs to Walter Pall. Walter lists its height as 75cm (30″) and its age as around thirty years. It was imported from a Korean nursery in 2016. The pot is a Tokoname from Japan. Just a quick one tree study today. But what a tree it is! It belongs to Walter Pall, a frequent headliner here on Bark and a widely recognized bonsai artist, entrepreneur and entertainer. NEW WIRE SPECIAL Kilo Rolls Only 15.95 Roshi Bonsai Tools 30% off Our List Prices see below – The ramification (fine branching) could use some more time and work, but … Continue reading Walter’s Big, Brilliant Japanese Maple Bonsai

More Kokufu Bonsai!

I borrowed this bonsai that belongs to American Doug Paul and rest of the bonsai shown here from Bill Valavanis. They represent a very small sampling of the photos Bill has taken so far at the ongoing 92nd Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition. Today is my first day back from vacation and as you know, no vacation goes unpunished, so we’ll make this short and sweet. Five more Kokufu photos borrowed from Bill Valavanis. Stay posted, we’ll show you some more, including some prize winners. Meanwhile a visit to Bill’s blog might be a good idea. Two excellent bonsai tool sales end tomorrow night and another … Continue reading More Kokufu Bonsai!

Bare-Boned Beech

This tipsy planting in its curvy slab has to be one of the most distinctive deciduous forest bonsai anywhere. Like all the trees in this post it’s a Japanese beech (Fagus crenata), a species prized for its brilliant white bark. Japanese beech, with their striking white bark and strong trunks (often with excellent nebari) are a favorite of bonsai artists, especially in Japan. Unfortunately, they aren’t that easy to find here in North America and our native beech (Fagus grandifolia) is too rangy and large-leafed to make for very good bonsai (the European beech, Fagus sylvatica, which you can find here, is a … Continue reading Bare-Boned Beech

Japanese Maple Bonsai with a Natural Look

This rugged, natural looking Japanese maple belongs to Walter Pall, an artist with a longstanding commitment to natural looking bonsai If there’s one thing you could say about Walter Pall (aside from his prodigious skill) it’s that his bonsai never look over styled. They tend toward the natural untouched-by-human-hands look, though in fact, Walter’s hands are deeply involved every step of the way. Continued below… NEW KOYO BONSAI TOOL SPECIAL all Koyo Tools 25% to 40% off list prices Masters Sword Shears one of over 50 different Koyo tools we offer this special ends Nov 14th, at noon EST – A closer look … Continue reading Japanese Maple Bonsai with a Natural Look

You Can Look but You Better Not Touch & Other Scary Bonsai

Halloween? At first glance you might just see the tree and the cobwebs and miss the hands. This photo and the one just below are from Robert Steven’s 2014 International Bonsai Art & Culture Biennale. We’ve added two photos (Nick’s Poison ivy & a strange looking Trident maple) to our Halloween posting from the last two years. Continued below… LOWEST WIRE PRICE YET 500 gram (1.1 lb) BONSAI WIRE ONLY 7.95 PER ROLL this special will end November 8th at noon EST – There’s something about those ‘severed’ arms that’s just a little ominous. Is this where the recent ‘Black Scissors’ rage started? … Continue reading You Can Look but You Better Not Touch & Other Scary Bonsai

Bjorn’s Biggest Loser – Before & After – Fertilizing Old Trees

Before and After. This masterpiece Itoigawa Shimpaku was restyled by Bjorn Bjorholm at Keiichi Fujikawa’s Kouka-en Bonsai Nursery in Ikeda City, Japan, where Bjorn was apprenticing at the time. The photo is from a post on Bjorn’s Bjorvala Bonsai Studio blog, as are all the photos in this post. Continuing with our Bjorn Bjorholm theme (it fits well with our ongoing before and after theme as well). This post originally appeared here in April, 2013, with a few minor changes today In Bjorn’s own words… “This massive Itoigawa Shimpaku has a long history as a bonsai. It was first shown in the Kokufu-ten about 35 years ago, … Continue reading Bjorn’s Biggest Loser – Before & After – Fertilizing Old Trees

Roots, Rocks & Summer Vacation

I love this tree. The texture and movement as it flows over the rock is perfect, and the fine ramification (branching) is excellent. Nice pot too. The photo is from the 2017 Kokufu Exhibition. No variety is given (the majority of great Japanese root-over-rock bonsai are Trident maples, but the ramification seems too delicate for a Trident, so your guess is as good as mine) Stone Lantern will be closed from July 28th to August 14th but you will be able to order during that time Orders received after the 3:00pm EDT, July 27th will be sent on a first come, … Continue reading Roots, Rocks & Summer Vacation

Root Over Rock Bonsai with Sherlock Holmes

Not exactly root-over-rock, but more like root-next-to-small-rock. Still, simplicity contrasted with a wild shape and texture make for a striking bonsai. By the way, I did not commit the sin of chopping off the pot, though I did adjust the image to take out background noise. All three photos shown here were lifted a social meadia post titled ‘Bonsai Indonesia‘ by Silky Jemiran. Silky lists the owner of this tree as Zhylonk Kiakiz Alfarizhy. Sometimes tracking down the real owner of a bonsai that appears on social media requires the imagination and determination of a Sherlock Holmes. Even then, you … Continue reading Root Over Rock Bonsai with Sherlock Holmes