Boreal Bonsai King

nickwiki

One of Nick Lenz' famous larches. The larches we'll be offering this fall (see below) aren't this old or nearly this refined (Nick is in a league of his own), but they are off to a good start.

Monday morning, the sun is shinning and buds are just starting to swell. Spring digging season won’t last, so it’s time to get outside.

Continuing our Larch theme, yesterday I dug, trimmed and potted (nursery pots) a few of the larches I’ve been growing on my land for the last dozen or so years. Most are around 20 to 25 years old (they started on a friend’s land up near the Canadian border). By the time I finish digging I should have about 40 or so that will be ready to sell at the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition this September. See you there!

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nickcovertree

This Northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) is the cover tree from Nick's book, Bonsai from the Wild (out of print). Though larch is the bonsai king of our New England natives, we've got some pretty good cedars too

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Boon’s Tamarack and 4 Pots – Which Do You Prefer?

which pot

One American larch (Larix laricina) and four pots (plus the original). Which do you prefer? All this images in this post were borrowed from Boon Manakitivipart (the image above is a composite that we put together).

Yesterday, April 21st was our first day of spring here in northern Vermont (not technically, but really), so I started digging up some Larches I’ve been growing in the ground for the last 10 to 15 years and putting them into nursery pots. My plan is to take some of them to the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition in September. Anyway, my mind is all larches right now, so I thought I’d dig up (pun unintended) this post that we originally featured April, 2015. 

Boon is at it again. This time it’s our prized local larch (Larix laricina). Around here we call it Tamarack (the Algonquian name that means “wood used for snowshoes”). No matter what you call it, it is in my opinion, by far our best local wild species for bonsai. Bar none.

Here’s your link to Boon’s original photos on facebook.
Continued below…

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pot1

Pot number 1

Continued from above…
Which pot do you prefer? If you are ambitious, you might tell us why. (NOTE: So that everyone can benefit from your observations, please put your choice in the comments on facebook. Please DO NOT email me with your choice.)

BTW: the more I look at this tree, the more I think it is very possible that it was originally collected and styled by Larch Master Nick Lenz. I might be wrong, but…

 

pot2

Pot number 2

 

pot3

Pot number 3

 

pot4

Pot number 4

 

or

The original pot.

 

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A Superb Atlas Cedar Before & After Bonsai

atlasB&A

This elegant before and after Atlas Cedar (Cedrus atlantica) is by Valentín Cruz.

Before we go any further, I’d like to invite you back to yesterday’s post to see a correction and an apology. It all started when I missed the word ‘style’…

Sticking with Valentín Cruz, our new found and very talented young bonsai artist. This time it’s a superb Atlas cedar before and after.

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atlasbefore1

Before

atlasafter

After. Pitch perfect!

 

atlas2back

The other side

 

gremel

Here's a Blue Atlas Cedar by Jim Gremel that we posted back in June 2012. Jim is, among other things,Valentín's bonsai teacher and the owner of Deer Meadow Bonsai in Northern California.

 

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Another Excellent Before & After Bonsai

cruzshimpaku

Shimpaku juniper (Juniperus Sargentii var Shimpaku) before and after by Valentín Cruz. Valentín's caption reads Yamadori shimpaku, 23 years old, which does beg a question (see below)

Last week we posted a dramatic before and after by Valentín Cruz, a young Northern California bonsai artist that we had just discovered. Now we’ve got another juniper (this time it’s a Shimpaku) before and after by Valentín. Maybe not as dramatic as the Sierra juniper, but still a job very well done, with a great eye for detail. Valentín Cruz is clearly an accomplished bonsai artist.

My only question is Valentín’s description of the tree as a yamadori (bonsai collected from the wild). I’m reasonably certain that if the tree is 23 years old, that it was field grown (plus, to my eye, it looks like a field grown Shimpaku) and I’m also reasonably certain that the use of the word yamadori is innocent. Having said this, making mistakes is nothing new to me, so it’s always possible I’m missing something. A day later… I did miss something, the word style (yamadori style) in Valentin’s caption. Moving too fast I guess. Thanks to Tony Suiseki for pointing this out and my apologies to Valentin for this oversight. 

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CruzB&A

This is the before and after that Valentín posted. I put the one above together because the images aren't as clear in this one. Though the advantage here is the pot, an unessential and distracting element, is mostly cropped out.

cruzbefore

Before. It always helps to start with good stock

 

cruzafter

After. A job very well done. As you can see, the old pot is too heavy and distracts from the tree. I imagine that once the tree has recovered from the transformation, a new pot is in the offing.

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cruzaftercroppot

I cropped most of the pot out in this photo for a less distracting look at the tree.

 

cruzaftercroptrunk

Another of my crop jobs. This time for a closer look at the trunk

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Enjoy Your Bonsai with a Green T Turntable

GTTRIDENTcropped

A brilliant Trident maple bonsai
 resting regally on its Green T Hydraulic Lift Turntable
this photo is cropped to fit on social media
the original showing the full Green T is just below

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see below

GTTRIDENT

The original photo
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and others shown here see* below

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GreenTmugoMassive Mugo pine*
 on a Green T Basic

GTBJORN

Bjorn Bjorholm contemplates his next move
 while his pine* rests on a Green T Basic

A Green T Bonsai Turntable will help you work on your bonsai more efficiently and comfortably. In Japan hydraulic lift turntables have been the standard for years and now thanks to professional researchers and the collaboration of well-known bonsai professionals, we are able to offer you a tool inspired by the Japanese turntable and improved in several details (including price).

 

WBC - Green T Official sponsor

Green T was the official sponsor of the World Bonsai Congress
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 Every demonstration took place on a Green T turntable

GRJMAPLE

Another brilliant bonsai. This time it's a Japanese maple on a Green T Plus.*

Here’s a resounding Green T endorsement
by four Kimura apprentices

GTapprentices

Four Kimura apprentices with bonsai and Green Ts.

 

GTTEDESCHI

Micro Tedeschi with his majestic wild olive* on its Green T Basic

 

15380417_665690283611732_7233796095451517101_n

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Rugged Bonsai in the Perfect Setting

Main

The natural look. This photo captures two things I love about Eladan Gardens. The first is the rugged uncontrived feel that characterizes Dan Robinson's bonsai, and the second is the perfect setting. The tree is a Sierra juniper (Juniperus occidentalis).

We seem to be stuck on Sierra junipers lately, but who’s complaining? In this case it’s only one (see above and a closeup below) with several other non-Sierra photos to enrich the experience. This post (with some changes today) originally appeared in May 2016.

Back in May, 2016 I finally visited Dan and Diane Robinson’s magnificent Elandan Gardens. It was a quick visit and all I had to shoot with was my cell. So the photos aren’t nearly as good as most of the borrowed Elandan photos from previous posts. But some shots are unique and hopefully capture something of the magic of the place.

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e3

Stonehenge west with bonsai and flowers.

 

hemscene2

Water, sky, rocks, trees and a Weeping hemlock bonsai.

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B1GNARLY211

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cascade

Another great view, another great bonsai. It's a large cascading pine in a large pot on a large sculptural stand.

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e4

There are bright spots throughout the Garden, but this one may be the brightest of them all. We don't have to say this is an Azalea.

 

nestled

There were so many trees and memory fades quickly so I won't bother to guess.

 

maincupCloseup of the Sierra juniper at the top of the post

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Nature’s Bonsai & a New Identity for a Famous Tree

SGRANITE

A Sierra juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) sculpted by wind and snow. It lives near Granite Lake at 8,500 feet in the Emmigrant Wilderness (near Yosemite in California's Sierra Nevada mountains). This photo and the next two are borrowed from Bonsai Society San Francisco

Still sticking with our Sierra juniper theme but with a twist (unintended). Rather than the typical yamadori  we’ve been showing, this time it’s Nature’s bonsai still growing in its original home (thanks to Terry Davis of Mullet Wrapper fame for the suggestion)

The following quote which refers to the tree in the first three photos, is from Bonsai Society San Francisco… “The tree is about 7 feet tall and has the shape of a bonsai after many years…”
Continued below…

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SGRANCU

I cropped the original for this closer view

Continued from above…
“This tree shows that under harsh conditions we see that the lifeline on the top of the tree or on the windward side is frequently killed while the lifeline that is more protected is the portion that soldiers on, gaining protection from some of the environmental harshness from the deadwood sections. Where the wind and snow conditions are particularly harsh the successive killing of portions of the lifelines can cause the live sections of some branches and trunks to seem to melt over the dead sections that they neighbor.”
Quoted from Bonsai Society San Francisco

 

SGWINDWARD

"Detail of deadwood on the top of the windward side of the tree. The different sections appear to melt together."

 

SBENNET

The most famous Sierra juniper (or is it a Sierra juniper?, see below) is called the Bennett Juniper. You can visit it in the Stanislaus National Forest of California. It's considered the oldest and largest Sierra juniper (or Juniper period?) at possibly 3000 years old, with a height of 26 meters (85 feet) and a diameter of 3.88 meters (almost 13 feet).[2]

For a long time the Bennett juniper was considered to be a Sierra juniper (J occidentalis), but according to Wikipedia, it was recently reclassified as different species (Juniperus grandis).*

SBCU

Cropped for a closer look at the trunk

 

SBENWITH

A little perspective

*From Wikipedia… “Originally the Bennett was considered to be a Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis – Western juniper is another common name for Sierra juniper). Over time the differences between the northern and southern populations of western junipers justified dividing them into two subspecies and the Bennett is in the southern population which was named Juniperus occidentalis australis. A field guide published by UC Press in 2001 gives the common name Mountain Juniper for the australis population.[3] DNA studies (2006) by Adams[4] resulted in the southern population being raised to species status and it was given the common name “grand juniper” (Juniperus grandis). This name and status is recognized in the USDA Plant Database.[5]“

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Bonsai Boon: A Sierra Juniper’s Eight Year Journey

BoonB&A

Sierra juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) before and after by Boon Manakitivipart

Staying with our Sierra juniper theme, this impressive bonsai originally appeared here in December, 2009 (approximately 3,000 posts ago)

We’ve featured Boon Manakitivipart on this blog numerous times over the years, and for good reason. Boon is a highly accomplished bonsai artist and teacher whose enthusiasm and skill has influenced a generation of aspiring Western bonsai artists. If you are serious about improving your skills, you might want to check Boon’s intensives.

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boonbefore1

Before. June 2001. Sierra juniper that was no doubt collected somewhere in the mountains of the far west.

 

boonafter

After. January, 2009 at Bay Island Bonsai's show An Exhibit of Fine Bonsai. If you go to Styling on Bonsai Boon you can see how Boon got from before to here.

 

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boonaftercu

After. A closer look at the trunk

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Prize Winners & Other Extraordinary North American Bonsai

secondCropped

The second place tree at the Artisans Cup (fall of 2015). It's a Sierra Juniper that belongs to Tim Priest. The other winners are below

Continuing with yesterday’s Sierra juniper theme (see the tree above). This post originally appeared here in March, 2016 (with a few updates today).

It has been about two and one half years since the Artisans Cup, a ground breaking event at the Portland Art Museum that featured more jaw dropping bonsai than most people will ever see in one place.

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EricshemlockEric Schikowski’s collected Mountain Hemlock was one of my favorites. It was also Peter Warren's first choice (Peter was one of the judges), though it wasn't awarded one of the three prizes (actually four; there were two third place winners). I borrowed this photo and the one below from Eric Shrader's PHUTU blog.

While we’re on North American bonsai exhibitions, I’d like to encourage you to plan your visit to the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition this fall which promises its own crop of jaw dropping bonsai.

DougsFirHere's another one my favorites, and though it didn't place in the top three, it was Colin Lewis's first choice (Colin was one of the judges). It's a Doug fir that belongs to Doug Paul (sorry, couldn't resist).

 

ryansRyan Neil's massive Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii). This (pick your adjective) tree was not part of the bonsai display area, but rather sat alone in an inner lobby that you passed through on the way out of the display area. There's no way that you can appreciate just how massive it is, and though I didn't think to pace it off at the time, by memory (a risky proposition at best), I'd reckon that it must be about six or seven feet (approx 2 meters) across.

 

third.CU

This Japanese White Pine that belongs to Konnor Jenson was one of two third place trees.

 

third2CU

The other third place tree. It's a Rocky Mountain Juniper that belongs to Amy Blanton.

 

first-2

The winner, a massive Rocky Mountain Juniper that belongs to Randy Knight.

 

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A Dramatic Before & After Bonsai

B&ACruz

An impressive Sierra juniper(Juniperus occidentalis) transformation by Valentín Cruz. It was originally dug by Ned Lycett  

Before we start, we’ve got an update on yesterday’s post, thanks to Bill Valvanis (see below).

Here we go again with another exceptional before and after bonsai. I found it on the artist’s timeline. His name is Valentín Cruz and a couple hours ago I had no idea he existed. My guess is you didn’t either, but if you spend some time looking him up you most likely won’t forget him. By the way Valentín’s bonsai teacher is Jim Gremel, an artist we’ve featured several times over the years.

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SEE BELOW

before

Before. It helps to start with a powerful trunk and lots of natural deadwood

after

After. Not bad

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M1

Yesterday's Japanese maple, which, thanks to Bill Valavanis, we now know more about than we did 24 hours ago. Here's what Bill wrote... "That maple is from SEIJI Morimae’s web shop. S Cube Bonsai. 70 years old. $2,300.00" Great price btw.
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