Deadwood & Much More at North America’s Signature Bonsai Event

Going down? There’s a lot to love about this old tree: that little piece of wood that hangs over the edge of the pot, the remarkable texture and color of the bark and the way the powerful old trunk seems to cling to the pot. There’s also the fact that the tree is a Southwestern White Pine (Pinus strobiformis), not your everyday bonsai species. And then there’s that remarkable jin that seems to be unconcerned if it fits or doesn’t fit with the rest of the tree. The tree belong to Greg Brenden. The photo is from the 2010 2nd … Continue reading Deadwood & Much More at North America’s Signature Bonsai Event

A Pencil and Paper, and a Desire to Improve Your Eye for Bonsai Design

Rococo bonsai. If you decide to try your hand at drawing bonsai, my guess is that the results won’t look a lot like this. We’ve featured this illustration by Ruben Roig at least twice (here and here), but it’s been a long time and Ruben’s skills are exceptional, so it’s worth another look. Consider this post an encouragement for you to try your hand at drawing bonsai (that’s three in row for those of you who love the English language). Or lacking that, you can simply enjoy these illustrations by people who excel at the art of drawing bonsai. There … Continue reading A Pencil and Paper, and a Desire to Improve Your Eye for Bonsai Design

Transplanting Bonsai into Our Excellent New Masters Soil

I just repotted this old pine into our new Masters Bonsai Soil. The pot is a growing pot rather than a show pot, but will serve nicely for now (pines like deep pots). The tree is a Japanese white pine that was grafted onto Japanese black pine stock in Japan. I got it from John Jaramillo last year when I was in Portland studying with Michael Hagedorn. Michael was kind enough to wire it for me. Our new Masters Bonsai Soil is now 20% off, so this seems like a good time to mention that I am in the process … Continue reading Transplanting Bonsai into Our Excellent New Masters Soil

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

Snow & Flowers

Ume (aka Flowering apricot, aka Prunus mume). This fantastic tree resides at Bonsai Aichien in Japan. Both the photos here were just posted on facebook by Juan Andrade who is an apprentice at Bonsai Aichien and a great source of excellent bonsai photos. Bonsai Aichien Nursery. This photo could almost pass as black and white with the snow and the diminished light. It’s snowing here in Vermont too. More than 14 inches of fresh pow so far the last couple days. BTW: have you ever noticed all the power lines in photos from Japanese nurseries?

Upcoming Bonsai Events & Big Summer Book Sale Ends Soon

An example of Francois Jeker’s styling and deadwood carving. Francois is a headliner at the Eda Uchi Kai Bonsai-Ten 2013 (see below). He is also the author of Bonsai Aesthetics one and two. FREE ADVERTISING! Would you like to see your bonsai event featured here? If so, just send me a notice with a link to the event. That’s it. But remember, no link, no show. My email is wayne@stonelantern.com. You might also want to mention the event in the comments below. Big Summer Book Sale ends soon. 20% to 25% off all books. Don’t wait! Two classics, one old … Continue reading Upcoming Bonsai Events & Big Summer Book Sale Ends Soon

World Famous Masterpiece Bonsai

I like this tree. It has great movement and wild, wonderful deadwood that runs all the way up the trunk, plays peekaboo in the crown and then finishes with a flourish at the top. If you removed the hanging branch that reaches down almost to the base of the trunk, it would still be an interesting tree (even though the remaining crown would be an inverted bowl)… but with that branch and the aforementioned deadwood, the tree is elevated to bonsai masterpiece. If you don’t believe me, you can check out Takahashi Iura’s facebook page, where it says: “My important … Continue reading World Famous Masterpiece Bonsai

Scots & Scotch

Great tree, great pot. This powerful old Scot’s pine by Enrico Savini was an overall winner in a contest that was held at the Art of Bonsai Project way back in 2005. The pot is by Isabelia. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is another in our bonsai species series. I used to think they were Scotch pine (some people say Scotch pine is incorrect and others say it’s an acceptable variation) and had the notion that you could enjoy a sip of Scotch while working on you Scotch pine (oh well…). No matter what you call them, Scots pine make excellent … Continue reading Scots & Scotch

Japanese Whites

A seedling? Great base, strong taper and nice balanced open branching. An altogether excellent Japanese white pine and it’s from a seedling no less! As you may know, most quality Japanese white pine bonsai have been grafted onto Black pine stock (see below). But not this one. It was grown from seed and is, as you can see, quite impressive. It was just wired (in this photo) by Michael Hagedorn (Crataegus Bonsai.) It belongs to a client of Micheal’s. More than just another bonsai in our species specific series. The Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora) is one of the world’s … Continue reading Japanese Whites

The Other Cascade: Before & After

After by Kimura (aka the Magician). This photo is from a chapter in our Masters’ Series Pine Book titled Masahiko Kimura Transforms A Semi-Cascade. The tree is a Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora). The other cascade Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seem to me that, with the exception of Junipers (especially the ever present Procumbens nana) you don’t see that many semi-cascade bonsai (I just scrolled back through the last couple month of Bonsai Bark and about 10% of the trees featured are semi-cascade; more than I thought I’d find, but still, not that many). Actually, you don’t … Continue reading The Other Cascade: Before & After