Kissing the Rock

That’s a rock sticking out on the left side of this Trident maple. According to Juan Andrade, the maple is kissing the rock (Arce “besando” la roca) Continuing with the bonsai of Juan Andrade… Juan is one of a whole host of young Western apprentices (Costa Rica in Juan’s case) who are studying or have studied in Japan. This post is from our archives (July, 2017) and the photos and quotes shown here are from Juan’s timeline POTTING SPECIAL ENDS TONIGHT 25% OFF LIST PRICES ON ALL BONSAI SOIL & SOIL INGREDIENTS Special ends Tonight, Sunday, August 19th at 11:59pm … Continue reading Kissing the Rock

The Evolution of Bonsai

This photo and the others shown here are from a post by Ryan Neil titled, Bald Cypress #1, Evolution I recently found these photos and an eye opening story by Ryan Neil on his Mirai blog. It’s titled Bald Cypress #1 Evolution. Ryan’s story touched on American trees and American bonsai and how they can’t be judged except on their own terms. But rather than me trying to explain, here’s part of what Ryan wrote… “Bald Cypress #1 embodies the diversity of landscape and form Mirai strives to explore through our trees. Its rapid taper, flat-topped foliage, and overall Dr. Seuss-esque form demands … Continue reading The Evolution of Bonsai

6th U.S. National – Bonsai on a Steady Upward Curve

This award winning dwarf Japanese garden juniper (Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’) belongs to Creighton Bostrom of Waxhaw, North Carolina. The photo is from the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. You can find it and all the other trees in the Exhibition Album. The same goes for the 4th Exhibition (the albums for 1, 2 and 3 are out of print) Thanks to Bonsai Empire for the photos shown here (and for identifying the varieties and the owners). They just made my job easier. And of course, thanks to Bill Valavanis and all the kind folks who put together the previous U.S. National Bonsai Exhibitions … Continue reading 6th U.S. National – Bonsai on a Steady Upward Curve

Not All Bonsai Need Deadwood

It takes a strong tree to handle a pot like this. This Pistacio (Pistacia chinensis Bunge) has at least two features that qualify: its muscular trunk which works well with the depth of the pot (deep pots with thin trunks just don’t work) and its lushly hued full crown which contrasts with the pot’s brilliance. Today is the first day of a short summer vacation. We’ll try to keep Bark going by employing some favorites from our archives. This one is from January, 2016 (with a couple revisions today) The trees shown here are all Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s creations. Cheng is famous for his Sidiao method (a … Continue reading Not All Bonsai Need Deadwood

The Monk, Bonsai Before & After

Before and after by Salvador De Loy Reyes. He calls it The Monk, but gives no other information, including no species (looks a lot like a Shimpaku juniper) or details of any kind, though you might guess it was originally field grown and purposely twisted to look like an old Japanese yamadori (bonsai collected from the wild). Without seeing the other side of the tree, it’s almost impossible to follow the live veins in their delightfully chaotic movement up the trunk Yesterday’s post featured three trees that were ready to be reviewed and retouched by Salvador De Los Reyes. Today it’s a before … Continue reading The Monk, Bonsai Before & After

“JeJeJe” – One Very Impressive Olive & Two Others that Can Use Some Reviewing & Retouching

This impressive old Olive must have taken a long time to carve. Assuming that most of the deadwood was carved by human hands (with some power tools’ help of course). Either way, it’s masterpiece (though there’s still the sacrifice shoots on the lowest branch, which will look a lot better when their work is done and they are removed). Speaking of the lowest branch, here’s Salvador De Los Reyes’ caption with this tree… “Vamos a dar mas fuerza a esa rama de abajo,” and here’s my translation… “We are going to strengthen the lower branch.” The photos of the three Olives and the Spanish text in this … Continue reading “JeJeJe” – One Very Impressive Olive & Two Others that Can Use Some Reviewing & Retouching

Trident Maple Bonsai in a Well Chosen Pot

Sweet! I thought you might like to see this. It’s Carl Morrow’s Trident maple in a very well chosen and appropriately sized pot (Carl sent photos in an email, so no links) Last week we featured a Robert Steven critique of a Trident maple that belongs to Carl Morrow (Size Matters & Small Is Beautiful). It was a repost of a one we originally did in September, 2010. Carl took Robert’s advice and repotted the tree into a smaller pot, though not the same pot Robert used in his simulation (it’s hard to find simulated pots!). As it turns out, I think … Continue reading Trident Maple Bonsai in a Well Chosen Pot

Bjorn’s Bonsai for the Memory Bank

Before and after Juniper procumbens by Bjorn Bjorholm. The most obvious improvement is the foliage mass, but if you take a close look you see can many more changes, particularly the highlighting of the live vein (especially at the top of tree) It’s time to revisit Bjorn Bjorholm one of our most talented young bonsai artists – many of whom, including Bjorn, apprenticed in Japan. The photos and quoted text in this post are from Bjorn’s blog Before we go any further, do yourself a favor and take a look at Bjorn’s Advanced Bonsai Course. The price is right and if you take … Continue reading Bjorn’s Bonsai for the Memory Bank

Hanging off a Cliff Somewhere in the Alps

This very distinctive bonsai belongs to Mauro Stemberger. The rock was made by Erik Križovenský, a master of unique pots and other creative vessels for planting bonsai. No mention is made of the type tree, but it looks like some type of Juniper. I cropped Mauro’s original photo (below) to get a closer look and to eliminate some background noise It’s past due time to revisit Mauro Stemberger, an old favorite here on Bark. If you’d like to see more of what Mauro is up to you can visit him on facebook and on his Italian Bonsai Dream website. You can also visit … Continue reading Hanging off a Cliff Somewhere in the Alps

A Most Unusual & Provocative Bonsai Extravaganza

I don’t know how big this planting is, though I’m leaning toward pretty big. Impressive too with its sophisticated sense of depth (larger trees in front and smaller toward the back). Not to overlook the very large pot with its flowing lines and no doubt hefty price tag. This photo and the next three below are from Bill Valavanis’ blog Continuing with yesterday’s mixed media bonsai theme, this one is from Robert Steven’s 2014 1st International Bonsai Biennale. At the time we referred to it as the most unusual and provocative bonsai extravaganza ever TWO NEW TOOL SPECIALS Famous Roshi BONSAI Tools 30% … Continue reading A Most Unusual & Provocative Bonsai Extravaganza