Honeysuckle Bonsai – Before & After (& One Small Bonus)

This massive old Honeysuckle belongs to our friend Andy Rutledge. Here’s what Andy has to say about it, “The photo is not particularly well done, but I tried to make a decent backdrop. It’s just after a bit of new-growth pinching this afternoon. It’s a Lonicera (don’t know the species). It was collected by my teacher Nick Lenz a while back. Been in my care since 2010. It’s coming along.” Continued below… Two Brand New Bonsai Wire Sales 25% off 2+ rolls of 500 gram Bonsai Aesthetics Wire 25% off 2+ rolls of U.S. manufactured Copper Wire* plus an extra … Continue reading Honeysuckle Bonsai – Before & After (& One Small Bonus)

Spring Bonsai in Full Bloom – NEW Bonsai Soil

You don’t see cascading Azalea bonsai all that often. This flowing full flowering favorite (sorry about that) is by Teunis Jan Klein. Speaking of Azaleas, we just put up our new Kanuma azalea bonsai soil I’m in the process of putting up some new bonsai soil that just arrived. So far the Akadama is up with more to follow. Anyway, it’s spring, our busiest season, in much of the U.S. now. So we’re swamped and need to keep moving. Still. I try to post every day and here’s my quick and easy one for today. All the photos shown here are from a post by Bonsai … Continue reading Spring Bonsai in Full Bloom – NEW Bonsai Soil

A Radical Approach to Bonsai Soil

This sturdy, barely tamed beast of a tree is a perfect example of Walter Pall’s naturalistic style. The photo is from Walter’s website. The tree is a European spruce. Yesterday we resurrected Walter Pall’s unique hedge pruning method. Today we’re resurrecting (for the second time) his equally unique take on bonsai soil. It originally appeared here on Bark in June of 2013. Walter Pall, world famous bonsai artist and much more… We’ve feature Walter’s bonsai numerous times here on Bark (and in Bonsai Today) and will continue to feature them for as long as we continue posting. I won’t say … Continue reading A Radical Approach to Bonsai Soil

The Art & Science of Watering – Especially in Summer

This drawing is from our Masters’ Series book; Junipers, Growing & Styling Juniper Bonsai (due back in print in November, 2015). This will be the fourth time we’ve featured this post, but it’s summer now so the time is right. The more you know about watering, the better. Without timely, intelligent watering, any plant in a container is at risk. The more you know about watering, the better. BTW: A perfect complement to this post is a post about summer misting (hamisu) by Michael Hagedorn. Photo from Shohin Bonsai by Morten Albek. A good watering wand is a must. … Continue reading The Art & Science of Watering – Especially in Summer

The Art & Science of Watering

This drawing is from our Masters’ Series book; Junipers, Growing & Styling Juniper Bonsai. Our last couple posts have been about soil, so maybe it’s time to talk about watering. This will be the third time we’ve featured this post, but the time is right once again and, as it turns out, I’m on the road once again. A good time to dig into our archives. The more you know about watering, the better. Without timely, intelligent watering, any plant in a container is at risk. The more you know about watering, the better. BTW: A perfect complement to … Continue reading The Art & Science of Watering

Earth and Fire

Mottled beauty with just right mix of tradition (form) and innovation (glaze). One of many great pots by Peter Krebs. All the photos in this post are from Peter’s Earth and Fire website. We are well into our sixth year here on Bark and we’ve never devoted a post to Peter Krebs’ exquisite hand made bonsai pots. Fortunately, the time is right to repair this oversight. Potting season is here for some of us and soon to be here for most of us. This is not to say that everyone should hurry over to Peter’s website (Earth and Fire) and … Continue reading Earth and Fire

The Art & Science of Watering

This drawing is from our Masters’ Series book; Junipers, Growing & Styling Juniper Bonsai. Continuing with our mid-summer archival borrowing program, here’s a post that originally appeared way back in 2009. A perfect complement to this post is a post about summer misting (hamisu) by Michael Hagedorn. The more you know about watering, the better. Without timely, intelligent watering, any plant in a container is at risk. The more you know about watering, the better. But first, a quick word from our sponsor: Check out our big Summer Book Sale at Stone Lantern. 20% to 25% off of our already … Continue reading The Art & Science of Watering

Turning Some Cherished Notions on Their Heads

This Hawthorn in bloom is from Walter Pall’s Bonsai Adventures, as is the article below. The rest of the photos in this post are from Walter’s online gallery. Walter Pall, world famous bonsai artist and much more… We’ve feature Walter’s bonsai numerous times here on Bark (and in Bonsai Today) and will continue to feature them for as long as we continue posting. I won’t say much more, except that Walter produces quality trees by the hundreds (seemingly at least) and he also sometimes produces worthwhile and even provocative ideas about bonsai. What follows may be his most fascinating and … Continue reading Turning Some Cherished Notions on Their Heads

Winter Sale Last Day & New Pots

Bonsai Pots. You may or may not know this, but we are now offering a very large selection of Yixing bonsai pots. I think Yixing pots are among the very best pots in the world. Especially when you consider the prices. Winter Sale. Today (January 31st) is the last day of our Winter Sale. Right now we have hundreds of items that are reduced below our normal low prices, and our usual volume discounts also apply. It’s not that we won’t keep some items on sale after this (we’ll always have deep discounts), but just not so many at once. … Continue reading Winter Sale Last Day & New Pots

Dragon Tail & Other Random Shots

Dragon Tail. Wood sculpting by Mother Nature and Father Time. Photo by John Palmer. John is the blissfully retired founder of Stone Lantern and Bonsai Today. Have you visited Stone Lantern lately? On March 13th of this year, we started seriously lowering prices on our website. We’ve pretty much lowered everything at this point: bonsai books (other books too), bonsai tools and other tools, fertilizers, bonsai soils, the works. So, if you haven’t visited for a while, be prepared to be pleasantly surprised. A great shot of a convoluted old pine trunk. My apologies to the owner, but I’ve lost … Continue reading Dragon Tail & Other Random Shots