More Rare Out-of-Print Bonsai Todays

We just purchased an entire collection of Bonsai Todays from a long time bonsai maven who lives right here in northeastern Vermont. Many are rare out-of-print issues (some are very rare) and most are now up our site. We only have one copy of most (we do have a few doubles and even triples, but not many), so don’t wait. In print and out We still have over fifty issues of Bonsai Today that are what we call in-print. This just means we still have ones that have never been sold. They have been sitting in our warehouse and are … Continue reading More Rare Out-of-Print Bonsai Todays

Penjing & Bonsai: The Original Creators

A magical Chinese elm penjing by Wang Huaishun. Did this creative landscape, and others like it, influence some of Kimura’s more daring innovations? Robert Steven’s too? From Bonsai Today issue 98. Submitted by Karin Albert. Penjing in three parts The Penjing above is the lead photo in a wonderful (and very well received) in-depth article entitled, Penjing: A Chinese Renaissance by Karin Albert, that appear in Bonsai Today issues 98, 101 and 102. Following the buzz There’s been a lot of buzz from Robert’s last critique a few posts back: Robert Steven Critiques a Black Pine and Offers Some Insights … Continue reading Penjing & Bonsai: The Original Creators

Bonsai Gallery: Five Magnificent Trees

Forest on a slab from Bonsai Today issue 23. Though the photo is uncaptioned it looks like it could be an Ezo spruce forest by Saburo Kato. Slant style Japanese maple in fall color. From Bonsai Today issue 14. Artist unknown. This is one of a handful of outstanding Japanese winterberries (Ilex serrata) that pop up here and there in Bonsai Today. It’s from issue 14 (it appears on both the cover and inside, though with different backgrounds). Artist unknown. Trident maple forest from Bonsai Today issue 14. I counted 29 trees, though it’s difficult (if not impossible) to tell … Continue reading Bonsai Gallery: Five Magnificent Trees

Rare Out-of-Print Bonsai Todays

We just put this one, along with thirteen other rare out-of-print issues of Bonsai Today, up on our site. That makes twenty eight total. Most have been out of print for years and are quite rare. We only have a few copies of each (anywhere from one to five), so don’t wait. BTW: the wisteria on the cover is a good example of what we discussed in our last post. Where do they come from? We buy back old out-of-print copies of Bonsai Today whenever we get a chance. Then they sit around on our shelves for a few months … Continue reading Rare Out-of-Print Bonsai Todays

Some of the World’s Best Bonsai Are Right Here

Winter display, from the Chinese collection at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in Washington DC. Trident maple by Quinquan Zhao. A trip well worth taking We’ve been encouraging people to visit our National Bonsai & Penjing Museum for a long time (way back to the days when we published Bonsai Today). We’ll keep doing it until you go visit (if you’ve already been, tell your friends). It’s worth the trip and you can drop by the Smithsonian while you’re at it. Or the Lincoln Memorial. Or… A borrowed shot to whet your appetite The photo above is from the … Continue reading Some of the World’s Best Bonsai Are Right Here

Stewartia: Graceful, Elegant & Not Very Common

This slender delight is showing off its inner charm. It’s late winter and the new buds are swelling. Without the leaves you can better see the subtle beauty of the bark and the delicate fine branching. The nebari is quite strong (but still in keeping with the delicacy of the tree). Much of its size and strength comes from having two trunks. This provides a good tip for creating nebari: leave smaller second and third trunks, at least for a while, if a strong nebari and lower trunk is your objective. Photo is from Bonsai Today issue 6. George Buehler … Continue reading Stewartia: Graceful, Elegant & Not Very Common

Spindle Tree Bonsai

This exquisite, small but strong, little Japanese spindle tree (Euonymus sieboldianus) is from Google images. Euonymus is a vast and varied genus with about 160 species. Some are suited for bonsai, though it’s not too often you see them used for bonsai. It spite of the fuzzy image, you can still get a pretty good idea of both the power and colorful beauty of this spindle tree. Though it’s a E. sieboldianus, just like the one above (at least that’s how the original in Bonsai Today 31 is labeled), the bark looks quite different; though with the poor quality image, … Continue reading Spindle Tree Bonsai

The Magic Starts With An Idea

Finished. Most of Masahiko Kimura’s juniper masterpieces start and finish as one tree. Not so this one. The deadwood and each major branch all come from different places. How Kimura put all the pieces together is brilliant and novel. A few hints Rather than explain the whole process here, we’ll offer a few hints and leave the rest to your imagination (or, lacking that, you could get your hands on a copy of Bonsai Today issue 63 and see the whole process). Before. The pieces of the puzzle are gathered together. The deadwood after Kimura prepares it for the task … Continue reading The Magic Starts With An Idea

No Interior Buds, Now What?

One down, one to go. Decandling two Japanese black pines. Photo by Jonas Dupuich. Akio Kondo discovers a problem and offers a solution I lifted all the photos in this post from Bonsai Tonight. They present a small piece of a much larger post (actually two posts). I won’t attempt to flesh too out much (you can just go there and see the whole thing), except to say they are about solving a problem (lack of interior buds on black pines). Akio Kondo pointed out the problem to Jonas Dupuich and also offered a solution. He’s a pro Speaking of … Continue reading No Interior Buds, Now What?

Rebalancing & Restyling a Bunjin Pine

After. The trunk is strong and fluid, the overall balance is good and the new pot is suited to bunjin style. By Furube Tetsuyi. From Bonsai Today issue 33. See below for the before photo. Changing the potting angle and rotating the trunk Though Mr. Tetsuyi did a few other things, the most obvious (aside from the new pot) is the fairly radical change in the planting angle. This along with rotating the trunk to soften the sharp almost 90 degree angles, are the first two major steps in restyling this old tree. The final steps involve pruning and wiring … Continue reading Rebalancing & Restyling a Bunjin Pine