Restyling A Stubborn Old Tree

An old RAF Scot’s Pine after restyling by Bill Valavanis. The before photo is below. Radical measures This restyling took place at Bill Valavanis’ Open House last weekend. It provides an excellent lesson in dealing with an old tree with defects that require radical measures to correct. In Bill’s own words Here’s part of what Bill has to say about this restyling: “The first two branches are very heavy and needed to be lowered. Before lowering they were wired so they would not be disturbed after lowering. There are several different methods for lowering the heavy branches. I used a … Continue reading Restyling A Stubborn Old Tree

Quiet Dignity

This Cryptomeria japonica is reminisent of the unimaginably vast and towering Giant sequoias in California’s Sierra Nevadas. This effect could be enhanced by photographing it from a little lower (see the photo below), but you still get the drift. Far and few between What a great tree. It’s from Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai. You seldom see a real good formal upright bonsai (you don’t see very many formal uprights at all) and you don’t see many good Cryptomeria bonsai either. Especially in the West; they are more common in Japan (their common name in English is Japanese cedar, even though … Continue reading Quiet Dignity

Our Pine Book Is Here – Finally!

One of dozens of world class trees featured in our pine book. Which, by-the-way has just arrived. Better late than never. A little gift for those of you who have been waiting It ain’t much, but we’d like to offer each of you who pre-ordered our Pine book (before July 1st) a $5.00 discount on your next order. Just put in the comments that you pre-ordered our Pine book. Your discount won’t show up when you check out, but we’ll adjust it on this end. Meanwhile, thank you for your patience and understanding. It’s been a long strange journey (see … Continue reading Our Pine Book Is Here – Finally!

Order Now: Our Warehouse Will Be Closed July 1 – 11

Japanese black pine from our Masters’ Series Pine book. The second printing should arrive about the time our warehouse reopens on July 12th (it will be closed from July 1 thru July 11). Warehouse vacation I’m taking my summer vacation now (I know…), so early July will be Corey’s turn. This means the warehouse will be closed from July 1st – 11th. So, if you need something soon, be sure to order it now. You can still order while the warehouse is closed Orders received while the warehouse is closed will be shipped soon after the warehouse reopens on July … Continue reading Order Now: Our Warehouse Will Be Closed July 1 – 11

Draw! (Your Bonsai)

This excellent bonsai drawing looks like a Japanese black pine, but that’s just a guess. As you can see, it and the others in this post are by Eduardo Guedes. Another worthy facebook find. (Note: the copy below is from an earlier Bonsai Bark post, but the drawings in this post are all first timers). You can do it! It’s vacation time here, so I’ll borrow a little copy from last year: We’ve featured bonsai drawings way back in the early years of Bonsai Bark (2009). We still think it’s a good idea and suggest you try your hand at … Continue reading Draw! (Your Bonsai)

The Art & Science of Judging Bonsai

Japanese black pine from Bay Island Bonsai via Bonsai Tonight. Still a ways to go, but perfect for learning how to evaluate bonsai. Good timing Thanks to Jonas of Bonsai Tonight for posting this timely article on judging bonsai. Our $1,000 Bonsai from Scratch contest is in full swing (it’s not too late to enter) and a question that arises around any bonsai contest is: how are bonsai judged? Bay Island Bonsai‘s judging form that was designed by Boon Manakitivipart. If you go to Bonsai Tonight you’ll see a number of forms that were used to evaluate these two trees … Continue reading The Art & Science of Judging Bonsai

Our Pine Book: Better Late…?

A good way to check out new planting angles. Photo is from our Masters’ Series book, Growing and Styling Japanese Black and White Pines. You can still pre-order and pre-pay for a $5 discount. If the ship sinks, we’ll send you a full refund. New ETA for what it’s worth Our star-crossed second printing of our famous pine book has a new ETA: If the ship doesn’t sink, or isn’t ambushed by pirates, it should arrive in harbor about July 4th. Normally, red tape, plus delivery time, takes another 10 to 12 days. So, if the gods give us a … Continue reading Our Pine Book: Better Late…?

NEW! Bonsai Embroidered T-Shirts

Brand new. Embroidered bonsai logo on all cotton black T-shirts. Kimura’s legendary formal upright Japanese white pine Long time bonsai embroidery maven Cindy Cones did a remarkable job of replicating Masahiko Kimura’s magnificent formal-upright Japanese white pine bonsai; probably the most distinctive, well-known formal-upright bonsai in the world. So distinctive and well-known that it appears in our Masters’ Series Pine book (2nd printing due in July), in The Magician, The Bonsai Art of Kimura 2 and on the cover of Bonsai Today issue 80. Discounted prices We’ve come up with new pricing formulas that are well below list prices on … Continue reading NEW! Bonsai Embroidered T-Shirts

Wiring Tips: Take It All Off (but not too early)

White pine bunjin wired at Taisho en. From ‘The Art of Bonsai.’ Take it all off (but not too early) The following article by John Romano takes on a bit of conventional wisdom about wire scarring. The article originally appeared on the New England Bonsai blog, ‘The Art of Bonsai.’ In John’s own words… “Wiring is an essential technique to create beautiful bonsai. It is not the only means (as some practice the Lignan method of cut and grow) but it is the most efficient way to shape a tree; to open up foliage to let light in; to move … Continue reading Wiring Tips: Take It All Off (but not too early)

Pine Book Now Due in July

This amazingly powerful and well balanced cascading Japanese Black Pine is from our book: Pines, Growing and Styling Japanese Black and White Pines. Apologies are in order Originally, I said the reprint of our Pine Book would be here in April. Then May. Then June. Now July. I won’t bore you with the details, except to say, that the root of the problem was overly optimistic misjudgement on my part (some lost digital files didn’t help either). In any case, I owe all of you who pre-ordered and pre-paid an apology. And a thank you for your patience and understanding. … Continue reading Pine Book Now Due in July