Deadwood Wars

Deadwood anyone? No matter your opinion about excessive deadwood, you must admit this is a very powerful bonsai. Beyond sheer power and no matter your opinion, it’s hard to deny that the artist posses first rate skill when it comes to carving and styling bonsai. This and the other photos shown here were posted by Naldo Nolder (another Brazilian – see our 9/22 and 9/23 posts). He doesn’t say who the artists are. You’ll have to excuse me for the title; Deadwood Wars is little extreme. It’s just I’ve heard so many complaints over the last few years about excessive deadwood. I’m inclined to … Continue reading Deadwood Wars

When to Let a Tree Run Off Leash – by Michael Hagedorn

This luminous Japanese maple in full fall color is from Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai Portfolio. I don’t know for sure when, or for how long Michael lets this one off the leash, but after reading the article below, I have some idea. Once again we’re paying homage to the wisdom of Michael Hagedorn, our favorite source for the nitty-gritty of growing bonsai. This time it’s about managing and especially not managing the growth of our trees. The text and Winter Hazel photo below are from Michael’s Crataegus Bonsai blog In Michael’s own words… “We talk endlessly about how to manage the growth … Continue reading When to Let a Tree Run Off Leash – by Michael Hagedorn

Brilliant Bonsai Berries and Something for Cat Lovers

Two bunches of brilliant berries on either side of central gap… In this shot, almost all the berries and foliage are parted down the middle, which provides a clear view of the trunk all the way from the base to the apex. This is quite unusual. Most bonsai will show the lower third or half of the trunk while most of the upper regions are hidden, or at least partially hidden. The tree is a Pyracantha. The pot is Japanese and the artist is Christian De Ross Today we’re picking up where we left off yesterday, with the bonsai of Christian De … Continue reading Brilliant Bonsai Berries and Something for Cat Lovers

A Bonsai in Hand…

When it comes to fall color, this little Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) puts on a pretty good show, with the contrasting brilliance of the pot and leaves being nothing short of spectacular. All the trees shown in this post are by Cristian De Ross, a first timer here on Bark. I always feel a little lucky when I stumble upon superior Shohin bonsai. Especially when they’re hand held. The hand gives perspective on size without the distraction of the awkward drink cans you sometimes see. In this case the superior Shohin belong to Christian De Ross. Christian lives in Caxias do Sul, Brasil. You can see more of his remarkable shohin and … Continue reading A Bonsai in Hand…

The Finest Bonsai Deserves the Finest Turntable

Everything looks good on a Green T turntable and this luscious azalea in full flower is no exception. Here’s part of the caption that the folks at Green T wrote with this photo… “@bonsaiwarsaw loves azaleas! This variety of bonsai require lots of special care and dedication and we are glad that such a young innovative bonsai artist is trusting Green T to do his best!” I cropped the original photo to feature just the tree (apologies for the slight fuzz). The uncropped version is below. All the photos shown here are from Green Ts fb photos Just in case … Continue reading The Finest Bonsai Deserves the Finest Turntable

Bjorn’s Biggest Loser – Before & After – Fertilizing Old Trees

Before and After. This masterpiece Itoigawa Shimpaku was restyled by Bjorn Bjorholm at Keiichi Fujikawa’s Kouka-en Bonsai Nursery in Ikeda City, Japan, where Bjorn was apprenticing at the time. The photo is from a post on Bjorn’s Bjorvala Bonsai Studio blog, as are all the photos in this post. Continuing with our Bjorn Bjorholm theme (it fits well with our ongoing before and after theme as well). This post originally appeared here in April, 2013, with a few minor changes today In Bjorn’s own words… “This massive Itoigawa Shimpaku has a long history as a bonsai. It was first shown in the Kokufu-ten about 35 years ago, … Continue reading Bjorn’s Biggest Loser – Before & After – Fertilizing Old Trees

Tall Cliffs & a Rickety Little Bridge

Partial shot of a large penjing style planting that features water, tall cliffs and a rickety little bridge. The artist is Bjorn Bjorholm with some friends as able assistants Yesterday we featured a planting and a few other bonsai by Bjorn Bjorholm and friends. Today we’ve got another one from the same event (you can visit Bjorn on facebook for more) KILO BONSAI WIRE ONLY 14.95 PER ROLL this special ends this Thursday additional 5% off orders 150.00 or more Bjorn and friends posing with their masterpiece. Bjorn is the one with the blue T-shirt A piece of the action… THE Book for Penjing … Continue reading Tall Cliffs & a Rickety Little Bridge

A Well Traveled, Hard Working Bonsai Artist

Bjorn Bjorholm posted this root-on-rock gem the other day. It looks like a juniper, but I can’t tell for sure what kind and won’t bother to guess. Speaking of guesses, I’ll venture that some or all of the trees might share a single root system, and that the rock formation is manmade. I cropped this photo to eliminate background noise. A version that shows the whole planting is just below. Bjorn Bjorholm has to be one of the most well-traveled and hard working bonsai artists anywhere. At least that’s the impression I get from his posts on facebook. Speaking of, stay posted … Continue reading A Well Traveled, Hard Working Bonsai Artist

Two Splendid Cedar Bonsai

This has to be one of the very best Northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) bonsai we’ve seen yet. We’ve seen thousands of magnificent Cedars growing in the wild here in Northern Vermont and surrounding states and provinces, but very few top quality bonsai. BTW: this one belongs to Brian Donnely of Quebec City. The photo is from one of the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition albums (I don’t remember which). The rest of the photos in this post are of another brilliant Cedar that belongs to Michael Pollock This post was inspired by a Cedar (Thuja occidentalis) that we’ve featured here … Continue reading Two Splendid Cedar Bonsai

A Very Variegated Unusual Bonsai

I think this unusual gem is the first variegated privet bonsai I’ve seen. Here’s what our source for this photo, Miguel Ros of Museo Tatsugoro said when he posted it… “It’s a Ligustrum with a natural graft of the same species. Its leaves are variegated!!!. It’s a beautiful tree.” (If you’re interested, here a link to what Wikipedia has to say about natural grafts.) When I stumbled upon this unusual tree on Miguel Ros Museo Tatsugoro timeline, I thought the variegated and the unvariegated leaves look a lot like leaves you might find on two different Serissa foetida varieties, but that the trunk is … Continue reading A Very Variegated Unusual Bonsai