Rim Shots

This has got to be one of the most magnificent Chinese hackberry (Celtis sinensis) bonsai anywhere. Though the distinctive split trunk needs no comment, you might also notice the highly developed ramification (fine branching). The tree was donated to the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection by Ben Oki. We’ve featured it before, but it’s certainly worth another shot. Pacific Rim. Looking for an excuse to visit the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection? These trees might provide some incentive. Dave DeGroot, curator of the Collection, sent us the photos along with some history and some of his observations. With the exception of our … Continue reading Rim Shots

Pinch! Don’t Pinch! Part 2

This isn’t the first time we’ve featured this famous bonsai that originally appeared on the cover of Bonsai Today 63 and later in our Juniper book. I think it’s appropriate here for a couple reasons: it’s by Shinji Suzuki, Michael Hagedorn’s bonsai sensei (Michael provided the fuel for this post and our previous post) and it’s a needle type juniper, which provides a contrast to scale type junipers when it comes to controlling new growth. We can assume that Mr. Suzuki trimmed rather than pinched in creating such a profusion of dense foliage pads. Continuing where we left off Rather … Continue reading Pinch! Don’t Pinch! Part 2

Twisted

Twisted in the extreme. My guess is that you’ve never seen a tree as twisted as this one. I’m pretty sure I haven’t, though there are some (I think they are Whitebark pines Pinus albicaulis) at the treeline on Mt Lassen in Northern California that come pretty close. This photo is from Carlos van der Vaart on facebook. The caption says: Carlos van der Vaart with Carles Lleonart and Bonsai Eduardo Budes, Medellin, Colombia. What causes trees to twist? I’ve always thought twisting is caused by a combination of persistent strong winds and the way trees grow towards the sun. … Continue reading Twisted

The Twist & Other Bonsai Eccentricities

Doing the twist. We’ve featured a few of these corkscrew types lately (all Shimpaku junipers), but this one takes the cake. Even though there’s something unnatural about many of these twisted bonsai, some work better than others and I’d put this one in that category. BTW: nature sometimes does twist trees in this manner, but I’m not so sure you’d find ones with this many twists growing naturally. Photo by Jonas Dupuich of Bonsai Tonight. Pines and junipers at Meifu-ten All of the photos in this post have been lifted from a post on Bonsai Tonight titled Pines and junipers … Continue reading The Twist & Other Bonsai Eccentricities

Kokufu & the Upcoming 2012 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition

This Shishigashira Japanese maple was a 2012 Kokufu award winner. A few things stand out about this remarkable tree: the shape, with most of the action on one side is somewhat unusual for a Japanese maple; the wonderful nebari with its smooth spread and the way it stabilizes the top of the tree; and the undulating movement of the branching (from primary branches all the way out to the tips of the twigs). Best in show All the photos in this post are from Bill Valavanis’ 2012 KOKUFU BONSAI EXHIBITION REPORT which appears on the Internet Bonsai Club. You might … Continue reading Kokufu & the Upcoming 2012 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition

Pushing the Bonsai Boundaries

Can you imagine the time needed to develop and maintain the numerous foliage clouds? Does this level of refinement exist outside of Japan? Needle juniper (J. rigida) by Shinji Suzuki. From our Masters’ Series Juniper book. Picking up where we left off Our last post provoked more discussion than any post so far. Roughly drawn, the topic is naturalistic bonsai versus highly stylized and highly refined bonsai. I thought it might be good to continue with examples that exist at the extremes, at least in my view. This Big cone Douglas fir by Dan Robinson jumped out at me because … Continue reading Pushing the Bonsai Boundaries

That Old Argument Resurfaces

Hinoki cypress by Dan Robinson. From Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees. An excellent example of a naturalistic bonsai. Judging from your comments… There are two ways we can gauge reader interest. One is by the number of visits to a particular post (our host keeps track for us), and the other is your comments. Judging from your comments, the discussion about the virtues of highly refined Japanese bonsai vs a more naturalistic western style (championed by Walter Pall among others) is a topic that at some of you are interested in. I count myself among this interested group. An impassioned comment … Continue reading That Old Argument Resurfaces

Needle Junipers

This Needle juniper (J. rigida) is from our Japanese bonsai calendar. August, 2010. There are Needle junipers and then there are needle junipers, and then… Juniperus rigida (above) are commonly called Needle junipers. Then there is the class of junipers with needle like foliage, that are often referred to as needle junipers. These are distinguished from the class of junipers with softer scale like foliage. The problem is, that sometime some junipers with needle like foliage show some scale like foliage (and vice-versa). Confused? You can always order our Masters’ Series Juniper book and sort out the whole thing (and … Continue reading Needle Junipers

Over on Stone Lantern…

Our best sale yet? Our most popular book has been reduced. This doesn’t make any sense; why reduce something that is selling so well? It says over 200 items have been reduced and that’s true. Actually more like 250. Some quite steeply. And, if you order over $100, you’ll get those dreaded (just kidding) double discounts.

Say Goodbye to an Old Classic (Well, Almost)

Almost gone. Our classic Pine book is down to less than 40 copies. We originally printed 5,200, so it’s been a pretty good run. One per person please While it lasts (and it won’t be long) we request that you limit yourself to one per person (or one per company). Thanks. No plans At this point, we have no plans to reprint, though in a year or two, we could change our minds.