Great Specials on Bonsai Tools, Bonsai Soil & Green T Turntables End Sunday Night

Raffaele Perilli’s Holm oak with Green T Turntable and tools Three Excellent Sales End Sunday Night – Bonsai Aesthetics Tool Special Ends Sunday Night 40% OFF OUR LIST PRICES SPECIAL Ends 11:59pm EDT, Sunday March 11th a small sampling of our large selection of Bonsai Aesthetics Tools we recommend Aesthetics tools for beginners & budget minded bonsai lovers SPECIAL Ends 11:59pm EDT, Sunday March 11th     20% off list prices on all Bonsai Soils ALSO Ends Sunday at 11:59pm EDT Akadama, Kanuma, Brown Lava, Black Lava, Hyuga Pumice, Aoki blends & more – – –  Green T Turntable Special Also Ends Sunday Night Due … Continue reading Great Specials on Bonsai Tools, Bonsai Soil & Green T Turntables End Sunday Night

Bonsai Brilliance in Brooklyn

Cork bark Chinese elm in fall brilliance at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. You don’t see that many good Chinese elm bonsai. This photo and the others in this post are from the bonsai collection on the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens website. The positive response to yesterday’s post, got me looking for Wisteria bonsai in our archives, and finally to this post on some bonsai at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden from October, 2015 (the Wisteria is below). Enjoy! Bonsai Aesthetics Tool Special Ends Tomorrow Night 40% OFF OUR LIST PRICES see below – This large root-over-rock bonsai is a Trident maple; the most … Continue reading Bonsai Brilliance in Brooklyn

Cold Weather Bonsai by a Consummate Bonsai Pro

This is the second time we’ve shown this photo. I can’t find where I first found it (and the one just below). It’s sad coming from someone who preaches attribution and identification. Yesterday’s snowy post prompted the following question from Henry L. Miller… “Given today’s post, please update us concerning leaving bonsai outside in 15-30 degree weather.” Seems like a simple enough question, but you’d be surprised how much is involved.  So much in fact, that this is a good time to call in Michael Hagedorn, a consummate bonsai pro and heavy lifter. In Michael’s own words… Seasonal Care for Cold Weather… … Continue reading Cold Weather Bonsai by a Consummate Bonsai Pro

Feed Your Bonsai for Health & Beauty

Lush summer foliage and impressive deadwood on an old Shimpaku juniper.The lush foliage is the result of timely feeding.* The photo is from our Masters Series Juniper book. I know the tree is from Japan, but don’t know who the artist or owner is. For some of you lucky ones, it’s already spring. For most of the rest of us, it’s time* to start enriching the soil with slow release fertilizers. This post is one of our archival favorites (July, 2015). Nothing has changed since then, except our lower fertilizer prices. Many, if not most people underfeed their bonsai. There are … Continue reading Feed Your Bonsai for Health & Beauty

Sumo Olive – Which Bonsai Pot Would You Choose?

Boon’s caption for this reads… “Selecting pot for sumo Olive — with Adair Martin” I like the tree and the pots, though there’s one pot that jumps out at me. But I’m not saying, at least until we hear from you. Boon Manakitivipart (Bonsai Boon) is at it again. This time you have a choice of six pots for a tree that he call a Sumo Olive (I don’t think Sumo is an official varietal name, more like a well chosen description that some bonsai enthusiasts like). If you’d like to play, please put your choice (or choices), along with your thoughts if you’d like, in the … Continue reading Sumo Olive – Which Bonsai Pot Would You Choose?

The Right Place at the Right Time

That’s a lot of deadwood, but you can see the living vein just peeking out on the far left. Here’s what Bill Valavanis wrote about this remarkable tree… “Sargent Juniper created by Minoru Akiyama who received the coveted Prime Minister Award a few years ago at the Sakufu Bonsai Exhibitions for professional bonsai artists. Here it is displayed under the owner’s name.” This is our third straight Kokufu post. As with the previous two, all the photos were taken by Bill Valavanis. I feel a bit lazy sometimes, borrowing so liberally from Bill. It’s just that he and his camera seem land in the … Continue reading The Right Place at the Right Time

More Kokufu Bonsai!

I borrowed this bonsai that belongs to American Doug Paul and rest of the bonsai shown here from Bill Valavanis. They represent a very small sampling of the photos Bill has taken so far at the ongoing 92nd Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition. Today is my first day back from vacation and as you know, no vacation goes unpunished, so we’ll make this short and sweet. Five more Kokufu photos borrowed from Bill Valavanis.  Stay posted, we’ll show you some more, including some prize winners. Meanwhile a visit to Bill’s blog might be a good idea. Two excellent bonsai tool sales end tomorrow night and another … Continue reading More Kokufu Bonsai!

Old Bonsai Bones

We Borrowed this Hackberry from a 2017 Kokufu post on Bill Valavanis Bonsai blog. As soon as I return from vacation later this week, we’ll show you some photos from this year’s Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition, which just begun yesterday. Meanwhile, we’ll stimulate your interest with a few photos from last year’s exhibition (borrowed from  Bill Valavanis’ excellent bonsai blog) Continued below…   Bill offer the varieties on some of the trees, but not this one. I could guess Japanese maple, but my track record isn’t that great. Meanwhile you might appreciate the powerful nebari and the exquisite fine branching. One advantage of winter … Continue reading Old Bonsai Bones

Bonsai Elegance from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum

I’ve never been to the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, but if the elegance of the display shown in this photo is any indication, maybe I should start saving my yen. Continuing our Omiya Bonsai Art Museum theme and still on vacation so we’ll also continue borrowing from our archives (with a little value added today). The three photos shown here were part of a post that appeared in May, 2012. Japanese five needle pine (Goyomatsu) from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum’s gallery. Japanese five needle pines are also called Japanese white pine. The Latin is Pinus parviflora, or sometimes Pinus … Continue reading Bonsai Elegance from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum

Directional Deadwood

A bit of a jumble up top, but still a very compelling tree. It belongs to Nicola Kitora Crivelli. Looks like a Shimpaku juniper. Taking a little vacation, so we’ll dip into our archives. The photos shown here are from a July 2015  post. I’ve rewritten the text due to changes in perspective that happen over time.   Going down? This one is a Southwestern white pine (Pinus strobiformis). It belong to Greg Brenden. The photo is from the 2010 2nd U.S. National Exhibition Album (out of print but we still have the 4th and 5th). 4th & 5th U.S. … Continue reading Directional Deadwood