Contest: Unusual Pot, Unusual Tree & Free Shears!

Bunjin Black pine from an article entitled ‘The Use of Unusual Pots‘ in Bonsai Today issue 31. The article shows how you can make unconventional pots (like the one above) using ceramic tiles, wire & glue. Bunjin Bunjin (aka literati) bonsai are marked by delicacy, grace and for some, the feelings they evoke, with their long narrow trunks, spare branching and sparse foliage. Sometimes you’ll see trees that have some bunjin characteristics, but with perhaps a heavier than usual trunk, or thicker foliage. In this case, there’s no doubt it’s a bunjin; the trunk is long and narrow, their are … Continue reading Contest: Unusual Pot, Unusual Tree & Free Shears!

Digging Around Pays Off

You can find this monarch of bunjin pines and other great trees on Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai website. This one is from the 2004 Taikan Ten show in Japan and is part of an article called Japanese Shows that Michael posted in 2008 (the caption says White pine; however, it looks like a Black pine to me). Digging around Sometimes digging around through old material pays off (if you call 2008 old). I found this powerful, stately old pine (above) and several other magnificent trees while digging around Michael Hagedorn’s postings on Crataegus Bonsai. It’s part of a posting called … Continue reading Digging Around Pays Off

Bonsai Tonight with Boon & Peter Tea

This heavy gnarly trunked Japanese black pine is from Bonsai Tonight. When Jonas took this photo, it had just been styled at a Bay Island Bonsai workshop by Peter Tea. It’s not clear if the tree is Peter’s or if it belongs to Boon (it’s not unusual for a student to work on a teacher’s tree), though I imagine that it’s Peter’s. We’ve now been informed the the tree belongs to Boon (see comments). Close up of the trunk. Closer up still. You could search for a long time and never stumble across a trunk as abundant in natural character … Continue reading Bonsai Tonight with Boon & Peter Tea

Robert Steven Critiques a Black Pine and Offers Some Insights into the Five Schools of Penjing

Robert Steven’s simulation of a Japanese black pine that was submitted by Mike Liu (Mike’s original is immediately below). Mike’s original photo that was submitted to Robert. Robert’s Critique The Five Schools of Chinese Penjing The above black pine bonsai is sent by Mike Liu from China. Since Chinese bonsai is called penjing, I will offer a brief discussion of penjing. The main difference between penjing (Chinese: pen = pot; jing = panorama) and bonsai (Japanese: bon = pot; sai = plant), despite the terminology, penjing is more about artistic nuance in portraying natural phenomena; and bonsai is more disciplined … Continue reading Robert Steven Critiques a Black Pine and Offers Some Insights into the Five Schools of Penjing

Black Pine Critique by Robert Steven

Robert Steven’s simulation of a Japanese black pine that was submitted by Tom Duong (see below for Tom’s original). Where’s yours? Email us a photo of your bonsai and we’ll submit it to Robert Steven for a critique. So far about ten people have dared and have learned something about their bonsai in the process. Now it’s your turn. Tom’s original photo that was submitted to Robert. Tom also submitted a back, left, right and top view. Even though Robert requested these, very few submissions have included them. While we are on the topic; when photographing bonsai it’s always a … Continue reading Black Pine Critique by Robert Steven

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

Balancing Growth on Pine Bonsai

Before decandling. Cork bark Japanese black pine from Bonsai Tonight. Decandling, candle plucking, candle pinching… The photos and instructions in this post are all from Bonsai Tonight. The topic is decandling (also called candle plucking or candling pinching) Japanese black pines (specifically a cork bark black pine). The purpose of decandling is to balance growth, develop ramification and reduce needle size. Not all pines are the same, nor should they be treated exactly the same. Still, the basic principles can be applied to pines other than the Japanese black. After decandling. Four zones, twenty days The following is a small … Continue reading Balancing Growth on Pine Bonsai

In Training Since 1795

Here it is. It’s a Pinus densiflora (Japanese Red Pine) that was donated to the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum by The Imperial Household of Japan. It has been in training since 1795. The Japanese Collection It’s right here in North America and it’s one of the best collections of bonsai anywhere. Here’s an excerpt from the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum’s website: “The Japanese Collection began with the gift of 53 bonsai from Japan on the occasion of the American Bicentennial in 1976. The trees, which were from private collections, were selected by the Nippon Bonsai Association with financial … Continue reading In Training Since 1795

Three Bonsai Masterpieces

This full cascade Japanese Katsura tree Kadsura vine is from Bonsai Today issue 5. Its overall height (not including the stand) is 31 inches (79 cm). Bonsai Galleries During its heyday, Bonsai Today magazine was known for its excellent how-to articles by Japanese and other masters, and for its world class bonsai galleries. The three trees featured here are from long out-of-print issues, and present just a very small taste of what lies beneath the covers of Bonsai Today.

Rock Plantings

This Trident maple root-over-rock is from Bonsai Today issue 24 (a special issue devoted to rock planting). Root-over vs root-on Root-over-rock is where the roots grow over the rock and down into soil below. Root-on-rock is where the roots grow in a soil pocket (or soil pockets) in the rock (see below). A Black pine in the root-on-rock style. The way the tree is growing to the right serves to balance the part of the rock that thrusts out to the left. From Bonsai Today issue 24 (all of the photos in this post are from issue 24). Issue 24, … Continue reading Rock Plantings