Feel the Love for Bonsai

This looks a lot like a Tsukomo cypress, though we can’t be sure because the foliage is difficult to make out. We originally discovered these photos on Morten Albek’s Shohin blog. Morten found them at Bonsai Project, Feel Feel Bonsai. My response was very positive when I first saw them, though their title Feel Feel the Love for Bonsai is catchy, it seemed a little too romantic, so I dropped the second Feel (or was it the first?). Whichever you prefer, I hope you enjoy the photos. Here’s part of what Morten Albek wrote about this unusual project. “In Japan … Continue reading Feel the Love for Bonsai

A Muscular Little Bonsai & A Muscular Bonsai Tool Sale

The thing that amazes me about this muscular little tree is how the base of the trunk almost completely fills the pot and how small the pot is for the overall size of the tree. Not just small for the massive little trunk, but small for supporting the profusion of lush foliage. There just can’t be that much room for roots. Of course we know this is a show pot and as soon as the tree goes back to the nursery it will be put back into a larger pot. The tree is a Japanese black pine from our Masters … Continue reading A Muscular Little Bonsai & A Muscular Bonsai Tool Sale

Masters Series Pine Bonsai Book Is Back

One of dozens of world class trees featured in our Bonsai Today Masters Series Pine book. It’s back! To reward those of you who have been waiting so patiently, we’re going to offer it at a discount…. only 26.95 (list is 34.95). Order yours while the price is right. If you need some encouragement take a look below… Candle pinching. An essential needle reduction and energy balancing technique for almost any type of pine. Elegance. Bunjin Japanese white pine. If you’d like to grow some black pines from seed, here’s a few steps from the only source you’ll ever need. … Continue reading Masters Series Pine Bonsai Book Is Back

You Cut That Off and You lose the Soul of the Tree

“In Japan, I’m sure they would say this is not bonsai and cut this very long branch off,” says (Ryan) Neil. “But when I purchased this piece of material (Ponderosa pine), the only thing I could think is: man, how could you take this wild, undulating branch that — although it may sit outside of the dimensions of what the Japanese model says makes a bonsai — you cut that off and you lose the soul of the tree. So I think what makes the American style special is preserving the wildness and resisting the temptation to domesticate it.” From … Continue reading You Cut That Off and You lose the Soul of the Tree

Pine Bonsai – Texture, Movement & Color

It’s hard not to notice what a powerful tree this is, even with the apex slightly nipped and most of the pot missing. It’s a Japanese white pine from the 34th Taikan-ten Bonsai Exhibition. Spring bonsai and other chores beckon and time is compressed, so we’ll delve back into our archives today. This one is from December, 2014. All the photos in this post are from the 34th Taikan-ten Bonsai Exhibition (with the exception of the wiring photo just below). Taikan-ten takes place once a year in Kyoto and is considered by most people to be the second most important … Continue reading Pine Bonsai – Texture, Movement & Color

Three Bonsai – Before & After

Three before and after bonsai styling by Juan Andrade. The trees are from top to bottom: Shimpaku juniper, Japanese black pine and a Needle juniper trunk with Shimpaku juniper foliage grafted on. Juan Andrade is a long term apprentice at Bonsai Aichien nursery in Japan. We’ve been following Juan’s progress for a long time (here’s a Bark post from 2012 that features a tree of his). Juan posts regularly on facebook, which is where we found these photos. This pine has a bunjin feel, but I think it’s a little too lush to qualify as bunjin, though I suspect … Continue reading Three Bonsai – Before & After

Taming & Redirecting Growth on a Shohin Japanese Black Pine

After styling. The tree is a Cork bark Japanese black pine. The hand belongs to the Ben Gliffin. If you compare this photo with the before photo just below, you can see some real progress with needle thinning and reduction. You might also notice how Ben has left the needles on the far left longer than the needles on top. This will encourage vigor in the direction of the longer needles. The sweet little tree featured here is a Shohin Cork bark Japanese black pine that belongs to Ben Gliffin. If you know Japanese black pines you also know that … Continue reading Taming & Redirecting Growth on a Shohin Japanese Black Pine

How Not to Fertilize Your Bonsai

Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) just after trimming and wiring (the before photo is below). From our Masters’ Series Pine Book. Whenever Michael Hagedorn writes, I read. What follows is part of a post by Michael from his Crataegus Bonsai blog: “For fertilizing bonsai, we can make this one basic distinction: Begin fertilizing a young, unrefined tree when it begins growing early in the spring. Wait a bit with an older, refined tree—usually begin fertilizing when it’s just hardening off it’s spring growth… Quiz: If we were to fertilize everything the same, strongly, starting early in the year, what would … Continue reading How Not to Fertilize Your Bonsai

The King of Bonsai

Full cascade Japanese black pine (Pinus thumbergii). Japanese for Black pine is Kuromatsu (kuro is black and matsu is pine). Even though we posted this just four months ago, the title stuck me as appropriate for this national holiday (for some of us at least). Japanese black pines are sometimes referred to a the king of bonsai. This may be in part due to their natural strength; they tend to have powerful trunks and thick lush foliage. Rugged bark doesn’t hurt either. King or not, the best of the black pines are undeniably among the most powerful bonsai in the … Continue reading The King of Bonsai

Another Excellent Blog by an American Bonsai Apprentice

Close up of a famous old Japanese black pine named Zuio. This and the other photos in this post are borrowed from Danny Coffey’s Tree the People blog. I don’t how I missed Danny Coffey’s excellent Tree the People blog for so long (going on three years) but somehow I managed. Happily, and thanks to Felix Laughlin (President of the National Bonsai Foundation and tireless bonsai advocate) the veil has lifted. Danny Coffey has been a bonsai apprentice under Mr. Junichiro Tanaka of Aichien Bonsai Nursery, Nagoya Japan, since 2013. During that time Danny also managed to become an intern … Continue reading Another Excellent Blog by an American Bonsai Apprentice