Would You Believe a Bonsai Just Sold for $100,000?

You’ll have to scroll down to see the $100,000 bonsai, but this famous Hinoki planting by the even more famous Masahiko Kimura, just sold at the Taikan ten bonsai show for a mere 1,800,000 Japanese yen (approx $16,000) You think you blew your budget this season? How about some of these bonsai that sold at last month’s annual Taikan ten bonsai show? I found them at Bonsai Kyogie (Victoria Australia). SITE WIDE SALE SAME DAY SHIPPING* Everything Is At Least 20% off Items already discounted are more than 20% off *Orders placed by 2:00pm EST will be shipped the same business day discounts are … Continue reading Would You Believe a Bonsai Just Sold for $100,000?

Bonsai Adventure & a Pot with a Story to Tell

A muscular old Camellia full of flowers and buds. This photo and the others in this post, were taken by Bill Valavanis during a recent visit to Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in Tokyo Shunka-en Bonsai Museum is the home, studio, gallery and growing area of Kunio Kobayashi. All the photos in this post were taken at Shunka-en a few weeks ago by the omnipresent Bill Valavanis (everywhere is the answer to the ‘Where’s in the Bonsai World is Bill‘ question) STONE LANTERN’S 20% OFF SITE WIDE SALE IS BACK! and we are shipping the same business day on orders received by 2:00pm EST see below More color. … Continue reading Bonsai Adventure & a Pot with a Story to Tell

Japanese White Pines at Kokufu

Close up of multiple trunk Japanese white pine. It looks a lot like a raft style* planting. This and the other photos shown here were taken at the Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition. I cropped the original shot (just below) for a closer look We’ve got some Japanese white pines (Pinus parviflora) from the Kokufu Exhibition that we found at Kazumatsu Bonsai. They don’t say what year the shots are from, but given that they were just posted, you might guess 2018 Just in case you’re new to bonsai, Kokufu is the oldest and most famous Bonsai Exhibition in the world. It takes place … Continue reading Japanese White Pines at Kokufu

Pots, Pines & Other Small Bonsai

Haruyosi Shohin pine with a twist Continuing with yesterday’s small bonsai theme… Today it’s our old friend Haruyosi, a highly accomplished and prolific small bonsai and small pot artist. None of today’s photos have been shown here before. If you want more, you can enjoy a wealth of great photos on Haruyosi’s fb site and here on Bonsai Bark as well ONLY TWO MORE DAYS 40% OFF ALL BOOKS 40% OFF ROSHI BONSAI TOOLS SEE BELOW – No identification is provided, but this one looks like a Crabapple You can see clearly that this is a two needle pine. Both Japanese black pines … Continue reading Pots, Pines & Other Small Bonsai

Before & After Bonsai – Tie Pot Special Ends Tonight

Before and after by Koji Hiramatsu. No species is mentioned, but given that Koji lives in Japan and that the tree looks like a Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii), that’s probably a good guess. Though I have been fooled by Japanese red pines (Pinus densiflora), another two needle pine We’ve featured Koji Hiramatsu several times over the last couple years, though mostly his Shohin bonsai (here’s our first and my favorite Koji post), though lately I’m seeing more larger trees and fewer shohin on his fb posts. Either way, big or small, Koji is always worth a visit 30% OFF HAWS WATERING CANS ends tomorrow, Thursday … Continue reading Before & After Bonsai – Tie Pot Special Ends Tonight

A Different Kind of Root-over-Rock

A strange sort of root-over-rock. You might imagine that it started more or less like other root overs, but because the rock is so small, the roots grew under it and pushed it up, while also growing around one side and creating a firm grip on the rock. Though I originally thought the result might simply be an happy accident, upon reflection I think it was the intention of the original artist 40 to 50 years ago.* It’s just too perfect the way most of the rock, particularly the bowl is left uncovered and even emphasized. Like so many root-over-rock bonsai, the tree … Continue reading A Different Kind of Root-over-Rock

Just One Today, but It’s a Good One

Bonsai perfection. Luis Vallejo provides the following information with this tree… “Fortunella hindsii Kumquat, By Nobuichi Urushibata, Taishoen. Luis Vallejo Bonsai Garden, Photo Miguel Krause.” Taishoen is Nobuichi’s bonsai nursery in Japan. Luis Vallejo is an accomplished bonsai artist and the owner of Museo de Bonsai Acalanes in Spain. Fortunella hindsii Kumquat, is of course the type tree, with the Fortunalla hindsii being the smallest of the Kumquats. Just one tree today, but it’s a good one. I found it on Luis Vallejo’s timeline. If you’ve been following Bark for a while, or if you’re someone who appreciates European (particularly Spanish) bonsai, you’re no … Continue reading Just One Today, but It’s a Good One

A Well Fed Japanese Red Pine & a Reminder to Feed Your Bonsai Generously

This distinctive Japanese red pine with its strong shari and sudden change of direction, shows the radiant vibrancy of a well-fed bonsai. It belongs Ken Fujiwara Summer growing season is time to generously feed your bonsai… Without adequate fertilizing, you won’t see the development you want; vibrant rich foliage, fine branching, thickening trunks and primary branches, powerful nebari and most critical of all, strong root growth. And of course, well-fed strong bonsai can better resists pests and diseases and withstand the challenges of the coming winter FEED YOUR BONSAI & SAVE All Bonsai Fertilizers 25% to 40% off List Prices … Continue reading A Well Fed Japanese Red Pine & a Reminder to Feed Your Bonsai Generously

Soft & Squishy

Juan Andrade’s caption for this photo is… “Keto, mochi and wet cement. Soft and squishy was today’s theme.” We’ll skip the mochi and wet cement for now, and focus on the Keto. BTW: I don’t know if you noticed, but this is a very unusual tree (eccentric works)… one feature that stands out is the trunk’s horizontal thrust and then the sudden shift to vertical. This abrupt effect is softened by all the movement. In particular the way the live vein snakes along the deadwood and the curlicue vertical section. There are other striking peculiarities, but we’ll leave those to … Continue reading Soft & Squishy

Bonsai Brilliance Multiplied

Both the tree and the pot are brilliant and each could stand on its own. But together their brilliance is multiplied. Based on the flowers, I’d say the tree is a quince. The photos trees and pots shown here all belong to Michiko Koide. It’s noon already and the project I was working on this morning is bogged down (blogged down). We’ll set it aside for the moment and resort to an old trick. This one is from March, 2016, with a little value added – a couple new photos from Michiko Koide’s facebook timeline. I don’t know much about … Continue reading Bonsai Brilliance Multiplied