Great Tree but Which Pot Do You Like?

Great tree. But which pot do you like? You can never have too much Boon. Boon Manakitivipart’s Which Pot do you like? series has been the source of some of our most popular posts, as have other Boon posts we’ve presented over the years. So, no need to stop now…. Boon posted these Japanese red pine photos recently. The photo above shows the two choices together. Below, for a closer look, you’ll find photos of each choice. Feel free to tell us about your choice in the comments. Square pot. The order of appearance is important in how we judge … Continue reading Great Tree but Which Pot Do You Like?

Outstanding Japanese (Korean?) Red Pine Bonsai

Cork bark Japanese Red pine? I found this remarkably corked-up pine on the Art of Bonsai Project. It’s by Enrico Savini. I’ve never heard of a Cork bark Red pine (Cork bark Japanese black pines are fairly common), but that’s what AoB says. Whatever it is, there’s no denying that it’s an exceptional tree. According to Wikipedia, Japanese red pines (Pinus densiflora) should probably be called Korean red pines. “For Korean people, even today, it is considered to represent Korean spirit and mentioned in South Korean national anthem, Aegukga. Since it was introduced to the West by Japanese scholars during … Continue reading Outstanding Japanese (Korean?) Red Pine Bonsai

Breaking the Bonsai Mold

For every highly stylized Japanese bonsai, there’s one like this that breaks the mold. It’s a Japanese red pine from Japan’s 80th Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition (2006). The other Japanese pine. Japanese black and white pines comprise some of the most famous bonsai in the world. And thousands that aren’t so famous. Japanese Red pines (Pinus densiflora) are much less common in bonsai circles, but judging by the ones shown here and some others we’ve seen along the way, they have no problem holding their own. All the photos shown here are Japanese red pines from Japan’s famous Kokufu-ten Bonsai Exhibition. … Continue reading Breaking the Bonsai Mold

An Astonishingly Eccentric Two Headed Monster

Calligraphy anyone? I think this is the third time we’ve shown this astonishingly eccentric two headed monster, but it’s been about four years, which means many of you haven’t seen it, and I think everyone should have at least one chance. I don’t know its full history, but I do know that it appeared on The Art of Bonsai Project in a post titled The Bonsai of Mario Komsta, as did all the photos shown in this post. Yixing pot. Once again it’s time for Mario Komsta (Super Mario), one of Europe’s and the world’s new wave of younger bonsai … Continue reading An Astonishingly Eccentric Two Headed Monster

One Bonsai Contest, Two Winners

You may remember this tree, but maybe… …from this angle. Way back on April 232rd we posted a blog titled Win Our $50 Japanese Red Pine Bonsai Contest (& Wire All the Way Out to the Tips). The contest had two parts. Rather than repeat the details here, I’ll just invite you to take a look for yourself. Without further ado, your winners are… Winner #1 is Brian Fields. He sent a link to the photo at the top of this post (from Peter Tea’s blog) almost immediately after the contest was posted. Brian got in just under the wire; … Continue reading One Bonsai Contest, Two Winners

Win Our $50 Japanese Red Pine Bonsai Contest & Wire All the Way Out to the Tips

A mystery tree and a little contest (below). This is the second time for this Japanese red pine, even though we still don’t know who the artist is. The photo turned up on Michael Bonsai back in 2012. I’m guessing it lives in Japan, but I’ve searched Japanese red pine bonsai high and low and can’t find it. The contest: the first person to email me valid information on this tree that is not from Bonsai Bark or Michael Bonsai with a link as proof, will win a 25.00 gift certificate to Stone Lantern. If you include the name of … Continue reading Win Our $50 Japanese Red Pine Bonsai Contest & Wire All the Way Out to the Tips

Nothing but Eat, Sleep and Bonsai for Two Weeks

In Jeremiah Lee’s own words … “Here are a couple trees that Juan recently worked on. I got to see him clean up and style this bad ass twisty Shimpaku.” From Jeremiah’s two week apprenticeship at Aichi-En Bonsai Nursery. Juan is Juan Andrade, a soon to be famous international bonsai artist (if he isn’t famous already). This and the other photos in this post are by Jeremiah. I’ve been a fan of Jeremiah Lee’s Yenling Bonsai blog for a while now (here’s an earlier Bark post that owes its existence to Jeremiah). Not only does Jeremiah take very good photos, but … Continue reading Nothing but Eat, Sleep and Bonsai for Two Weeks

Two Pines Before & After, plus a Short Treatise on Bunjin

After. Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) by Naoki Maeoka. Not to be confused with our native Red pine (Pinus resinosa) which are common here in Vermont, but alas, are not great bonsai subjects (unlike the Japanese red pine). If you look at the trunk it’s obvious why they call them red pines (the same goes for our native red pine). On a more frivolous note, I can’t help but think of a ski jumper every time I see this remarkable tree. A talented new kid on the block. Both of the trees shown here are from Naoki Maeoka’s face book … Continue reading Two Pines Before & After, plus a Short Treatise on Bunjin

An Inexplicable Oversight

I’m going to guess that this peerless pine, with its strong sinuous trunk is a Japanese black pine, rather than a Japanese red. However, there’s no need to guess about the quality of the tree or where we found it (world-class quality and Bjorn Bjorholm’s website). I don’t know exactly how this inexplicable oversight happened, but suffice it to say that I’m amazed and a little befuddled that we haven’t yet featured the truly remarkable bonsai on Bjorn Bjorholm’s website (Bjorvala Bonsai Studio) or the story of Bjorn’s apprenticeship in Japan. Especially given that Bjorn is practically from our own … Continue reading An Inexplicable Oversight

An Embarrassment of Riches

I believe that this is our first tree from Matt Reel’s blog (though we featured a photo of Matt, with a tree that we lifted from Crataegus Bonsai almost two years ago). Matt is an American bonsai apprentice in Japan. We’ll have to more to say about him and his blog another time, but meanwhile, here’s what he has to say about this tree: “This Red Pine has such a broad apex it makes me giggle to myself at times, however, one might feel a little tipsy with all that leaning movement if there was a little dainty apex instead. … Continue reading An Embarrassment of Riches