Less Is Still Enough

Shimpaku juniper. This photo is titled ‘Shugaten 2013 – Tokyo Ueno.’ Guillaume Billaud posted it on facebook. I’m not sure I need to say anything about this magnificent little bonsai except that that’s a whole lot of tree to fit into such a small pot and I’m delighted that someone bothered. BTW: Shugaten is being held right now (until the end of this month). Shohin again (see our previous post). Enough said for now… Shohin Pyracantha with yellow berries. A couple things jump out. First are the luminous berries. Without these, I don’t think we’d bother. With these, we’d … Continue reading Less Is Still Enough

Less Is Enough

I think this one qualifies as Mame (‘bean’ in Japanese). Bonsai-wise, mame is a common word for the very smallest bonsai. I found it on Pinterest. It says Repinned via Luciano Guimarães. I’m not sure exactly what that means but my best guess is that this tree does not belong to Luciano. The photo had the Bonsai Empire logo in the corner (now cropped out to magnify the tree), but I couldn’t find it on their site. In any case it’s a sweet little gem and so’s the pot. “Shohin are small bonsai. When compared to large bonsai, shohin cost … Continue reading Less Is Enough

The Art & Science of Watering

This drawing is from our Masters’ Series book; Junipers, Growing & Styling Juniper Bonsai. Continuing with our mid-summer archival borrowing program, here’s a post that originally appeared way back in 2009. A perfect complement to this post is a post about summer misting (hamisu) by Michael Hagedorn. The more you know about watering, the better. Without timely, intelligent watering, any plant in a container is at risk. The more you know about watering, the better. But first, a quick word from our sponsor: Check out our big Summer Book Sale at Stone Lantern. 20% to 25% off of our already … Continue reading The Art & Science of Watering

Fall Transplanting: Pros & Cons

Time to repot. Morten Albek intentionally broke the pot to show this Cork bark Japanese black pine’s dense root mass. From Morten’s book, Shohin Bonsai (Stone Lantern Publishing). This post originally appeared in August 2009 (Bonsai Bark’s first year, which means we are now in year 4 going on year 5). I’m still in the midst of mid-summer semi vacation time, so we’ll continue to dig through some old posts to see if we can find anything useful. In this case, fall is just around the corner for some of us (sadly), so why not discuss fall transplanting? BTW: I’ve … Continue reading Fall Transplanting: Pros & Cons

Small Is Still Beautiful

Kishu shimpaku juniper by John Brocklehurst. Mark Cooper took the photo at the 2012 Noelanders Trophy. I like the natural, fragile looking deadwood twigs and a whole lot more about this tree. Shohin again. We’ve been featuring shohin bonsai (small bonsai) a lot lately. Maybe it has to do with fact that we’re all aging and, as we age, smaller bonsai have larger appeal (easier to handle, take less space on our condo’s balconies and are a little less taxing on our social security budgets). Or maybe it’s just that we like them so much. All the photos in this … Continue reading Small Is Still Beautiful

Small Trees with Big Trunks

Root-over-rock Trident maple from Kaede Bonsai-en. In this case, it might be more accurate to say rock-almost-completely-swallowed-by-roots (which have morphed into a trunk). There are several things that stand out about this tree, not the least of which is the near perfect mix of reds, oranges and golds that make for a striking fall color display. Then there’s the trunk (ex-roots) with its impressive character and substantial girth relative to the pot and canopy size. Such thick trunks for such small trees are almost always the result of reducing trees that were grown in much larger containers (or in the … Continue reading Small Trees with Big Trunks

Small Is Deceptively Good

We’ll call this little pine tree number 1 (pretty creative eh?). I’m not sure if this is the best view, but it does provide a clear shot of the trunk which appears to be two trunks that start together, separate and then come back together, though if you go down to the last photo, you might be surprised at all that you can’t see here. Beyond the interest created by the trunk, there’s the branching which is pretty well developed for such a small tree. You gotta love Shohin. All the photos here are borrowed from a Michael Bonsai series … Continue reading Small Is Deceptively Good

Luminous Fruit

Is this a persimmon with exotically shaped fruit? Aside from the luminous fruit, beautiful antique looking little pot and distinctively twisted trunk, it’s also hard not to notice the spots on the leaves. No matter, I still love it. Katsumi Komiya. I found these images by Katsumi Komiya on facebook. I’m traveling right now, so I can’t verify this, but I believe Mr. Komiya appears in an old Bonsai Today issue. I’ll check out my back issues when I get home and let you know. If you’ve ever tried to grow fruiting bonsai, you know that getting such perfectly healthy, … Continue reading Luminous Fruit

FREE & Almost Free

An earlier version of this gnarly little Honeysuckle appears in Morten Albek’s excellent book, Shohin Bonsai, Majesty in Miniature and on the cover of Bonsai Today issue 105. FREE Shohin Bonsai Book Morten Albek’s famous Shohin Bonsai, Majesty in Miniature is now free if you place an order for at least 40 dollars at Stone Lantern (if, and only if you put the word FREE in the comments box when you check out). As far as the ordering part goes, that’s easy and a good idea. Not only will you find one of the largest selection of bonsai books, quality … Continue reading FREE & Almost Free

Explore the World of Bonsai, Humidity & Heat, Columbus Is Still in Ohio & A Very Large Bonsai Tree

This photo is from Explore the World of Bonsai, a special feature offered on the National Bonsai Foundation website. Check it out, it’s well worth a look, especially for those of us still becoming acquainted with the art of bonsai (that pretty much covers us all). Giant bonsai in a very large box. This turned up on Ruddy Valentino d’Augusto’s facebook page. It’s titled Amazing Bonsai Garden. I’ve seen other gargantuan bonsai, but this one may be the most impressive yet. This fluid Japanese maple is one of a whole series of great trees featured on Yoshimoto Ishizuka’s … Continue reading Explore the World of Bonsai, Humidity & Heat, Columbus Is Still in Ohio & A Very Large Bonsai Tree