Four Before & After Bonsai

Before & after (antes y depues) Shimpaku juniper by Salvador de los Reyes. Four for the price of one. Still sorting our from vacation (no vacation goes unpunished) so it’s back to our archives (July, 2012). All four transformations are by Salvador de los Reyes. Two Big Specials End Sunday Night Koyo Tools 25% off list Bonsai Pot & Soil Special – A mystery tree before & afte. Salvador identifies most of his trees, but not this one (that I could find at least). Sabina juniper A bonsai rarity. Tamarix before & after. You see don’t many Tamarix bonsai and … Continue reading Four Before & After Bonsai

Back Savers – Suthin’s Shohin

Bonsai in hand. This little masterpice by Suthin Sukosolvisit looks like a Chinzan Azalea. But that’s just a guess. Suthin doesn’t say. Still recovering from vacation and a serious computer meltdown (fixed now by there’s chaos in its wake), so it’s back to our archives. This one originally appeared in August, 2009 (Bonsai Bark’s Pleistocene). Note: non of the links are still active, so this will be a linkless post. A first for us I’ve long been a fan of Suthin Sukosolvisit’s. Not just because of his shohin, but because he shows mastery across a range of bonsai sizes and styles. Still, shohin … Continue reading Back Savers – Suthin’s Shohin

When the Sun Gets Too Hot

Award winner at the 2012 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition for the Finest Deciduous Bonsai. It’s a Japanese Maple by Suthin Sukolosovisit of Royal Bonsai. It has little to do with the topic of this post (except that Japanese maple leaves are prone to sunburn), but you might like to know that the 2012 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition is out of print and the last two albums (2014 and 2016) are still available. Got home from vacation at 11:00pm last night after a six hour flight and an almost four hour drive back to Vermont, and now it’s catch up time, so no new post today. However, because we … Continue reading When the Sun Gets Too Hot

A Bonsai First

I took the liberty of cropping this photo to better appreciate its strikingly powerful and expressive trunk. The tree is a Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) that belongs to Heinrich Hacker. The original photo is below. Today’s photos are all from Bonsai-Club Deutschland. If memory serves (a 50-50 proposition at best) it’s a first for us. Anyway, I’m very impressed and imagine that you too will be impressed NEW SPECIAL 25% off list prices on Koyo Bonsai Tools see below – The whole tree in all its splendor. In addition to its aforementioned trunk you might notice how dense the canopy is. BTW, its size is … Continue reading A Bonsai First

Satsuki Flowers, Maple Leaves, a Tiny Lizard & Other Bonsai Wonders

It’s that time of year. Here’s David Benavente’s caption… Rhododendron indicum “Shin Nikko” hoy, en plena floración (today in full bloom). 45x55cm (18″ x 21.5″) It’s been a while since we’ve featured David Benavente and his Estudio de Bonsái. It’s in Galapagar, Spain. Just outside of Madrid. The photos are from David’s timeline BONSAI TOOL SPECIAL ENDS TONIGHT see below – It’s not only about the flowers. Close up of the lower trunk and nebari European olive (Olea europaea). No caption with this one, but it speaks for itself Closeup Lizard on a European olive. Is this the same tree? … Continue reading Satsuki Flowers, Maple Leaves, a Tiny Lizard & Other Bonsai Wonders

Magnificent Monster

In addition to its brilliant color, this powerful Trident maple has almost everything you’d want in a bonsai, including a massive trunk, fluid natural looking nebari, good lines, a well-matched pot and healthy green moss. The artist is German Gomez. Continuing with our Maple theme… Leaving for vacation in two days and still have a million things to do, so to save some time we’ll go back in time. The photos shown here first appeared on Bark way back in 2010. OKATSUNE TOOL SPECIAL ENDS TOMORROW NIGHT 25% OFF LIST PRICES ON ALL OF OUR OKATSUNE JAPANESE BONSAI & GARDEN TOOLS Special … Continue reading Magnificent Monster

More Magnificent Maples

Luis Vallejo calls this Yama momji Japanese maple. Yama is mountain and momiji is Japanese maple (Acer palmatum). So you’ll sometimes hear this variety referred to as Mountain maple, which is the original, naturally occurring, non-cultivar Japanese maples. Because of the differences in the leaves, I’m guessing that this was originally several different trees that were planted very close together, rather than a clump style planting. Yesterday we featured three magnificent maples that belong to Luis Vallejo. Turns out they are just the tip of his maple offering. Here’s a few more for your enjoyment. If you’re inclined, there are still more on Luis’s timeline SPECIAL … Continue reading More Magnificent Maples

Three Magnificent Maples

This multi-hued beauty is from Luis Vallejo’s Museo de Bonsai in Alcobendas Spain (near Madrid). It’s hard to distinguish individual leaves (I need new glasses!) but they look like they might be Trident maple. Today we’ve got three magnificent maples, each with leaves ablaze. Even without their fiery leaves all three would be brilliant bonsai. With them, well… you can see for yourself. They’re from Luis Vallejo’s facebook timeline. If you’ve got a moment, there’s plenty more where these came from. Visit Stone Lantern for the BEST PRICES ON BONSAI WIRE – Here’s a closer look at those suspiciously Trident looking leaves. Good look at the … Continue reading Three Magnificent Maples

When Was the Last Time You Climbed a Bonsai Tree?

It’s not that often you see a full grown man sitting in a bonsai tree (why doesn’t the tree fall over?). The caption and the photo are from BCI magazine. Yesterday we featured a major league rock planting by Simon Baron with Marc Noelanders. Simon is a new talent to us, but most of you know Marc, a respected and accomplished bonsai artist, teacher and author. Marc is also the founder and ongoing force behind the annual Noelanders Trophy Bonsai Exhibition. This post originally appeared here in December, 2015. It features the only photo I know of with a human sitting in a bonsai. SPECIAL … Continue reading When Was the Last Time You Climbed a Bonsai Tree?

No Matter Where You Go

This tall, wild looking Sabina juniper was styled by Walter Pall. The photo is from The Art of Bonsai Project. The pot is by Bryan Albright. Major computer meltdown here (fortunately not our website, so you can still order and we can still ship), but rather our bookkeeping system where we keep track of inventory, money etc (wish us luck!). So time for another shortcut while sticking with our Sabina juniper theme. This one is from October 2013. No matter where you go, there’s Walter Pall with some more bonsai from his seemingly endless collection and his tireless offering of valuable instruction, especially on … Continue reading No Matter Where You Go