Directional Deadwood

A bit of a jumble up top, but still a very compelling tree. It belongs to Nicola Kitora Crivelli. Looks like a Shimpaku juniper. Taking a little vacation, so we’ll dip into our archives. The photos shown here are from a July 2015 post. I’ve rewritten the text due to changes in perspective that happen over time. Going down? This one is a Southwestern white pine (Pinus strobiformis). It belong to Greg Brenden. The photo is from the 2010 2nd U.S. National Exhibition Album (out of print but we still have the 4th and 5th). 4th & 5th U.S. … Continue reading Directional Deadwood

Spring Is Coming! Only About Twelve Weeks Until Our Bonsai Awaken

The new growth on some Spruce is often a brilliant yellow. Almost like yellow flowers. In this case the spruce is an Ezo (Picea jezoensis). This one resides at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum as do the other trees in this post. Continuing with trees from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, this time with a touch of spring, which will one day come. Even here in Northern Vermont the snow will melt and the ground will thaw. Meanwhile, we can dream For a lot of people, Satsuki azaleas are all about the flowers, so it doesn’t matter that you can’t see the trunk … Continue reading Spring Is Coming! Only About Twelve Weeks Until Our Bonsai Awaken

Brilliance at the Omiya Bonsai Museum

This photo was taken indoors at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum in Saitama Japan. The same tree photographed outside is just below I’ve been thinking about a series on the Omiya Bonsai Museum. Brilliant red or reddish Japanese maples seem like a good place to start. All the images shown here are from the Museum’s facebook photos. Varieties are not listed. HAVE YOU TRIED OUR ROSHI TOOLS? Roshi Bonsai Tools are manufactured to the highest standards and are famous for precision, durability, beauty and reasonable prices Spring is on its way a good time to upgrade your tool selection – Another maple, … Continue reading Brilliance at the Omiya Bonsai Museum

Bonsai Before & After – Foundations & Inspirations

English field elm, after & before by Harry Harrington. Here’s Harry’s caption… “… before and after images of my Ulmus minor/English Field Elm Bonsai. The ‘before’ image was taken in 2006, a couple of years after I had collected the tree and while I was still grafting in a few roots at the base. Height 27″/66cm, trunkbase 9″/22cm in diameter. Collected in August 2004. Pot by Victor Harris of Erin Pottery.” It has been a while since we visited our friend Harry Harrington. You can enjoy Harry’s ongoing bonsai endeavors on facebook and you can can visit his extensive bonsai4me website. Better still, … Continue reading Bonsai Before & After – Foundations & Inspirations

Bonsai Mirai Live

This Douglas fir is one my many favorites from Bonsai Mirai’s gallery of great North American yamadori (there are a few that are not North American, but the vast majority are trees that were collected in the mountains of the Western U.S.) Ryan Neil’s instructional bonsai videos are now available on the Bonsai Society of Portland’s website to anyone and everyone who is interested. The following is from an email we received from Roger Case… “Over the last year, Ryan Neil has presented a series of detailed lectures and demos at our club meetings, which his team has professionally recorded … Continue reading Bonsai Mirai Live

Before & After Bonsai, Six Years Later

Before and after six year later. It’s a European yew (Taxus baccata ‘Summer Gold’) that was dug in 2011 and completed (not that a bonsai is ever completed) in 2017. Sometimes before and afters only show just that… the before and after photos. This time we got lucky with a series of photos (from Josef Burschi’s timeline) that make it a lot easier to understand how the process evolved. Josef Burschi lives in Kisújbánya, Baranya, Hungary. This is his first appearance on Bonsai Bark MID-WINTER SITE WIDE SALE ENDS TOMORROW NIGHT Almost All Items Discounted 25% to 40% off List Prices Some Items … Continue reading Before & After Bonsai, Six Years Later

Six Sweet Little Trees

Here’s a rather famous dwarf Princess persimmon that we’ve shown several times over the years and is still worth another look. Aside from the luminous fruit, distinctive little pot and the twisted trunk, it’s also hard not to notice the spots on the leaves. No matter, it’s still a sweet littl tree. If you’ve ever tried to grow fruiting bonsai, you know that getting healthy fruit to grow and to stay on your trees is no mean feat (birds, wind, insects and other problems will conspire against you). Like yesterday the images in this post are all from Katsumi Komiya’s facebook … Continue reading Six Sweet Little Trees

Elevating the Bonsai Experience

There’s a lot to like here. The obvious part is the perfect little tree itself (looks a lot a Japanese five needle pine) and, in addition to other outstanding features, there’s the way the moss and lichen seamlessly tie the trunk and soil surface together, enhancing the feeling of age. There’s also the cleaned and polished pot and stand and the professional quality photo that elevate the whole experience.* The photos in this post are all from Katsumi Komiya’s timeline and I’m reasonably sure the trees are all his, though I can’t verify this. He doesn’t identify them all, but we’ll do our best. … Continue reading Elevating the Bonsai Experience

Which Pot Would You Choose?

Because this is such an exceptional tree, it would look good in almost any pot. And the pots you see here are no exception. But does it look even better in one of them? This post stands squarely in our venerable tradition of borrowing Which Pot? posts from Boon Manakitivipart. The tree is a Shore pine (Pinus contorta) that Boon is getting ready for Bay Island Bonsai’s 19th Annual Exhibit. If you’d like, you can chime in and offer your choice in the comments on our facebook timeline. Or you can visit Boon’s. Bonsai Aesthetics Wire Is Back in every weight & … Continue reading Which Pot Would You Choose?

Green T Bonsai Monsters

Just in case you think your monster bonsai is too big for a Green T Hydraulic Lift Turntable… The following is the caption for this photo (from G T’s site)… “Matsuda san is the new entry in the Masahiko Kimura Bonsai family and her page Kimura’s home Bonsai has already gained world recognition.” And of course Green T is an important part of Kimura’s workshop (see below). BTW, the tree looks like a Japanese five needle pine (Pinus parviflora) A Green T Turntable will change the way your work on your bonsai and enhance the results… and you’ll enjoy the journey For some … Continue reading Green T Bonsai Monsters