Transplanting Bonsai into Our Excellent New Masters Soil

I just repotted this old pine into our new Masters Bonsai Soil. The pot is a growing pot rather than a show pot, but will serve nicely for now (pines like deep pots). The tree is a Japanese white pine that was grafted onto Japanese black pine stock in Japan. I got it from John Jaramillo last year when I was in Portland studying with Michael Hagedorn. Michael was kind enough to wire it for me. Our new Masters Bonsai Soil is now 20% off, so this seems like a good time to mention that I am in the process … Continue reading Transplanting Bonsai into Our Excellent New Masters Soil

An Almost Forgotten Promise

One of several great Shimpaku junipers from Bjorn Bjorholm’s Bjorvala Bonsai Studio. I picked this one in part because of the little curlycue jin (dead branch) hanging down. I’ve seen plenty of other intriguing jins, but this one is so distinctive and in a place so prominent that it comes close to stealing the show (in spite of the light background that diminishes its effect, and in spite of the many other wonders of this tree). Not that anybody remembers or cares… still it’s time to come through on an old promise. In February of last year we posted some … Continue reading An Almost Forgotten Promise

Raw Energy & Backwards Bonsai

This powerful Nea buxifolia by Nelson Hernandez won 3rd place in the 2013 World Bonsai Federation Bonsai Photo Contest. You don’t see too many Nea bonsai outside the tropics, though they do pop up from time to time. Buxifolia means ‘box leaf ‘or ‘boxwood leaf’ which seems suitable for a variety with such tiny leaves. This one is resides in Puerto Rico. This and the other two photos in this post are from the North American Bonsai Federation. Third first? I’m not trying to make a statement by showing the 2013 WBFF photo contest third place tree first and the … Continue reading Raw Energy & Backwards Bonsai

Bonsai in Brooklyn

Cork bark Chinese elm in full fall brilliance at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. You don’t see that many good Chinese elm bonsai. At least I don’t. I like this one a lot; its color, the heavy trunk with its corky bark, the handsome Tokoname pot. This photo and the others in this post are from the bonsai collection on the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens website. I think the quality of the Brooklyn Botanic bonsai collection has been improving for a while now. Still not a world class collection, but getting there. Speaking of world-class collections, I think the U.S. lags a … Continue reading Bonsai in Brooklyn

Invisible (& Visible) Bonsai

Aside from the fact that this is a remarkable bonsai, there’s the play of light and shadow on the wall. Though I didn’t set out to chose photos with shadows, because there are so many great trees to chose from, it seems like a good way to narrow it down a bit. The photo is from Segundo Congreso y Concurso de Bonsai via Bonsai Fachforum. The remarkable bonsai you see here turned up on Bonsai Fachforum, a German language site that is overflowing with photos of great trees. The Spanish language poster (see below) says Segundo Congreso y Concurso de … Continue reading Invisible (& Visible) Bonsai

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

Stretching a Shimpaku from Kimura’s Bag of Tricks

After. Almost twice as tall (the before photo is below). So tall that there’s barely room in the photo for the top of the tree (that’s a bad joke, but the photo is a little cramped). Shimpaku juniper, height 28″ (71cm). From The Magician, The Bonsai Art of Kimura 2. For expediences sake There’s a lot going on here right now, so for expediences sake I’ve decided to resurrect a post from two years ago. It was titled That’s A Stretch, but for the sake of originality, we’ll call it Stretching a Shimpaku from Kimura’s Bag of Tricks this time. … Continue reading Stretching a Shimpaku from Kimura’s Bag of Tricks

Study Bonsai in the Old Country

I know I’ve seen this powerful little White pine-over-rock somewhere, and wonder if it hasn’t appeared right here on Bonsai Bark (a quick search unearthed nothing, but that’s no guarantee). It’s from the Fujikawa International School of Bonsai website. This post is about your chance to study at the Fujikawa International School of Bonsai, enjoy some great sushi (maybe even drink a little sake) and experience the wonders of life in Japan. In their own words (from Fujikawa’s website)… “The Fujikawa School is an extension of Fujikawa Kouka-en nursery and is located in Ikeda City, just north of Osaka, Japan. … Continue reading Study Bonsai in the Old Country

Great Bonsai, Great Photos

We’ve featured this tree before, but now I can’t find it (read, just back from vacation, too much to do and don’t want to be bothered). It looks kinda Ilex like, but neither my guessing skills nor my memory are up to much. Anyway, it’s a great little tree (if you can take your eyes off the pot long enough to see it… which is not to say that I don’t like the pot, because I really like it and I also think it’s a daring choice for the tree). This photo and all the photos in this post are … Continue reading Great Bonsai, Great Photos

A Quick Study in Deadwood

It’s all about the deadwood (and the crown). Deadwood is sometimes overplayed, especially on Shimpaku. But even though the deadwood is dominant on this tree, the powerful and well constructed crown offers a good sense of balance. All three photos in this post are from Marco Invernizzi’s website. I’m still on vacation, so we’ll make no pretense of in-depth analysis of deadwood this morning (not that we ever do much in-depth analysis of anything). Just three photos of Shimpaku from Marco Invernizzi’s website with a few quick comments and a little word from our sponsor. Marco Invernizzi studied extensively with … Continue reading A Quick Study in Deadwood