Defoliation – Before & After

A Shohin Trident maple before & after defoliation by Harry Harrington. Just to give you some perspective, this sturdy little tree is only 8″ (20cm) high. It’s time to defoliate. Early summer heat is causing leaves to become oversized. With some deciduous bonsai (especially maples) defoliation works wonders. Not only are the new leaves smaller, but they tend to produce better fall color. Most defoliation is a one-time-per-summer, per-tree occasion. If you live where the summers are very long, it’s possible to defoliate twice in one summer.* Be careful though. If there isn’t enough time to fully recover before cold … Continue reading Defoliation – Before & After

Some Sweet Little Trees by a Master Bonsai Potter

I’m going to guess that this is a crab apple. You might wonder why that shoot with large leaves, sticking up top, has been left untrimmed. I think Haruyosi is letting it grow to draw energy up and strengthen and perhaps raise the apex. Down the shore today (New Jersey) with countless trees to identify. Trees that wouldn’t stand a chance in the cold wilds of northern Vermont. So we’ll keep this short. Just some sweet little bonsai by our old favorite, Haruyosi. Haruyosi makes his own pots and often uses red glazes, which are fairly unusual. Here’s his caption … Continue reading Some Sweet Little Trees by a Master Bonsai Potter

An Impressive Collection of Small Bonsai

These delicious little trees (shohin bonsai) are all from Cliff Chong’s bonsai gallery. Cliff lives and practices the art of bonsai in Malaysia. We originally featured this impressive Shohin collection in July 2015. Two New Stone Lantern Sales 25% off Koyo Bonsai Tools (in addition to our ongoing 25% off Roshi Tool Sale) 25% off 500 gram rolls Bonsai Aesthetics Wire (comes to only 9.38 per roll) plus FREE Shipping U.S. orders 49.00 or more

Taming & Redirecting Growth on a Shohin Japanese Black Pine

After styling. The tree is a Cork bark Japanese black pine. The hand belongs to the Ben Gliffin. If you compare this photo with the before photo just below, you can see some real progress with needle thinning and reduction. You might also notice how Ben has left the needles on the far left longer than the needles on top. This will encourage vigor in the direction of the longer needles. The sweet little tree featured here is a Shohin Cork bark Japanese black pine that belongs to Ben Gliffin. If you know Japanese black pines you also know that … Continue reading Taming & Redirecting Growth on a Shohin Japanese Black Pine

Tiny Bonsai, Tiny Pots

There are few things more delicate and beautiful than fresh spring Maple leaves (Trident maple in this case). This exquisite tree and exquisite pot are perfect expressions of the artistry of Haruyoshi. Out of town and running late today, so we’ll dip back into our archives. This one originally appeared April, 2014. It features a few of Haruyosi’s exquisite small bonsai. If you’ve been following Bark for a while, you know that Haruyosi is one of our favorites. Red on red. In our last Haruyosi post (Very Red and Very Rare), we mentioned that red glazes are expensive and not … Continue reading Tiny Bonsai, Tiny Pots

Two Handed Bonsai

It’s not unusual to see a photo of someone holding a small bonsai in one hand. However, you almost never see a photo with someone holding a bonsai with two hands. Until now that is. This two handed approach gives the feeling that the tree (a rather spectacular Shimpaku juniper) is being offered. This photo and the others in this post are from Japan Shohin Bonsai. One of the problems with photographing bonsai is conveying size. The easiest and perhaps best way is to provide something familiar for contrast. It used to be fairly common to see bonsai with cigarette … Continue reading Two Handed Bonsai

Bonsai Shohin Passion

Shohin Japanese maple in early spring. Among other things that make this an outstanding bonsai is the way the shallow pot accentuates the trunk’s impressive girth. The photo is from Roland Schatzer’s new book, Bonsai Shohin Passion, as are all the photos in this post. A while back we got an email from Bill Valavanis recommending we take a look at Roland Schatzer’s new book, Bonsai Shohin Passion. Soon after that Bill sent an introductory email to Roland and to us. The rest, as they say, is history. Just in case you are new to bonsai, Shohin is ‘small thing’ … Continue reading Bonsai Shohin Passion

Subtle yet Simple

Sweet tree, nice pot and brilliant fall color. But do you know what kind of tree it is? Mark Arpag (it’s his tree) doesn’t say, but based on the leaves and the bark, I’m going with Chinese elm. If I’m right, this is tree is quite small (Chinese elm leaves are tiny). One thing I like about Mark Arpag’s bonsai is that they are so accessible. Unlike many of Kimura’s most phenomenal bonsai for example, or the monster first prize tree at the recent Artisans Cup, ordinary bonsai enthusiasts might imagine styling trees like Mark’s. This is not say Mark’s … Continue reading Subtle yet Simple

Revisiting a Great Shohin Display & More

This Shohin display is from Suthin Sukosolvisit’s Bonsai Gallery. Every National Bonsai Exhibition has featured at least one these by Suthin. This year I challenged myself to pick out Suthin’s display as I walked into the Shohin section of the Exhibition. It was easy. Taking nothing away from some other wonderful displays, still, Suthin’s caught my attention from across the room. Leaving for short vacation today and pressed for time so we’ll dip back into our archives. This one originally appeared just over a year ago, right after the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. Before any winners were announced. Though … Continue reading Revisiting a Great Shohin Display & More

Caught in the Act

Caught in the act of flowering. This ubiquitous little Hawthorn belongs to Morten Albek, shohin bonsai artist, author and teacher. The display appeared during a visit to Denmark by Tomohiro Masumi. Still out of the office. This one originally appeared in 2011. It was titled ‘Small Is Beautiful.’ Tomohiro Masumi, Morten Albek & Shohin bonsai Rather than bore you with my take on things, I’ll just post a few photos I think you might appreciate. If you want more (photos and information), you can visit Morten’s facebook post on Tomohiro Masumi’s visit to Denmark, or you can go directly to … Continue reading Caught in the Act