Stone Lantern Publishing

Sale: Books, Bonsai Wire & Flower Pins (Kenzans)

Only three days left! Sale ends Feb 24th, 2010. Visit Stone Lantern and enjoy large discounts on books, bonsai wire and kenzans (aka flower pins or frogs). Enjoy a large selection of books on bonsai & suiseki, Japanese gardening, general gardening, Ikebana, and Japanese arts and culture. You can also enjoy a very large selection of high quality, affordable kenzans that are made in the USA. Copper colored aluminum bonsai wire for shaping beautiful bonsai. This sale ends Febuary 24th 2010.

Azalea Tips #2: The Language of Ramification

This old Satsuki azalea, with its massive trunk and wild display of mixed up flowers, is from our Satuski Azalea book by Robert Z. Callaham (Stone Lantern Publishing). Ramification Ramification just means branching. More specifically in bonsai (and other places) it is sometimes used to mean branch development or branch refining. The language of ramification Pruning Pruning is a commonly used word that is loosely applied to mean any removal of all or parts of branches. More specifically it means removing branches rather than shortening branches, but this distinction is lost on many people. Thinning Thinning means removing unwanted branches … Continue reading Azalea Tips #2: The Language of Ramification

A Lost Treasure

I found this old out-of-print classic in Green Apple Books in San Franscisco for ten dollars (minus my family discount – see disclaimer below). It was in near perfect condition after more than forty years (copyright 1967, Kodansha International). The original price was $6.95 (hardcover no less). BTW: Green Apple is one of the best surviving used/new independent bookstores anywhere (disclaimer: my son-in-law is part owner, but this takes away nothing from the fact that it’s a great place and an  institution in San Fransisco). I got lucky John Palmer, founder of Bonsai Today and Stone Lantern Publishing mentioned this … Continue reading A Lost Treasure

Eccentric Bonsai #8: Crafty Nick’s Crazy Cedar

You like unconventional? Crazy? How about daring and masterful? Notice how the color and design of the pot plays with the wild shari (deadwood) and the small touch of moss on the left mirrors the foliage. Just another bonsai from left field by crafty old Nick Lenz, master left fielder, author, and preeminent (whatever that means) master of cedars, larches and other collected North American gems. This photo is from North American Bonsai (American Bonsai Society – compiled and edited by Martin Schmalenberg), now on sale at Stone Lantern. When is a cedar not really a cedar? The tree featured … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai #8: Crafty Nick’s Crazy Cedar

In Praise of the American Larch #2: Good Taper Isn’t that Easy to Come By

You can find this in-training collected Larch in Bonsai from the Wild by Larch Master Nick Lenz (Stone Lantern Publishing). Good tapers on larches are hard to come by. This exceptionally strong taper is the result of what Nick calls a ‘swamp layer.’ For details see the chapter on larches in Bonsai from the Wild (THE book on collecting). Planting two trunks together that diverge as they ascend is a good way to create the appearance of taper. This image is from an article by Nick Lenz entitled Larch with Taper, that appears in The Bonsai Journal. Check out our … Continue reading In Praise of the American Larch #2: Good Taper Isn’t that Easy to Come By

Eccentric Bonsai #7: Nick’s Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy bonsai by Nick Lenz, who, in addition to be one of our most talented bonsai artists, is also a master of the unusual. This photo appears in Nick’s book, Bonsai from the Wild (Stone Lantern Publishing). Nicknamed OSAMA Nick Lenz calls his charming looking, but otherwise nasty little bonsai, OSAMA (no explanation needed). Halloween bonsai Though you may not take poison ivy bonsai seriously (or take it at all, for that matter), Nick does. Here’s a few of his words (lifted from his book): While poison ivy may be considered a Halloween bonsai, the species has great charm … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai #7: Nick’s Poison Ivy

In Praise of the American Larch: aka the Tamarack

Nick Lenz calls this rugged heavily scarred old larch a ‘super hack back job’ (performed with a chainsaw). It’s noteworthy for its excellent taper and nebari (among other things), things that doesn’t come naturally with most larches. I guess you could say that the Halloween carving is also noteworthy. The photo is from Nick’s book, Bonsai from the Wild (Stone Lantern Publishing). Round these parts it’s a Tamarack Here in Vermont we are right on the southern edge of the Larix laricina’s range. Most bonsai enthusiasts (and many others) refer to it as the American larch, but around here almost … Continue reading In Praise of the American Larch: aka the Tamarack

Not for Sissies: Yamadori part 2

That’s Robert Steven dangling from the rope ladder. I don’t know who his friend is, but he better have a pretty good grip. This photo is from Robert’s new book, Mission of Transformation. The location is in Java, one of the islands of Indonesia. The object of this and some other perilous climbs is the wild Premna (P. microphylla and P. serratifolia). Life and limb As the supply of magnificent wild potential bonsai dwindled in Japan, collectors risked life and limb hanging from remote mountain cliffs (like on Mount Ishizuchi below) to get at that last old shimpaku or pine. … Continue reading Not for Sissies: Yamadori part 2

Green Workshop: 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). Why transplant in the fall? If you transplant in the fall your trees can take full advantage of the next growing season. If you transplant in the spring (that’s when most people do it), by the time the tree recovers, you’ve lost part of the growing season. Why not transplant in the fall? If you have an early winter and your bonsai haven’t fully recovered from transplanting, then you risk serious damage … Continue reading Green Workshop: Fall Transplanting Pros & Cons

The Great Debate part 3: More from Walter

A naturalistic Norway spruce (Picea abies) by Walter Pall (from Bonsai Today issue 106). This tree was awarded third place overall in the Bonsai Today/Art of Bonsai 2006 photo contest. Walter also won first and second place in the overall category. The Naturalistic Bonsai Movement? In the expanding galaxy of accomplished Western bonsai artists, Walter Pall’s bonsai skills and dedication to teaching and promoting the art of bonsai make him one of the brightest stars. Walter is also one of the most prominent proponents of what could be called the Naturalistic Bonsai Movement (or something like that). In our last … Continue reading The Great Debate part 3: More from Walter