Great Pots Deserve Great Trees

Malpigia glabra (Barbados cherry) by Hsieh, Cheng-Hua. Still traveling so we’ll borrow one more from our archives (April 2011). In keeping with the last post, we’ll stick with Taiwanese bonsai. More Taiwanese Bonsai Here are three more bonsai from the 2008 Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibition booklet which appears on Bonsai Shari Si-Diao, Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s website. It’s the pots, as well the trees, that really grabbed me. Ficus microcarpa by Huang,Ching-Chi. Variety unlisted. By Tung, Wen Chi. Yixing Bonsai pots are available at Stone Lantern

Running Out Of Superlatives

I’m running out of superlatives. How about ‘somewhere north of magnificent.’ My only question is; could the pot be a little bigger? By Hsieh, Shun-Chin. One of the problems with reheating old posts (like this one from three years ago: What’s with Taiwan? Min Hsuan Lo and Friends) is some of my writing then seems a little cringe worthy now. To me at least. So you’ll forgive me if I’ve done a little editing (like the previous post, let’s just call it value added). I picked this one to resurrect for a couple reasons. First, are the trees which are … Continue reading Running Out Of Superlatives

Dragon 3

Highly distinctive, exceptionally powerful and almost grotesque. When I first glanced at this tree, there was just a massive trunk with great taper and one of the largest sabamiki (the hollow in the trunk) ever. Then the face appeared (purely a mental projection by the way). I think the solution to this dilemma is to relax the gaze and take in a the whole tree and the space around it. Or simply don’t bother projecting. The photos of the trees that Robert Steven sent from the recent BCI convention in China are so good that they’re worth a third post … Continue reading Dragon 3

High & Wide: Min’s New Blog

After, but still in process. Collected Squamata juniper by Min Hsuan Lo. Deep & wide I was going to call this post Deep & Wide, due to the depth and breadth of Min Hsuan Lo’s work as reflected in his new blog. But Min’s spectacular photos of Jade Mountain prevailed in the end. Either way, I encourage you to take a look if you’d like to enjoy great photos and follow an excellent step-by-step journey through a restyling of a powerful old Sqaumata juniper. Before. Vigorously growing stock with character provides a good starting point. In process. A … Continue reading High & Wide: Min’s New Blog

Massive Trunk, Beautiful Pot & Much More (FREE ITEMS too)

To my eyes, this is a stupendous tree. So stupendous that nothing more needs to be said and you need not read any further… unless you need help seeing the obvious. If you do need help, then you might notice that when you combine this tree’s unusually generous size and spread with its highly refined ramification (all the way out to the tiniest twigs), the aged character written on the surface of the trunk and the clutch of its many fingered nebari (on a lesser tree this nebari would completely steal the show); its easy to see that it’s much … Continue reading Massive Trunk, Beautiful Pot & Much More (FREE ITEMS too)

Vacation Gallery & Scratch Prizes

This kind of monster tropical bonsai is not all that uncommon in Taiwan. It’s a Ficus microcarpa by Chen, Wen-Zhong. It won the Superior Prize at the 2010 Taiwan Bonsai Creator Association. Height: 100cm, Style: Raft. Vacation quickie I’m supposed to be on vacation (if only…) so I’ll make it quick. Here’s a gallery of monster bonsai from Taiwan that turned up on facebook. I hope you enjoy it. $1,000 Bonsai from Scratch deadline Don’t wait much longer. You’ve got one week to send us your final submissions (no later than Oct 15th). Here are the details. Two more gift … Continue reading Vacation Gallery & Scratch Prizes

Fantastic Trees, Fabulous Pots

Malpigia glabra (Barbados cherry) by Hsieh, Cheng-Hua. More Taiwanese Bonsai Here are three more bonsai from the 2008 Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibition booklet which appears on Bonsai Shari Si-Diao, Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s website. It’s the pots, as well the trees, that really grabbed me. Ficus microcarpa by Huang,Ching-Chi. Variety unlisted. By Tung, Wen Chi.

Wild and Wonderful Bonsai

Wild! There’s so much going on with this delightfully crazy tree, that you could spend a long time looking at it and still see something new. It’s a Chinese juniper by Yang Hsui. Taiwanese Bonsai The three bonsai shown here are all from the 2008 Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibition booklet which appears on Bonsai Shari Si-Diao, Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s website. Cheng is one Taiwan’s most famous, and most innovative, bonsai artists and teachers. This one is more wonderful than wild. But take a look at the size of the pot relative to the tree and particularly the trunk. Could the tree … Continue reading Wild and Wonderful Bonsai

Min Hsuan Lo’s Bonsai Teaser

Most bonsai shots show the whole tree, though you sometimes see partial tree photos (teasers). In this case, the photo has no trouble communicating the power and character of this magnificent bonsai, even if it only shows a little more than half of the tree and completely excludes the pot. All paths lead to Min Hsuan Lo I found the photo on one of the numerous bonsai galleries on facebook. It wasn’t attributed, so I traced it though several other photo galleries and finally landed on Budi Sulisyo (bonsai artist and author). It’s not Budi’s tree, but he did attribute … Continue reading Min Hsuan Lo’s Bonsai Teaser