Trident maple bonsai

To Deadwood or Not to Deadwood (for My Friend Sal)

There’s deadwood and then there’s deadwood. It’s a safe guess that this crazy tree is a juniper, just like the other two trees shown here (it may also be a safe guess that it’s a tanuki*). There’s no mention of the artist/owner. Ditto for the other two. Every few days we get a comment from someone objecting to all the deadwood you see on bonsai these days. I get it, things get overdone. Including deadwood. But if we’re going to consider bonsai an art, then we might want to leave room for experimentation. And if we do that, there’s always … Continue reading To Deadwood or Not to Deadwood (for My Friend Sal)

A Very Impressive North American Bonsai Collection

Fantastic tree! It belongs to Doug Paul (Mr. Kennett Collection). This photo is from the famous Kokufu Exhibition in Tokyo. It’s a great honor to have a tree accepted to Kokufu; only a handful of North Americans have had that honor. Today we’ve got a few photos from Doug Paul’s Kennett Collection, no doubt one of the foremost bonsai collections in North America. The collection – with the exception of any trees Doug keeps in Japan -resides in Kennett Square PA. Continued below… NEW Lower Prices on Bonsai Aesthetics Wire with many sizes individually discounted as well 100 gram  –  … Continue reading A Very Impressive North American Bonsai Collection

Impressive Nebari, Wild Deadwood, and a Colossal Wire Sale Ends Tonight

I cropped the original (below) to get a closeup of this rather impressive deadwood. Even though there is no variety listed, the fresh buds look a lot like a Yew in full spring glory. All the trees shown here were posted by Luis Vallejo. Because Luis is a highly accomplish and prolific bonsai artist, we can assume they are all his (unfortunately, and due primarily to laziness, facebook and other online sites are rife with unattributed bonsai). Conitnued below… Our great sale on 500 gram rolls of Bonsai Aesthetics Wire ends tonight 30% off 2+ rolls of 500 gram Bonsai … Continue reading Impressive Nebari, Wild Deadwood, and a Colossal Wire Sale Ends Tonight

More Prolific Bonsai Brilliance

Always nice to lead with a little color. This cheerful full fall color Trident maple belonged to Suthin Sukosolvisit when we first showed it way back in 2009. I don’t know who the lucky owner is now. Continuing with yesterday’s fully fledged admiration of Suthin and his bonsai, here are a few choice trees dug out from our archives. Continued below… A great sale ends tonight Bonsai Aesthetics Wire Sale 25% to 30% off 500 gram Bonsai Aesthetics Wire 25% off 2-5 rolls (10.12 each) 30% off 6 or more (9.45 each) this sale ends tonight, Sunday at 11:59pm EST … Continue reading More Prolific Bonsai Brilliance

A Bonsai Pot that Set the Armies Marching

This powerful little Trident maple with its massive trunk and distinctive mottled soft blue pot deserves top billing. The photo is from a section on Takao Koyo in the Japanese Bonsai Pots Blog. This all started with a couple pots by Takao Koyo on Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai Blog. A quick search lead to a Takao Koyo jackpot at Ryan Bell’s Japanese Bonsai Pots blog, and from there a link to Takao Koyo’s blog, where you can enjoy an abundance of great pots and trees. This post originally appeared two years ago (Jan, 2015). I’ve done some editing but the … Continue reading A Bonsai Pot that Set the Armies Marching

Field Growing, Drainage & Fertilizing

This impressive Trident maple’s (Acer buergeranum) massive nebari is a dead giveaway that it was field grown. The original article is in Bonsai Today issue 64. I wrote this back in 2009. Though the tree and it’s impressive nebari started in the field, much of the development was accomplished in a container (see below). Enjoying a quick winter vacation in stormy San Francisco. The rain is desperately needed, so I can live with failed expectations of sun and warm breezes. Because this is a vacation, we’ll resort to reposting one of our very earliest posts. It’s from February 2009. I’ve … Continue reading Field Growing, Drainage & Fertilizing

Monster Trident Maple Bonsai in Full Fall Color

In addition to brilliant fall color, this monster Trident maple has almost everything you’d want in a bonsai, including a massive trunk, fluid natural looking nebari, good lines, a well-matched pot and healthy green moss. The artist is German Gomez. Leaving for quick vacation in three days and still have a million things to do, including putting up some new tools and voting. To save some time we’re going back in time. The photos shown here first appeared on Bark way back in 2010. I’ve changed most of the text.  Though fall color is rapidly fading here in Vermont, I … Continue reading Monster Trident Maple Bonsai in Full Fall Color

Four Sturdy Bonsai & One Very Sturdy Turntable

Old European olives are often full of character as well as muscle, and this one is no exception. I believe the tree belongs to Luis Vallejo, though I couldn’t find evidence on his website. Taking some time off today, so we’ll resurrect an old favorite from our archives. While we’re at, we’ll give a nod to our powerful Green T Turntable. There’s something compelling about bonsai with powerful trunks. Assuming that I’m not the only one so compelled, below are three more very sturdy bonsai and one very sturdy turntable for your enjoyment. Myrtus communis by Rui Ferrreira. I’ve never … Continue reading Four Sturdy Bonsai & One Very Sturdy Turntable

Old School Bonsai – Clip & Grow

This massive Trident maple most likely started in a field somewhere and was allowed to grow quite tall (the fastest way to thicken the trunk) before it was cut back. This first cut was the beginning of clip and grow styling (see below). The owner/artist of this outstanding bonsai is German Gomez. Most large Trident maples and many other deciduous trees are started in the field and developed using the clip and grow technique. The result is usually a heavy trunked tree with gentle curves, often in a more or less S shape. You can see this basic shape in … Continue reading Old School Bonsai – Clip & Grow

Still More Sacrificing & Bonsai Eccentricities

Sometimes it’s helpful to break a bonsai down into its constituent parts. What you might see in this case, is a somewhat classical root-over-rock Trident maple bonsai accentuated by two rather long, undulating branches on either side. For some of us, there might be a temptation to cut them off; to revert to something safer and more recognizable as bonsai. But sometimes it’s a good idea to think twice before acting. You can always cut a branch off later, but you can’t put it back on. The photo is from the National Bonsai Foundation’s 2013 calendar. At least two points … Continue reading Still More Sacrificing & Bonsai Eccentricities