Before & After Bonsai – Three in One

Three before and after bonsai styled by Juan Andrade. The trees are from top to bottom: Shimpaku juniper, Japanese black pine and a Needle juniper trunk with Shimpaku juniper foliage grafted on Continuing with our current before and after series… Juan Andrade served as a long term apprentice at Bonsai Aichien nursery in Japan. We’ve been following Juan’s progress for years (here’s a Bark post from 2012 that features a tree of his). Juan posts regularly on facebook, which is where we found these photos. TWO GREAT SPECIALS END TONIGHT see below This pine has a bunjin feel, but I think the … Continue reading Before & After Bonsai – Three in One

Before & After by Bonsai Boon with a Guest Appearance by Michael Hagedorn

Here’s Boon’s caption for this before and after… “Itoigawa shimpaku removed old needles, downward growth, rewired and reposition” No bonsai is ever finished (unless it’s dead and then it’s no longer a bonsai anyway). I don’t know how many trees Boon Manakitivipart (aka Bonsai Boon) has, but I know it’s a whole lot more than most of us So what do you do when you have so many trees? Beyond basic care, like watering, feeding, treating for disease, insects etc? Well, one thing you do is spend some time bringing established bonsai back into shape, and if you have the talent, improving them in the process. … Continue reading Before & After by Bonsai Boon with a Guest Appearance by Michael Hagedorn

Beauty Doesn’t Always Conform to Our Expectations

Before and after European olive by Javi Campos Juan. Though it looks as though Javi has somehow managed to bend the trunk, perhaps all he has done is changed the planting and viewing angles. In any case, the improvement is striking Continuing with our Before & After theme from the last few days… You don’t often see Olives styled like this one; more like a conifer than an Olive. Regarding this, there is a good argument for styling in the way the type tree naturally grows. Trees that don’t conform to this standard often look unnatural Still, I like this tree. True, … Continue reading Beauty Doesn’t Always Conform to Our Expectations

Wild Plum Bonsai, Before & After

Walter Pall’s Wild plum (Prunus cerasifera) before and six years later Continuing with our latest before and after series… Walter Pall has long been a favorite of ours. Aside from his massive bonsai collection and his considerable skills in developing and maintaining that collection, Walter takes the time to walk us though step by step transformations with a series of sharpe uncluttered photos. And not just three or four photos. In this case there are upwards of fifty (that’s on the high side even for Walter, but he’s always generous in this regard). We’ll show you five photos here and encourage you … Continue reading Wild Plum Bonsai, Before & After

Godzilla Refines a Monster Bonsai – Before & After

Before and after Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) by Todd Schlafer. The tree belongs to Mike Andrews. For the Godzilla reference, scroll down to the bottom of the post Continuing with another before and after transformation by Todd Schlafer (see Oct 19th). Here’s a quote by Mike Andrews (facebook)… “Progression of collected Rocky Mountain Juniper. Collected by Randy Knight, delivered to my house September 2016. Initial design and structure setting with Mauro in April 2017. Fertilized heavily and full sun 2017 and 2018 growing seasons resulted in very nice dense foliage. Finally detail wired and pad formation by Todd yesterday. … Continue reading Godzilla Refines a Monster Bonsai – Before & After

A Piece of Rebar, Some Nerve & More than a Little Skill

This before and after by David Benavente provides a look at what you can do with a piece of rebar, some nerve, and more than a little skill. I originally posted this in 2010 and can longer find David’s original, but if memory serves, the tree is a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) Continuing with David Benavente (see yesterday’s post) and our before and after from the day before… The photos for this post are from a a 2010 Bark post. I’ve reworked them some, and the text is new. For more on David, you can visit his website and you can visit him … Continue reading A Piece of Rebar, Some Nerve & More than a Little Skill

Bonsai on Instagram – Great Trees, Great Stones

There’s a lot going on with this one. Especially the two types of exposed roots – the long aerial roots growing down to the flat stone on the right, and the other set of roots fanning down the side of the large stone (the stone is another nice feature). I couldn’t find the type tree (looks like it might be a Ficus) nor any info on the artist/owner. Unless the person who put the photo up is the owner (there’s a name embedded in the Instagram address) Just ventured onto Instragram for the first time. So far I like it. It’s an easy … Continue reading Bonsai on Instagram – Great Trees, Great Stones

Bonsai Skill & Vision – Before & After

Before and after Procumbens Juniper by Todd Schlafer at the Des Moines Botanical Gardens Continuing with our venerable Before and After tradition… This is only the second time* we’ve featured bonsai by Todd Schlafer, but there will certainly be more. Todd is one of a significant (in numbers and skill) crop of young North American bonsai artists . You can enjoy more of Todd’s bonsai on his First Branch Bonsai website, on facebook and in the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album BONSAI SOIL SPECIAL ENDS SUNDAY 25% OFF LIST PRICES Special ends Sunday at 11:59pm EDT Before. As you can see, the trunk is already … Continue reading Bonsai Skill & Vision – Before & After

More Tiny Trees from Our Mystery Bonsai Artist

A lot of age and character packed into such a small pot. I’m not sure what kind of tree it is. Perhaps and Ilex of some sort? Continuing with our unknown artist’s tiny trees from the other day and our love affair with small bonsai. A love affair that grows as we age (sooner or later old backs and heavy bonsai must part ways). There are no varieties listed, but some are easy. Others, not so much. Here’s your fb link for our source BONSAI SOIL SPECIAL ENDS SUNDAY 25% off list prices The berries look like Pyracantha and so do the leaves … Continue reading More Tiny Trees from Our Mystery Bonsai Artist

Coming Soon! Another Great Bonsai Expo

Based on what we’ve seen and heard about their past shows, this one promises to be a real winner. I wish we could say see you there, but we’ve got other plans. Still, I hope you can make it. I’m sure you’ll be happy you did. Here’s your link to their website Our Enormously Popular Tie Pots Are Back! We just got a shipment of 81 Tie Pots Monday and 36 more yesterday, and already there are only about 40 left. We’ve got more coming in 3 or 4 weeks, but if you’d like some sooner, better order yours now… 18.00 each for 1 or … Continue reading Coming Soon! Another Great Bonsai Expo