One of the last trees I worked on at Aichi-en last fall was a mid-sized white pine. My styling guidance was simple – I was told to make the tree look nicer. Beyond that, Mr. Tanaka told me not to cut too much. Cutting large branches can trigger vigorous growth and one of the primary […]
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Bay Island Bonsai’s 13th annual exhibit
After hosting ten exhibits in Hayward and two in Pleasanton, Bay Island Bonsai moved its annual exhibit to the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland, California. The 13th annual event was a big success, drawing crowds of experienced bonsai folk as well as many who are new to the art. As the Garden Center contains […]
Rocky Mountain Juniper bonsai
One of the trees displayed at Bay Island Bonsai’s 13th annual exhibit got a lot of funny looks. It’s a Rocky Mountain juniper, Juniperus scopulorum. Rocky Mountain Juniper It’s not exactly “show-ready” as we like to say – the tree is only a few years out of the ground and branch pads have yet to […]
Styling a Japanese white pine
The first tree I worked on at Aichi-en was somewhat unusual. The second tree I worked on made the first tree look easy. From a distance, the white pine looked unremarkable. Japanese five-needle pine – front The tree’s exposed roots were covered by foliage in the front, but easy to see from the back. Japanese […]
Evaluating bonsai at Bay Island Bonsai meeting
Learning to evaluate bonsai is a big part of the Bay Island Bonsai experience. If one doesn’t understand a tree’s good and bad points, it’s hard to improve the tree, and it’s hard to know how much to pay for it. We’ve been using a simple form designed by Boon for over 10 years. The […]