I was struck, at the recent Redwood Empire Bonsai Society’s 27th annual show, how the trunk of each bonsai set the tone for the rest of the tree. The roots, branches, and foliage each take their cue from the trunk, and if there is too big a difference in quality between any one of these elements […]
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Repotting a Japanese maple
Back in winter I took a few photographs of an air-layered Japanese maple getting repotted during a Bay Island Bonsai workshop. Combing out the roots – Japanse maple ‘sango kaku’ The new roots are well established. The next step is to get them to fuse while improving the ramification. Jeff, the tree’s owner, kicked off […]
Yaupon holly bonsai
Until recently, I’ve known Yaupon Holly by its less appealing botanical name, Ilex vomitoria. I took it for granted that the tree produced berries that were better left to the birds. Not so – turns out Native Americans made tea known as asi or “black drink” from the Youpon berries that were used in male-only […]
Balance
There are few concepts more central to bonsai than “balance.” The California buckeye below strikes me as a well-balanced composition. The foliage, ramification, trunk, pot and stand all work well together. California Buckeye – Aesculus californica The photos here are from the Bay Area Bonsai Associates’ 28th annual show. Like so many good exhibits, it […]
Repotting and grafting ume
Almost 15 years ago, I signed up for my first Kathy Shaner workshop. I’d been informally studying with Kathy for some time – this would be my first opportunity to work with her on one of my own trees. Or soon to be mine. The trees for the event were included with workshop registration – […]