A few years after planting a seedling with the intention of exposing the roots is a good time to take a peek and see what’s happening beneath the soil. The black pine below was planted in its current container about three years ago. Black pine Based on how much the tree has grown, my guess […]
Bonsai Development
Bonsai Development posts form the heart of Bonsai Tonight. Learn about varieties like Black Pine, Shimpaku and Japanese Maple, techniques like Decandling and Grafting and Air Layering, and bonsai features like Deadwood.
Creating exposed root pines – follow-up techniques
In the last post we looked at a technique for starting exposed root pine bonsai. When all goes according to plan, the tree will grow into its new container and look something like the photo below a year later. Exposed root pine one year after planting in a deep container The next step is easy […]
How to create exposed root pine bonsai
Creating exposed root pine bonsai is simple – plant a seedling in a deep container with large soil particles that can give the roots an interesting shape. Here’s what the process looks like in detail. Start with young pines and a deep container. Deep container Young pines As for soil, use what works best for […]
Repotting an old San Jose juniper
I began work on an old San Jose juniper bonsai this week. The tree had been trained as bonsai years ago but never reached a refined state. For the past several years, the tree was watered and fed but not pruned or repotted. San Jose juniper Before making any decisions about how to style the […]
Cutback on field grown trident maple
One of the challenges of working with field grown material is replacing large, straight branches with slender shoots that have better movement. I’ve been doing this work incrementally with the trident maple below. Trident maple Even though it’s November, fall has been mild where I live so the leaves are still healthy. Here’s what the […]