Last fall a friend dug up an olive tree growing as a weed in his backyard. He figured someone might be interested in it. I figured it would make a fun bonsai project. Black olive The tree was tall and rangy but there was some taper at the base of the trunk. Shoots emerging from […]
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.
Japanese plum cutback
My Japanese plum has really enjoyed the warm weather this spring. The many long shoots emerging from the first branch have given the tree a rangy appearance. It was time for some cutback. Japanese plum – May 2011 I reduced the longest of the shoots and wired what was left of the new growth. This […]
Air layering a Japanese maple
Almost a year ago to the day I wrote about a Japanese maple I’d taken on that was ripe for several long-term projects (see Restoring an old Japanese maple). I started on the first, an air-layer, this past weekend at a BIB workshop. Japanese maple I would have layered the tree last year, but I had […]
From landscape tree to bonsai – part 2
There are only so many ways to make a bonsai smaller – and cutting and bending seem to do most of the work. As my newest pine was almost two meters tall, some cutting was in order. Although I have yet to decide on the future of the tree, it’s clear that I don’t need […]
From landscape tree to bonsai
As most of you know, it can be hard to find good material for black pine bonsai outside of Japan. This forces a certain level of creativity. Growing seeds is one good approach. Another is converting landscape trees to bonsai. I recently purchased a couple of black pines developed as landscape trees in the hope […]