[8/16/16 – See the updated and expanded version: How to grow Japanese black pine from seed] I’ve often heard the lament that there isn’t enough good black pine bonsai available. I can sympathize. Returning from a visit to Japan can forever skew one’s perspective toward very high quality trees – trees that are hard to […]
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.
Big bend
What to do with a large Western juniper with one large branch that grows the wrong way? Bend it. To bend juniper branches over 2″ in diameter, hollowing out the branch before bending greatly increases the severity of the bend one can apply. Ever since Kimura popularized the technique in Kindai Bonsai and later in […]
Restoring a white pine
For the first time in a long time I did something special – I bought a new tree. I’ve had my eye on this white pine for maybe 8 years. I first saw after it had been purchased by a Bay Island Bonsai member. For a number of years the tree did well until its […]
Where there is jackie there is a way
Some bonsai are born great, others are made. Just because nature – or a nursery – doesn’t provide a tree with graceful lines or dramatic features doesn’t mean that it isn’t destined for greatness. Of course some trees are best left alone. Which is what many thought when they walked past the juniper pictured below. […]
Summer ritual – decandling black pine
Japanese black pine bonsai entails a set of refining techniques known as decandling. At its most simple, it refers to the process of removing spring growth to encourage summer growth. At its most complex it involves more variables than I can address in a single post. Regardless the approach, the goals remain the same – […]