Trident maple bonsai grow quickly. It’s a characteristic that can yield great ramification in a relatively short amount of time. Daisaku Nomoto, a very talented Japanese bonsai professional and student of Kihachi En, suggested a mere three years can be enough to prepare trident maple bonsai for Kokufu. I asked how this could be possible. […]
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.
Developing Japanese winterberry
Spring work for this small ilex serrata is straight forward. I want the primary branches to thicken so I let them run. Aluminum wire helps them set in place. Japanese winterberry – before Japanese winterberry – after If you look closely, you can see that the apex is much smaller than the main part of […]
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 […]
Trunk grafting – black pine
Grafting is one of the most useful techniques for developing bonsai from rough stock. A pine I have been working on for the past few years needs a few more branches before I can reduce it to its final height. To do this, I need to graft into the trunk. Grafting requires a bit of […]
Developing black pine
I really like working with Japanese Black Pine. Although they keep needles year round, their appearance changes with the seasons. The pine below is flush with last year’s growth – a mix of spring and summer foliage. Spring growth above – Summer growth below As you might imagine, the future silhouette of this tree will […]