‘Kinsai’ is a popular satsuki azalea cultivar. The flowers are red and the petals are narrow. Mostly. There are a few different variations of kinsai (pink flowers, wide petals, etc.), and there can be considerable variation among the flowers on a single tree. You can see this on the specimen below that has started to […]
Display
Bonsai is meant to be displayed. The Display posts cover how to present bonsai at exhibits, the Accents with which bonsai are displayed, and the criteria we use when selecting Bonsai Pots.
Pot selection exercise – dwarf wisteria
Earlier this week, I presented a program on repotting for the East Bay Bonsai Society. We started by covering techniques for securing trees into containers based on the numbers of holes in the pot (see “Securing” for details). Next we looked at the process with a live tree – a dwarf wisteria. After performing the […]
Pot selection exercise – contorted quince
Now that temperatures have cooled a bit, I’ve started repotting. Sometimes I return trees to the pots they were growing in, and other times I select new containers. Here are eight options I considered for a contorted flowering quince. Do you have a favorite? Pot #1 – round Yamaaki Pot #2 – unglazed Japanese Pot […]
New book showcases bonsai and penjing at the Montréal Botanical Garden
Bonsai | Penjing: The Collections of the Montréal Botanical Garden by Danielle Ouellet. $71.95 in hardcover from Goose Lane Editions. 276 pages. I was excited to find a note from Goose Lane Editions a few weeks ago announcing the publication of Bonsai | Penjing: The Collections of the Montréal Botanical Garden, by Danielle Ouellet. A […]
Bonsai displays at the Bay Area Suiseki and Shohin Show
Shohin bonsai are often displayed vertically to make use of limited exhibit space and to bring small trees closer to eye level. This can lead to interesting arrangements of trees that are often far more complex than the arrangement of larger bonsai on display. The shohin displays below were featured at the recent Bay Area […]