Ever find you have a tree or two to prepare for an exhibit and only a limited amount of time to do the work? When my time’s limited, I start with the basics. The basics, if you’re working on a juniper in summer, include cleaning up the tree’s silhouette, removing algae from deadwood, preparing the […]
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How to grow Japanese black pine from seed
Growing Japanese black pine from seed isn’t the easiest way to make a beautiful bonsai. It requires a variety of skills and it takes a long time. That said, the process of starting bonsai from scratch can be very rewarding – whether or not you end up with a masterpiece. The basics of growing pines from […]
Korean Hornbeam – 10 year progression
About 15 years ago, Boon brought a Korean hornbeam to a Bay Island Bonsai meeting. It was November, and the tree was in fall color. I’d never seen such vivid reds, oranges and yellows on a bonsai in person. I decided right then I wanted one. Several years later, I found my chance. It was […]
What to look for in surface roots
Last week I wrote that it’s important to look for the surface roots when evaluating bonsai (see “Check the surface roots“). What is it that we’re looking for? We want to see the connection between trunk and roots. Surface roots on corkbark elm When we see surface roots – nebari, in Japanese – we can […]
Bonsai buying guide: check the surface roots
Buying bonsai can be a lot of fun. Because it can be hard to find good material, when you stumble on something that has potential, it’s easy to get excited. How do you know when something has potential? For me, the best guide is the trunk. When we buy bonsai, most of what we pay […]