Three years ago I grafted cork bark black pine scions onto several young, non-corking, black pines. Once the grafts took hold, I gradually reduced the foliage of the understock. Now that the desired foliage is strong, it’s time to remove the original foliage. 6 year-old cork bark black pine – the tallest branch is the […]
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Black pine from landscape material – follow-up
I recently received a request – thanks Chris – for an update about a landscape pine on its way to becoming a bonsai. Here’s what the tree looked like in 2012. January, 2012 (see Part 1 and Part 2 for the rest of the story) After removing the top half of the tree and repotting, […]
Cork oak
This past winter I picked up some field-grown cork oaks. Most of the soil fell away from the roots when they were dug so I potted them the day they arrived. The one question I had at the time was whether or not to remove the leaves. I’d seen the question posted a number of […]
Omiya Bonsai Museum
For those who have yet to visit the Omiya Bonsai Museum, I highly recommend it. The collection is small, but the quality is high. Indoor displays teach bonsai basics. An outdoor garden allows for strolling among famous trees. My favorite exhibits include an overview of the history of bonsai and of the Omiya Bonsai Village. Old […]
Displaying a Japanese maple
This month’s Bay Island Bonsai meeting focused on Japanese maple. After studying how and when to pluck, prune and pinch maples, we worked on a maple display. Bay Island Bonsai meeting at Boon’s workshop The tree to be displayed is in the large category – it’s over 16-18 inches tall – so the idea was […]