When azaleas are dug from the field, it’s common to clean the trunks and reduce the branches. The trees are then placed in greenhouses so they get the heat and humidity they need to send out new shoots. Satsuki azalea recently dug from the field This is bonsai at its most abstract. The trunks, decades […]
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Recent Posts
Field-growing satsuki azaleas at Takahashi Engei
My recent trip to Japan included some satsuki sightseeing at Takahashi Engei – a large azalea grower in Kanuma City. Kazuhiro Takahashi showed us around his growing fields which gave us a good look at the stages azaleas go through on their way to becoming bonsai. Although I didn’t see young trees on the property, […]
Onuma’s mini-bonsai growing techniques
A number of you wrote with questions about the techniques Kazuo Onuma uses to create his mini-bonsai last week. Here are some answers! Chojubai Onuma grows chojubai by starting young cuttings in round, plastic containers. After several years, he removes the containers and lets the soil – red lava in this case – fall away […]
Onuma’s mini-sized bonsai
After spending two days in the Tokyo area to see the Kokufu exhibit, I took a day trip to Shizuoka to visit Kazuo Onuma. Onuma is a grower who specializes in mini-sized bonsai. He’s been working with trees for twenty-five years and has been serious about it for the last fifteen. The effort has paid […]
Accents displayed at the 94th Kokufu-ten
If you look next to every great tree at the Kokufu bonsai exhibit, you’ll find a small companion plant at its side. Korean hornbeam display Accent plants, or shitakusa (“under weeds”) as they are known in Japanese, accompany every display at the Kokufu-ten. Accents can feature one or more species, and they are typically planted […]