The recent Redwood Empire Bonsai Society’s Annual Show boasted a healthy complement of multi-trunk and grove bonsai. Special considerations come into play when multiple trunks are present – should the trunks point the same way, should some be bigger than others, and how can balance be maintained between trunks? The more trunks that are present, the more […]
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Junipers from the Redwood Empire
I’m happy to share with you today some of the junipers on display at the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society’s 29th annual show in Santa Rosa, CA this past weekend. The Sierra juniper below belongs to Deadwood Bonsai’s Ned Lycett. Lycett is an active collector, responsible for some of the really good junipers in the area. […]
Finding the right soil mix
Finding the right soil mixes for my trees has proved surprisingly tricky – and not for lack of trying. I’ve experimented broadly over the years, and have benefitted from the advice of both American and Japanese bonsai professionals. Still, I find room for improvement. In the past few years, I’ve moved to mixes that retain […]
Drying bonsai soil
To date, my summer has been filled with some traditional, and some not-so-traditional, activities. I went canoeing last weekend on the Russian River. When I got home, I set about drying some dirt. Watching summer days shorten has become a cue for me to begin preparing bonsai soil. I wash the dirtiest soils and dry and sift […]
Refining a Western juniper
It’s been two years since I last showed my Western juniper at Bay Island Bonsai’s 11th exhibit. It hasn’t changed a lot since then. Knowing it could use some attention, I brought it to BIB’s recent workshop run by Akio Kondo. Here’s the tree before the workshop. Western juniper In the space of 10 minutes, […]