A simple and tidy way to apply bonsai fertilizer? Tea bags. I’ve seen a number of folks use tea bags to hold fertilizer, but I hadn’t tried the technique until this year. I typically pour mounds of cottonseed meal on the surface of the soil, but much of the fertilizer washes away, and the rest […]
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Preparing a young black pine for show
“Show trees are full trees,” Boon tells us. In need of a second tree to display with my root over rock trident maple, I searched my garden for full trees. I found one, but it was clear that not all full trees are show trees. Japanese black pine My optimistic side figured that some selective […]
Selecting a pot for a small trident maple bonsai
For months, I’d planned on showing a small hinoki in Bay Island Bonsai’s 13th annual exhibit. The hinoki’s health took a turn for the worse and I found myself with a few weeks to prepare another tree for exhibit. I selected a deciduous tree for the exhibit – a root over rock trident maple. I […]
Shopping at the Asia-Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention
Ever wonder what it’s like to wander around a world-class bonsai convention held in Japan? It’s pretty great. Everywhere I turned I saw wonderful trees, tools, pots, stands and other bonsai paraphernalia. It was fun to see which trees came from which gardens and how much they cost. And because the quality was so high, it […]
Bonsai demonstrations at the 11th ASPAC
I’d been curious how demonstrations in Japan differ from the demos I’ve attended closer to home. It turns out they aren’t that different. Bonsai professionals took breaks from their work to talk about the trees while assistants kept busy. Kimura’s demo involved some minor carving and a few large bends that resulted in a pleasing […]