The Bay Area Satsuki Aikokai, or BASA, hosted their 17th annual exhibit on June 11-12, 2011, at the Lakeside Garden Center in Oakland, California. Despite the late season exhibit date, most of the satsuki were in full bloom. Satsuki azalea – Miyako BASA encourages all of its members to show at least one tree in […]
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Refining cork bark black pine – decandling
Decandling my cork bark black pine was a straightforward process this year. I removed the spring growth and thinned unnecessary needles. I did not decandle weak shoots or shoots that grew in areas I’m trying to develop – mostly the lower branches on the right side. Here is the tree before decandling. Cork bark Japanese […]
Thinning Japanese black pine
Here is a recent photo of a Japanese black pine I decandled last fall. The new shoots began growing in fall, paused during winter, and continued growing in the spring. Now the needles are mature and the tree is full. This is how pines decandled in spring typically look in November. Black pine – June 2011 […]
Best repotting of the year
The technique comes from a crafty gentleman named Ebihara. It involves nails, chopsticks, plywood and a drill. Below are photos of the first steps in a slow process that can yield a truly impressive rootbase. Hats off to Jeff for giving it a try! Zelkova roots Nice, thin, root system – so far, so good […]
Bonsai apprentices online
Like many bonsai enthusiasts, I’ve long dreamed about studying bonsai in Japan in a formal apprenticeship. After hearing tales from Kathy Shaner, Boon Manakitivipart, and Michael Hagedorn, I’m both excited by, and somewhat afraid of, all that the experience entails. Recently three more bonsai students began apprenticeships in Japan: Tim Gardner, Peter Tea, and Tyler […]