Part 1 of 5 Preparing a trident maple for exhibit requires a lot of work. Fortunately, most of this work happens long in advance of the exhibit. Having developed what branches I could this summer, all that remains is a little clean-up and repotting. Root-over-rock trident maple Plucking spent leaves and removing extraneous branches doesn’t […]
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Impending Exhibit
Bay Island Bonsai’s 11th annual exhibit is scheduled for January 16-17, 2010. It will be held in a new location – the Alameda County Fairgrounds – in Pleasanton, CA. In preparation for the event, I began selecting trees to display in January. In July, I put together a few trial displays to get a sense […]
Unwanted moss, or, Nomoto’s paradox
Covering bonsai soil with moss is a great technique for indoor exhibits. Covering your bonsai’s bark with moss is almost never a good idea. Moss weakens bark by keeping it moist. For trees on which bark denotes age – Japanese black pine comes to mind – moss can quickly ruin a tree’s appearance. In autumn, […]
Removing old leaves
Some deciduous trees are tidy. The weather gets cold, the leaves drop off. More often, dead leaves stick around, waiting for us to remove them. Which is a good thing. It’s easy for bonsai enthusiasts to pay less attention to their trees in fall. Cooler temperatures slow growth and reduce the need for water and […]
Western juniper
When Akio Kondo came for a visit this summer he worked on a lot of trees. My favorite is a semi-cascade Western Juniper. Front as styled by Akio Kondo Although the tree has only been in training for a few years, it has a very bright future. The movement is attractive and the deadwood is […]