I’m a big fan of stewartia. The variety officially known as Stewartia monadelpha goes by “hime-shara” in Japan and the unimaginative common name “Tall Stewartia” – a usage I’ve yet to hear in bonsai. They develop medium-fast and are known not for their white flowers or small, fuzzy fruit but for their beautiful copper-bronze trunks […]
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Summer cutback – Japanese plum
I have worked on this tree a long time – and it still has a long way to go. Shoots on the key branch are only two years old, and I have yet to “fix” the right side of the apex. It’s been a great project as the tree has been in my family since […]
Summer cutback – Ume
The ume, Prunus mume, is a wonderfully vigorous variety. Shoots on a medium sized tree can easily run two or three feet in a single season – which is good and bad. Good in that careful and well-timed wiring can lead to branches that set and develop quickly. Bad, because a neglected tree can quickly […]
Bay Area Satsuki Aikokai 15th Annual Exhibit
Last weekend the Bay Area Satsuki Aikokai (BASA) held their 15th annual exhibit (congratulations!). It’s nice to see that the organization has done well over the years. The exhibit and demonstrations were well attended and the trees looked great. Satsuki azalea BASA’s exhibit is held at the Lakeside Garden Center in Oakland, CA. While a […]
Visitation rights
I recently had the opportunity to visit a few of the pines I started 15 years ago that are no longer in my collection. I was happy to see that they are doing very well. It’s exciting to give a tree its start and then see how others develop and refine it. The result is […]