What to do with a large Western juniper with one large branch that grows the wrong way? Bend it. To bend juniper branches over 2″ in diameter, hollowing out the branch before bending greatly increases the severity of the bend one can apply. Ever since Kimura popularized the technique in Kindai Bonsai and later in […]
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Where to start?
This Western juniper, Juniperus occidentalis, was one of the more fun projects that made it to Akio Kondo’s workshop at Boon’s last month. After a few years in a pot the tree is very healthy and is now ready for its first styling. Typically, after finding the roots the primary task is determining the front […]
Restoring a white pine
For the first time in a long time I did something special – I bought a new tree. I’ve had my eye on this white pine for maybe 8 years. I first saw after it had been purchased by a Bay Island Bonsai member. For a number of years the tree did well until its […]
Akio Kondo critique
Membership has its benefits. This month’s Bay Island Bonsai meeting featured a critique from Akio Kondo, a Kokufu prize-winning bonsai artist from Japan. Kondo sizing up a procumbens juniper by Peter Tea Kondo first visited California in 1996 to practice bonsai for a year after completing his apprenticeship to Kihachiro Kamiya at Kihachi-en. Kondo offered […]
Project trees
One thing I noticed while visiting bonsai gardens in Japan – their “project trees” are pretty good. I found these junipers in Shinji Suzuki’s garden. Shimpaku This shimpaku is young and has only one branch – but what fun design potential! Fortunately these smaller junipers are easy to grow from cutting. And although they don’t […]