After developing the branches on a black pine for the past nineteen years, it was time to give the tree a haircut. Black Pine After reducing the apex When I acquired the tree twenty years ago, it was much taller. After showing it at Bay Island Bonsai’s second exhibit, I removed the top third of […]
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Bay Area Bonsai Associates’ 39th annual exhibit
The Bay Area Bonsai Associates held their 39th annual exhibit last weekend at the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland, California. It’s been a few years since I last posted photos from the BABA show and I’m glad I have the chance to do so this year as there were some great trees on display […]
The Little Book of Bonsai – a look at what’s inside
A few weeks ago I told the story of how The Little Book of Bonsai came to be. Today I’d like to share details about who it’s for and what’s inside. I wrote the book for people who are new to bonsai. It’s illustrated with images of trees from my collection and the collections of […]
Pruning to support development goals on crabapple pre-bonsai
When pre-bonsai are in the trunk-thickening phase, the work is simple – prune to avoid unwanted swelling and wire new shoots where you want movement. I’ve been doing this work on a batch of crabapples I started from seed for several years now. Young crabapple Trunk detail To encourage new buds along the trunk, I […]
Refining a field-grown black pine
The pine below is several years out of the ground and is showing signs of becoming a bonsai. Japanese black pine In the past year, I wired the primary branches and made two grafts near the apex. This winter, I thinned crowded areas and rewired the branches. Here’s the tree after thinning. After pruning and […]