The transition from spring to summer marks the middle of decandling season, the time of year when we remove spring shoots from black pines to produce more compact summer growth. If a tree is healthy and received a lot of fertilizer in spring, it’s a good candidate for decandling. Based on this criteria, the black […]
Search Results for: pine
Pines in Imai’s garden
Chiharu Imai’s garden featured some great pines. Some of these were far more developed than others. Seeing less developed trees next to more mature specimens made it clear how bonsai can develop and improve over time. The juxtaposition also made it clear that Imai can do great work at both ends of this spectrum. White […]
Kentaro Shiino’s pines
On my last day in Japan this past February, I had the opportunity to visit two bonsai nurseries in Kanagawa prefecture. The first stop was Kentaro Shiino’s. I’d met Shiino, a graduate of Daiju-en, several years earlier at Gomankoku (back row on the left). As is the case with every student at Daiju-en, Shiino had […]
Chojubai and white pine from Nomoto Chinshou-en
Tsutomu Nomoto started Nomoto Chinshou-en on his birthday in 1973. Bonsai had been a family hobby for several generations but it wasn’t until Tsutomu turned away from veterinary medicine – the default line of work for his family – that the hobby became a business. Tsutomu studied at Nakanishi Chinshou-en in Shikoku’s Kinashi bonsai district (more at […]
White pines from Iwakiri’s garden
Kyushu bonsai enthusiast Mr. Iwakiri has been growing white pine for about as long as he’s been growing black pines. His garden provides plenty of evidence for this. Iwakiri’s pines Triple-trunk white pine Iwakiri reaches for a branch After pointing out a young white pine with a massive trunk, Iwakiri showed us the pot the […]