Not long before last month’s Bay Island Bonsai exhibit, Boon mentioned that there was room for more trees if I was interested. I looked around my backyard for candidates and found that one of my black pines had filled in nicely after the previous year’s decandling. I brought it to workshop to see if it […]
Search Results for: pine
Creating cork bark black pine
After doing some cutback on a corkbark black pine, I saved the clippings so I could do some grafting. Corkbark pines aren’t as strong on their own roots as they are on black pine roots. As a result, most of the corkbark bonsai we see are grafted. The earlier these trees are grafted, the better. […]
Pines from Ritsurin Garden
Apart from the overall beauty of the place, the most memorable feature of Ritsurin Garden its collection of pines. Each is old and well cared for, like Tsurukame-matsu (crane and tortoise) below. From the park brochure, “A black pine tree resembling the shape of a crane spreading its wings planted in a turtle-shaped stone planter […]
Ponderosa pines at Elandan Gardens
Dan Robinson has been growing pine bonsai for a long time. Some of trees on display at Elandan Gardens started from seeds Dan collected in Korea when he was in the service. Most, however, were collected from the mountains, including the awesome specimens below. All text accompanying the images comes from signs displayed with the trees. […]
Ponderosa pine deadwood
For good reason, horticultural endeavors don’t often focus on death. Bonsai is an exception. Exposed deadwood on old trees can reveal hardship and character that defines a tree better than any other feature. One of the best places to appreciate deadwood on bonsai is Elandan Gardens in Bremerton, Washington. Elandan is an amazing expression of […]