Abstract Pinus thunbergii is a popular species of conifer cultivated as bonsai. In an effort to produce superior surface roots on P. thunbergii, bonsai enthusiasts have developed a method of making cuttings from young seedlings to replace any taproots with radially distributed lateral roots. These lateral roots are developed to improve the look of the tree when […]
Search Results for: pine
Getting the balance right
As I approached the decandling season this year, I checked my pines to see if any were on the weak side but still strong enough to be decandled. These trees need to be decandled on the early side so the summer growth has time to fill in before fall. Looking around I saw a lot […]
Cut it here – my start in bonsai
“Cut it here,” he said. I was working at the family business, a retail nursery in Alameda, California. It was 1993. A man I had not met before was offering me pruning advice, and the advice was good. “Cut it here,” he said again, pointing to another branch. The man had a long name – Boonyarat […]
Matt Reel workshop
I recently had the opportunity to work on some trees with Matt Reel. Matt hails from Portland, Oregon, and is a member of the Portland Bonsai Village. For eight years, he apprenticed with Shinji Suzuki. These days he can be found working on client trees, teaching classes and leading demonstrations across the country. I met Matt in […]
Finding meaningful forms
I remember one of the first times I flipped through Kindai Bonsai, the Japanese bonsai magazine. Not being able to read a word of Japanese, I studied the photos. What struck me was how similar the black pines looked. I’d grown up with an appreciation of pines and could see that they were different, but […]