For years now I’ve wanted to write a guide to help judges think through the process of scoring the trees displayed in the Pacific Bonsai Expo. It’s one of a small number of exhibits where the exhibitors are the judges, and we don’t expect the members of the judging panel to all have broad experience […]
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Designing bonsai in 3D
We’re used to looking at photos of trees with the camera pointed squarely at the front of the tree. It’s a good way to get the basic idea of a tree’s shape. Korean hornbeam before pruning Half-way done Front view – after partial defoliation What this approach can hide is what a tree looks like […]
An approach to fertilizer and water quality
When I started growing bonsai, fertilizing was simple. I sprinkled cottonseed meal on the surface of the soil and watered with fish emulsion every few weeks. Applying fish emulsion (circa 2010) This approach worked well for years, up until rodents began stealing the fertilizer and digging up the soil. I needed to make a change. […]
Highlights from the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum’s Chinese Pavilion
Imagine you’re in charge of maintaining the trees in the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum’s Chinese Pavilion. Your experience is with bonsai, but from a Western perspective. You begin with a tree like the black pine below. Japanese black pine The tree appears to have been trained as a literati, or bunjin bonsai, but it’s […]
A visit to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum
I spent World Bonsai Day at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in Washington, D.C. this year – a fitting location for the event! It had been many years since my last visit to the museum which made it really fun to see how the trees had changed. It was also an opportunity to see […]