You never know what you’re going to find when you repot a tree for the first time, or when you finally get around to addressing a tree’s major flaws. The Japanese beech below was due for a reboot. The tree’s owner began by working on the roots. Japanese beech Poor nebari In addition to removing […]
Beech
Air layering a zelkova bonsai
Air layering is a great technique for improving bonsai with flawed roots. Simply add new roots, and a new tree is born. Janet, a founding member of Bay Island Bonsai, the author of suisekiart.com, and a longtime friend, sent me some photos of a recent layer project that unfolded over the past year. She had […]
Bonsai groves
People love groves. While individual bonsai trees can tend toward the abstract, groves remain accessible. When leading friends through bonsai exhibits, I make sure to stop by any groves as they are sure to leave an impression. This year a couple of groves stood out at BIB’s 11th annual exhibit. One, a rock-planting with Kingsville […]