One of my favorite activities relating to bonsai display is pot selection. I’ll be showing a young black pine at tomorrow’s Bay Island Bonsai exhibit and the pot used for the past year isn’t exactly show quality. 13 year-old black pine in colander Here are 11 options for the tree. Some look great to me, others […]
Black Pine
Shohin black pine extravaganza
No ado needed – here are some of the shohin black pines available at the 2015 Taikan-ten sales area. Black pine #1 Black pine #2 Black pine #3 Black pine #4 Black pine #5 Black pine #6 Black pine #7 Black pine #8 Black pine #9 Black pine #10 Black pine #11 Black pine #12 […]
Prize-winning black pine at 35th Taikan-ten
What kind of trees win prizes at prestigious Japanese exhibits like Taikan-ten? Trees like the black pine below. Black pine This tree took top honors at this year’s Taikan-ten. The work is by Masahiko Kimura. What makes the tree special? Great health, great trunk and bark, great branch development and great balance in terms of […]
Summer growth on black pine
Summer is the time when people who decandled their black or red pines water and fertilize and wait until fall when the time comes for wiring and needle-pulling. Looking around my garden, I see summer growth in different stages of development and already I can tell which trees are too strong or not strong enough. […]
Good buds, bad buds
Of the two young black pines below, which do you expect to grow more next year – the one on the left, or the one on the right? 2-1/2 year-old black pines My money’s on the tree on the right. Not because the foliage is a darker green, but because the buds are so much […]