One of the best things about repotting season is that it provides an opportunity for us to select new containers for our trees. When we move trees from training pots or poorly matched containers to something better, it can be like having a new tree in the yard. One tree that stumped me this year […]
Cork Oak
Bonsai Development Series #27: Focusing growth on the lowest primary branches
After growing a trunk to the desired size, the next step is creating primary branches. And the bigger the trunk, the bigger we can expect these branches to be. The main challenge is that most trees want to invest resources in the upper branches as they receive the most light. If we let upper branches […]
A visit to John Thompson’s garden
If you’re a fan of oak bonsai, you’ve likely heard of John “JT” Thompson. For those who don’t know JT, he’s one of the most generous bonsai teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’d seen JT’s trees in exhibits for years but I hadn’t seen his collection until last week when I visited to […]
Wiring a large cork oak
The last tree to start growing in my garden each spring is also the largest. It’s a cork oak I acquired from Kenji Miyata. Cork oak I try to cut back and wire my oaks in fall or winter, but I often put this off for the big oak as it typically doesn’t start growing […]
Refining cork oak – initial styling
I’ve been preparing a cork oak for its initial styling for two years now. In winter of 2018, I worked on the roots and planted the tree in its current container. This past February, I reduced the branches that I didn’t plan to use in the final design (see “Refining cork oak” for details). The […]