You know a bonsai show is close when someone asks you for the sock during workshop. “The sock,” in Bay Island Bonsai parlance, refers to a sock filled with crushed walnut meat. Walnut oil is great for cleaning bonsai pots and juniper bark for bonsai exhibits. And the effort required to apply it is well […]
Deadwood
Best in show
One of the first trees to catch my attention at Midori’s 40th annual show was a California Juniper, juniperus californica, that belongs to Peter Tea. The tree is beautiful and well deserved recognition as Best in Show. California juniper – Best in Show, 2009 The juniper first came to my attention a number of […]
Bristlecone pine deadwood
Old Bristlecone Pines can exhibit outstanding deadwood. Some of it is gray and weathered – other bits look freshly sandblasted. Here are some shots of deadwood from along the Methuselah Trail in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Bristlecone pine deadwood Dead branch Twisting deadwood
Limber pine
The Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) knows what it’s like to be second best. Well known for growing alongside more “notable” pines like the Foxtail or Bristlecone, the Limber rarely gets the spotlight. Which is too bad as it’s a remarkable variety. The Limber can eke out a living where only a handful of trees can […]
Deadwood story
In nature, animals, insects, rocks, wind, snow and self-sacrifice expose heartwood to the elements creating the oftentimes beautiful shapes and patterns we recognize as “deadwood” in bonsai. Deadwood always suggests a story – the cause of the trauma to a tree that killed part of it off. Some of these stories are more compelling than […]