I recently returned from a trip to Japan for the World Bonsai Convention. Before getting to the show, I was able to visit a number of bonsai and satsuki nurseries that were new to me. The first of these was Koju-en. Koju-en Koju-en is a Kyoto bonsai nursery run by Tomohiro Masumi. Masumi is a […]
Shohin
Pinching spring buds on Japanese maple
Spring is a busy time for keeping after refined Japanese maples. In order to keep internodes short, I pinch new shoots as soon as they emerge. Shohin Japanese maple – 6.5″ tall, 13″ wide Because the buds open at different times, I check this tree daily to see if there are new shoots to pinch. […]
Shohin displays at BIB’s 18th annual exhibit
Two displays at this year’s Bay Island Bonsai exhibit featured mini-sized bonsai. The first used a narrow box stand that held five trees with a semi-cascade bittersweet and accent on the right side. Six-tree shohin display It was great to see such good contrast among the display elements. The tree varieties, foliage character and color, […]
Shohin bonsai from Gordon Deeg
During my visit to Gordon Deeg’s garden, I was struck by how many shohin bonsai I found. Small conifers, broadleaf evergreens and deciduous varieties filled narrow benches around the garden. Trident maple Shohin bonsai Knowing how hard it is to assemble a proper shohin display, I appreciated the sheer volume of little trees and the opportunities […]
Decandling shohin black pine
The steps are simple. 1) Remove spring shoots. Shohin black pine – 21 years old After removing spring shoots 2) Remove extra needles. After removing extra needles 3) Perform light cutback as needed. The first branch on the right is long After shortening the first branch on the right That’s it. In all I removed 14 […]