Bonsai tree: Weekly Wire: Bonsai Train, Deadwood in Deadwood, Russian Bonsai & More

Vive bonsai! Ever wonder why European bonsai events are so well attended? Thanks to Rosade Bonsai for this great photo.

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Deadwood in Deadwood. If you’re ever near Deadwood South Dakota, visit Andy Smith at Golden Arrow Bonsai. Andy is known for his yamadori bonsai (bonsai collected from the wild) among other things. I consider Andy to one of a small handful of genuine collectors; people that collect with deep knowledge and respect and, as a result, a very high success rate. If you can’t make it to Deadwood, you can at least enjoy Andy’s excellent DVDs.

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Tony Tickle. This extraordinary Hawthorn is the subject of a repotting and repositioning video by Tony Tickle.

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Potomac Bonsai Association. There’s something about Yews. Maybe it’s how tough they are, or perhaps it’s the luscious reddish wood. Or how they are so common in some places that you can often find older unwanted landscaping specimens for a great price (they don’t mind the most radical pruning, though the fiercely hard wood puts up a good fight). Personally, though all the rest is true, it’s the spectacular brilliant new yellow-green growth that pops up every spring that really gets me. But I digress; I’m supposed to be telling you about the Potomac Bonsai Association Spring Bonsai Festival at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington DC. May 4, 5 and 6.

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Brooklyn Botanic Garden. A piece of the BBG bonsai collection. It’s a trip worth taking. Especially if you are one of the millions who lives within an hour or two of Brooklyn. BTW: BBG publishes one of the few books available on Growing Bonsai Indoors.

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Doing it right. Want a little refresher on the ins and outs of wiring your bonsai into a pot? These two photo are part of an excellent post titled How to wire a bonsai pot, over at Bonsai Tonight. Speaking of wire…

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Kabudachi Goyomatsu (Clump style Japanese white pine). I like the natural, uncontrived feel of this old pine clump bonsai. It’s from Michael Bonsai on facebook.

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Modesto means modest in Spanish. The Modesto Bonsai Club 2012 Spring Show is coming up May 12-13. (BTW: Modesto is my long abandoned home town and I’m pretty sure the photo above wasn’t taken there).

Screw it! If you look at the very center of the photo on the left, you’ll see a Phillips-head screw (the Japanese call this a ‘plus’ screw) inserted into the trunk of an old Japanese black pine. Once you see that, the photo on the right is self explanatory. Both photos are from a Peter Tea post titled ‘Pushing the Limit.’