Bonsai tree: Old News on the Pacific Rim

This stately Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) is from Weyerhaeuser’s  Pacific Rim Bonsai collection. The photo is from a gallery of Pacific Rim bonsai from Kahlua Bonsai on facebook. I was going to use this photo to start a post on Formal upright bonsai when, in the course of a little research, I stumbled upon an important piece of old news about the Pacific Rim Collection.

Better late….
Way back in April 2009 we featured a post titled Pacific Rim; a Glimpse of What You Can’t See. The Pacific Rim refers to Weyerhaeuser’s rather famous bonsai collection in Washington (near Seattle). The ‘Glimpse of What You Can’t See’ referred to the fact that the collection was closed to the public at the time. Turns out, that the collection is once again open. Somehow this piece of good news slipped by our rather faulty radar, so I suspect we’re a little tardy on reporting this.

The details
The Pacific Rim bonsai Collection is open weekly Tuesdays through Sundays (closed Mondays) year-round. Our operating hours are 10:00 Am – 4:00 PM. Federal Way Washington, between Seattle and Tacoma.

Photo gallery
A small sampling of some of the collection follows. You might notice that some text is cut off. If you are interested, you can visit the Pacific Rim’s remarkably well-hidden photo gallery to see what you’re missing.

Perfection.

Encore. This powerful old Sierra/Shimpaku juniper showed up on Bark almost two years ago in a post titled ‘The Bonsai Artistry of Michael Hagedorn Plus Freeze Dried Roots.’

59 trees!

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Bonsai tree: Oh So Close, But We Have A Winner!

Richard Warner’s Southern beech (with mountains) was the inspiration for the contest and, as it turns out, the winner with 28 points. Though just barely. Richard’s take is a $60 gift certificate to Stone Lantern, and world fame, of course.
Thanks to all of you who sent in your choices (21 people in all). Unfortunately, none of you picked all three winners, let alone picked them in order of finish, so we have no winning judges. Next time maybe.

James Miles Juniper somewhere in the high Sierras, won second place; just 2 points behind first place. James wins a $30 gift certificate to Stone Lantern.


Aaron Khalid’s Engelman spruce leaning over a blue lake in Banff, Alberta won third place; just one point behind second place, and is worth a $10 gift certificate to Stone Lantern.

Rodrigo Sousa’s Almond came in forth; just one point behind third place and just out of the money.

Source: Bonsai Bark Read more!

Bonsai tree: Air-Layering with a Touch of Silliness

This is from a Bonsai Society of Portland (Oregon) video entitled ‘Uncovering an Air-layer.’ I found it on Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai.
A friend of mine (she isn’t a bonsai enthusiast) once describe bonsai people as a ‘bunch of harmless nerds.’ I’m not so sure about the harmless part, but you might find a touch of nerdiness every now and then (not that there’s anything wrong with it). Anyway, check out this video. It’s instructive (in more ways than one).

Michael inspecting the newly separated unidentified little tree (some kind of beech?).

Michael’s boot.

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Bonsai tree: Beech Forests

This is a somewhat faded image of a somewhat amazing Japanese beech fores.
In Japan, Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) have been for a long time a favorite for forest plantings. Their smooth almost white bark, fairly small leaves, fine branching and easy-to-work-with toughness, makes them a natural for bonsai. Here in the you not be able to find any Japanese beech, but don’t despair, most of the principles can be applied to other deciduous trees.

This is a not-so-faded slab planting. See below for instructions on preparing a slab for planting.
 
Preparing the slab.

Source: Bonsai Bark Read more!