Bonsai tree: Blazing Bonsai Gallery

The swirl of color and freakishly wild and wonderful form, belongs to Dan Robinson. It’s from Will Hiltz brilliant book (Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees) about Dan and his trees (this one is a Bald cypress, one of the handful a few deciduous conifers on this planet).

It’s that time of year…

This brilliant Boston ivy appears on the cover of Bonsai Today issue 68 and is part of a gorgeous autumn color gallery (Bonsai Today back issues are currently 70% off at Stone Lantern).


A multi-hued Trident maple forest from the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum’s North American Collection.

We’ve shown this glorious golden toned Trident before, but it’s worth another look. It belongs to Walter Pall.

As you can see, this is a Virginia creeper belongs to Harry Harrington. It’s from Harry’s most excellent site: bonsai4me.

Here’s another spectacular tree from Will Hiltz brilliant book (Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees). It’s a Korean hornbeam.

It’s the nebari more than the fall color that caught my eye with this Red maple (Acer rubrum). Here in Vermont Red maples usually flame a brilliant scarlet to orange, while this one shows much softer tones. Still, it’s a sweet tree with a sad/sweet story (from Crataegus bonsai).

Root-over-rock larch by Larch Master Nick Lenz (Nick’s benchmark collecting book is on sale at Stone Lantern). Larch are another of the small handful of deciduous conifers.

Danish anyone? This brilliant yellow-green Danish cherry is from Morten Albek’s website (Shohin-Bonsai Europe). Morten is the author of Shohin Bonsai: Majesty in Miniature (also currently on sale at Stone Lantern).

Source: Bonsai Bark Read more!

Bonsai tree: There’s Something About Larches

Larches in training by Francois Jeker.

Good stock helps

Larches are easy to grow (especially if you live in the north), easy to train and they are naturally attractive trees. If you start with decent stock and you have some grasp of design and technique, you can end up with the kind of results you see above.

Near limitless possibilities

This is not to say each tree couldn’t have been styled differently as they certainly could have. Give the same potential bonsai to five different bonsai artists and you’ll end up with five different trees.

Bonsai Aesthetics

If you’d like to dig into the aesthetics of bonsai, check out Francois’ excellent book, Bonsai Aesthetics. You can also visit his website.

Source: Bonsai Bark Read more!

Bonsai tree: Wouldn’t You Like to Find a Tree Like This?

Wouldn’t you like to find a tree like this when you are out collecting? This is a cropped version of Autumn, by Giacomo Pappalardo. From his facebook wall photos. I assume it is Giacomo’s, though I find no mention of it anywhere; just the photo.

A trunk with everything

This funky (in the good sense) trunk has everything: shape, massive girth, aged bark, a natural looking hollow (sabamiki) and a perfect touch of deadwood. Though you could make an argument for hiding some of the trunk’s heaviness near the top (the dark hole above the jin), I imagine Giacomo decided to show it because it expresses even more of the tree’s age and character.



The uncropped original.

Suspiciously like a larch

Giacomo doesn’t say, but this gloriously aged, powerful little tree looks suspiciously like a larch. What other conifer has fall color (yellow no less)? And larch bark? I wonder which larch it is? European (Larix decidua)? Giacomo lives in Spain. Or maybe Japanese (L. kaempferi)? I imagine some Japanese larch have found their way to Europe, though this one definitely looks like a yamadori (collected in nature), so it’s more likely local. Anyone out there know more about this tree? Anyone care?



Though it’s not just about larches (that’s a Northern white cedar on the cover), still, this is the ultimate larch book, by the Larch Master, Nick Lenz. Available at Stone Lantern (discounted, no less).

Source: Bonsai Bark Read more!

Bonsai tree: Larch Roots & TMS

Larch bonsai in full fall display. By Larch Master Nick Lenz.
I know the topic in this post is a bit arcane, but I’d like to know if anyone out there has any more info on TMS.
The research quoted below is from this journal.
“The roots of 200 one-year-old Changbai Larch (Larix olgensis) seedlings were soaked for 6 hours at the TMS concentrations of 2000, 1000, 500, 250, 125, and 62 ?L·L^?1. Mean seedling height, root collar diameter, main root length and number of lateral roots were measured every 15 days during growing season from May 30 to Oct. 20. Experimental results showed that TMS treatments greatly promoted seedling growth and improved seedling quality. The treatment by 500 ?L·L^?1 TMS produced the best result, for which the mean height, root collar diameter, main root length, and the number of lateral roots of seedlings were increased by 42.5%, 30.7%, 14.0%, and 31.6%, respectively, compared to that of the control seedlings. As to seedling quality, grade-I seedling and grade-II seedlings were fifty-fifty, and no grade-III seedlings was found. The treatment by 500 ?L·L^?1 TMS resulted in the highest chlorophyll concentration.”

Source: Bonsai Bark Read more!

Bonsai tree: Coming Soon: North American Bonsai at the International Bonsai Symposium

This splendid Japanese maple by Bill Valavanis is from the cover of International Bonsai’s special Maple Issue.
Larch, cedar, bald cypress, buttonwood, Rocky mountain juniper will be all featured September 10-12 in Rochester NY. Meet some excellent bonsai artists and teachers, take a couple workshops and go home happy (visit International Bonsai for details).
…the gallery book North American Bonsai is now double discounted at Stone Lantern. So is The 1st U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album.

Source: Bonsai Bark Read more!

Bonsai tree:Bonsai No Satori

From the cover of Bonsai No Satori, Chase and Solita Rosade’s new newsletter.
I’m still digging bonsai larches (Larix laricina) and a few Northern white cedars (Thuja occidentalis). A friend of mine has a swampy area on his land that is full of larches. Nothing too old (the swamp was cleared about fifteen years ago), but nevertheless some excellent stuff with great potential that I’ve been planting here and growing on. On an earlier post, I promised that I’d be selling some this year, but now I think I’ll wait another year or two. Some look pretty good, but they grow fast here and will look much better later. No good photos yet, but I’ll post some pretty soon just to whet your appetite.

Source: Bonsai Bark Read more!

Bonsai tree: So You Think Winter Is Over?

Icy larches from my back yard this morning (May 11). 25 degree Fahrenheit (-4 celsius) last night here in the lovely, underpopulated Northeast Kingdom, Vermont. I left a mist on all night to protect these newly dug and newly sprouted larches. It worked, the ice has melted and all is well

An ugly little Eastern white cedar (Cham thyoides) made beautiful by icing. Eastern white cedars (not to be confused with Northern white cedars ‘Thuja occidentalis’ which are abundant around here) don’t do very well here, it’s too cold. I’ve had three or four that I’ve been trying to grow for years, but all they do is struggle and barely stay alive.

I don’t know what this is. I dug it along side the road where the town keeps cutting stuff down, just to see if it has any possibilities. I doubt if it will ever be a bonsai, but it might fit in as a landscape plant.

Source: Bonsai Bark Read more!

Bonsai tree: Coming Soon: Field Grown Bonsai Stock

One little man made hill that serves as landscaping and as a growing bed for future bonsai.
I’ve started digging some of my field grown stuff and putting them in plastic containers. Soon we’ll start photographing and putting some up for sale.
More than half of what I’ve been growing are larches that have been collected here in northern Vermont. All have been pruned some. Some has been wired and a few have even been carved. Most are not bonsai pot ready, but all have good potential.
When they are ready, I’ll be putting them up here and on Stone Lantern.

Source: Bonsai Bark Read more!

Bonsai tree: Larch Master Lenz

One of Nick Lenz’ famous larches as it appears in Wikipedia.
Yesterday, we featured a couple of Candy Shirley’s bonsai that I believe had their start with Nick Lenz, so this seems like a good time to offer a little more Nick for your enjoyment.

The same tree: different angle, different time. Photo is from Nick’s book, Bonsai from the Wild .


The cover tree  from Nick’s book.
I will be offering some of my collected and field grown larches soon. Stay posted.

Source: Bonsai Bark Read more!

Bonsai tree: Perfect Just As It Is?

A daring presentation from Candy Shirley’s bonsai collection. Here’s an example of a rather intriguing bonsai and pot relationship. Your eye goes straight to the pot. Its mass is at least equal to the tree, it’s at the same elevation as the tree, and it’s just so strong and unusual. Do you think that the tree is a bit overwhelmed? What about its pincher shape? Would you have done it differently or is the whole presentation perfect just as it is?
Is it just me, or has Candy been influenced by Nick Lenz? This presentation does seem a little Lenzian, as does the larch below. If Candy has been influenced by Nick, she could do a lot worse.

I would bet my retirement fund that this wonderful larch started in Nick Lenz‘ talented hands. If I am right, this takes nothing from Candy. She is responsible for its health and for maintaining its distinctive beauty. Not to mention that she had the eye and the wherewithal to recognize its character and value. My guess is that Nick’s trees couldn’t find a better place to land than in Candy’s collection. I hope that, over time, I am proven right.

Source: Bonsai Bark Read more!

Bonsai tree: A Wild Larch

Inspiration for your bonsai. This photo is from Bonsaimania. If anyone has any clues, I would like to know where this photo was taken.
Here’s what Bonsaimania has to say about their gallery in English: “These trees are real and they can be found in nature. They are on this album because they are models that should inspire us to create our bonsai. If you want to propose a tree in nature that will inspire us, send me a message through my Facebook profile”.
Larch Master Nick Lenz’s Bonsai from the Wild has an extensive section on collecting and growing larch. Nick know larches like know one knows larch.

Here’s another one from the same gallery. Buttonwood?

Source: Bonsai bark Read more!

Bonsai tree: Bonsai balance

There are few concepts more central to bonsai than “balance”. The California buckeye below strikes me as a well-balanced composition. The foliage, ramification, trunk, pot and stand all work well together.

California Buckeye – Aesculus californica

The photos here are from the Bay Area Bonsai Associates’ 28th annual show. Like so many good exhibits, it provides ample opportunities for thinking about balance.
The cryptomeria below is a favorite of mine. There are few good examples of the variety around, and only a fraction of these are shohin. When I squint my eyes and focus on the tree’s silhouette, however, I notice that the trunk is surprisingly thin. For the foliage to be balanced with the trunk, I would expect either a thicker trunk or thinner foliage – a subtle point for such a nice specimen.

Cryptomeria japonica

Read more!

Bonsai tree: Larch in a sphere

I had a fantastic weekend at this event, I exhibited this Larch in an unusual setting, part of the innovations display. Read more!

Bark Stripping Tool

This is my brand new Bark Stripping Jin Tool. It has two settings, one for thin branches and one for thicker branches, but you can adjust it easily to any size up to almost 5cm. The overall lenght of the tool is 6approx 17cm. Made in Japan by Koyo tools.
I just braved the cold and ice and tried mine on three types of branchs: oak, larch and juniper of different thickness. As soon as I got the hang of how much pressure to apply and the wrist movement, it worked like a charm.
Read more!