Bonsai tree: Is All Forgiven? Well… Not Quite

Is all forgiven when a bonsai flowers? In this case, after the brilliant white dazzle (with soft touches of pink and yellow), there’s the strong trunk with a nice flaring base. But still, my eye keeps going back to the scar and the messy little stuff underneath it, and the somewhat clunky pot. Is it just me? From Jose Pañeda’s Photos – mis bonsáis.

Those magical few days…

I remember the first time I saw a what I thought was a so-so bonsai displaying gorgeous flowers. It was in Bonsai Today (long before I became the publisher) and the photo was from Japan. After some puzzling, it became apparent that the tree had been styled to display the flowers. Everything else was secondary. So secondary, that I imagine the tree would find a home out of sight on a back bench somewhere for most of its life. Except for those few days or weeks of magic each year, when the flowers appeared.

Gorgeous flowers, okay tree. This Camelia appears on the cover of Bonsai Today issue 66. Without the flowers, you’d probably never see it in the pages of a quality magazine, let alone on the cover.

Gorgeous flowers, excellent tree; the best of all possible worlds. No need to hide this gnarly old Ume on a back bench when the flowers are gone. This photo which appeared in an earlier post on Bonsai Bark, is from the Bonsai Guest House in Osaka Japan.



Absolutely unforgiven. This mess is from a commercial site (not worthy of link). It can be yours for only $150. No shame.

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Bonsai tree: Bonsai Today Back Issues 60% off

A tribute to John Naka, the Dean of American Bonsai is featured in Bonsai Today issue 93.

Bonsai Today, the benchmark English language bonsai magazine

Bonsai Today magazine has long been revered for its depth, range and quality of bonsai articles. For years it was the benchmark English language bonsai magazine, with each issue full of tips and instructions from the masters, dramatic cutting-edge bonsai, and bonsai news from around the world.

Making space

We’ve decided to sell out our remaining back issues to make space in our warehouse for a host of new products we are introducing. Some issues are almost gone. Eventually they will all be gone and you’ll have to pay inflated prices on eBay if you want their invaluable information. This is a great opportunity to put together your collection of some of the most useful bonsai information anywhere. At 60% off, no less.



Our shipment of Bonsai Aesthetics wire is in from China and the prices are amazing. The rolls that are pictured here are actually Japanese bonsai wire, which we still offer, and at reduced prices.

Bonsai wire for only 1.90 per roll

We have lowered the price on our Bonsai Aesthetics 100 gram rolls of wire to only 1.90. This is good quality anodized (copper colored) aluminum wire. We lowered the price because we’ve run out of most sizes of 1 kilo Bonsai Aesthetics wire (in less than two weeks), so we decided to make ten rolls of 100 gram wire the same price as a 1 kilo roll.

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Bonsai tree: Decandling shohin black pine

Source: Bonsai Tonight
Decandling shohin black pine

Decandling Japanese black pines is the process of removing spring growth to produce summer growth. If we decandle early in the season, we give summer growth more time to mature and produce long needles. The converse is also true – decandling later produces shorter needles. For this reason, we typically decandle shohin pine bonsai about a month later than larger pine bonsai.

My smallest pine bonsai produced lots of spring growth this year. It’s hard, in fact, to tell the front of the tree from the back of the tree.

Shohin Japanese black pine – front

Shohin Japanese black pine – back

Once I started removing the spring growth, I began to see the outline of the tree. Before long, the tree had returned to the basic shape it sported in winter.

Shohin Japanese black pine – front

Over the next four months, the summer growth will fill in and it will be time for fall work. I’m looking forward to fall because this tree, like so many of my pines, is due for a lot of cutback and wiring. Time to book more workshops! Read more!

Bonsai tree: What About Deciduous Bonsai?

You can find this magnificent elm and other seriously stupendous deciduous bonsai at Andy Rutledge’s The Bonsai Journal in an article by Andy with photos by Boon Manakitivipart.

In a bonsai world dominated by conifers and tropicals…

…it’s a good idea to remember the wonder of deciduous bonsai. Okay, this may be an overstatement, but still, how many top notch elm bonsai do you see on the internet?

Warehouse vacation

Our warehouse is on vacation until July 12th (it needs a break, not to mention a new paint job). Orders placed before then will be shipped on, or soon after, the 12th (that very week at least).

Raft style Japanese beech. You occasionally see someone commenting that North American bonsai has caught up with Japanese bonsai, or other related comments about the limitations of Japanese bonsai (overly stylized is a common one); I think this is wishful thinking by people who aren’t fully paying attention (this is not to say that North American and other Western bonsai -if it makes sense to speak in such generalizations – hasn’t come a long ways in the past few years). This strikingly superior tree is also from Andy’s site.

Our new Bonsai Aesthetics wire

We are virtually out of the 1 kilo size of our new Bonsai Aesthetics wire. Over 200 rolls sold in just under a week took us by surprise. However, we still have plenty of the 100 gram size.

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Bonsai tree: How to create seedling cuttings – Japanese black pine

Source: Bonsai Tonight
How to create seedling cuttings – Japanese black pine

I began to describe the steps required to grow Japanese black pine bonsai from seed last year, but left off just after planting the seeds. I ended up abandoning last year’s batch as only a dozen seeds sprouted. I tried again this year with much better luck. Due to a cold spring, the seeds took a long time to sprout. After maybe three months, most of the seeds I’d planted were growing well. It was time to make seedling cuttings.

Young pine seedlings

Pine seedlings typically produce a single tap root that reaches downward and grows vigorously to provide a good anchor for the tree. Although they are good for forest trees, tap roots are not as good for young bonsai.

A couple of generations ago, bonsai enthusiasts figured out that cutting the tap root produced a number of lateral roots. As these lateral roots developed, the young trees grew faster, denser, and produced a flared trunk base that is often desired in pine bonsai. Many pine bonsai have been produced in Japan by this technique, and the technique has been gaining popularity in the US for at least 20 years. I first learned about the process from Boon Manakitivipart and Bonsai Today numbers 12 and 20. The techniques below represent knowledge I’ve picked up from Boon, Bonsai Today, and many years of practice – I started my first batch of pine seedlings over 17 years ago.

The basics of the process are simple: make cuttings out of young pine seedlings. I begin by filling a nursery flat with 4″ plastic pots and adding the soil, one layer at a time.

25 pots in a flat

Drainage – large lava particles

Standard Boon mix – akadama, pumice, and lava

I will plant the pines in a pocket of sand to keep the cuttings moist. I watered the soil and then used the handle of a bonsai trowel to create craters into which I poured fine sand.

Repurposing a bonsai trowel

Craters created

Craters filled with sand

Once the sand was in place, I again watered the soil and created small holes with large gauge copper wire. When the cuttings are ready, I’ll carefully drop them in these holes.

Creating space for the cuttings

The next step is creating the cuttings. I begin by carefully uprooting one cutting at a time. I try to use seedlings that are healthy like the one on the right in the photo below. The two seedlings on the left are weak – I did not use them for cuttings.

Two weak seedlings and one healthy seedling

Healthy pine seedling

There was considerable variation among the uprooted seedlings. Although I typically worked with one at a time, I did a few at once for this photo.

Pine seedlings – time to make the cuttings

I made the cuttings with a razor, leaving about 3/4″ of stem below the first needles. After making the cut, I quickly dropped the plants into water to keep them moist.

The seedling becomes a cutting

Floating around

Plenty of seedling cuttings

Before planting the cuttings, I dip them in powdered root hormone to help the cuttings develop roots.

Seedling cutting with root hormone

I approach the planting of the cuttings with care. After setting the cutting in one of the holes I created, I gently pressed on the surrounding sand to close the gap. I tried to move the cutting as little as possible to avoid disturbing the hormone. I also skipped on water when I was done to avoid washing the hormone away.

Seedling cutting in its new home

The first flat complete

I’ve kept the seedlings outside under shade cloth for the past five weeks. I’m slowly moving them into spots where they get more light, and I’m misting them several times a day – more when it’s hot, less when it’s cool out. That’s the recipe for the time being. Once the seedlings start growing quickly – evidence of new roots – I can begin to fertilize and continue to provide the seedlings with more and more light. Read more!

Bonsai tree: There’s Something About Shohin

Itoigawa juniper by Michael Hagedorn. Michael is one of our favorite American bonsai artists. If you haven’t visited his site (Crataegus Bonsai) this is as good a time as any. BTW: Michael is the author of Post-Dated – The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk a fascinating read, bonsai or otherwise.

The advantages of Shohin (small) Bonsai

On the back of our Stone Lantern book Majesty in Miniature; Shohin Bonsai (by Morten Albek) it says “When compared to large bonsai, Shohin cost less, take less time to develop, take less space, are easier to move, and are less apt to be over-watered. Perhaps best of all, Shohin-bonsai are a delight to behold.” I’ll second those observations (I wrote the original, so why not?).


This small Viginia creeper by Harry Harrington (bonsai4me.com) is designed to show off the spectacular foliage.


This is the second time we’ve shown this Spiraea japonica (also by Harry Harrington). There are a couple reasons we returned to it: first, it’s a very sweet tree, and second, how many Spiraea bonsai have you seen?

Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai. Published by Stone Lantern. Retail 24.95, our low price 14.97.

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Bonsai tree: Order Now: Our Warehouse Will Be Closed July 1 – 11

Japanese black pine from our Masters’ Series Pine book. The second printing should arrive about the time our warehouse reopens on July 12th (it will be closed from July 1 thru July 11).

Warehouse vacation

I’m taking my summer vacation now (I know…), so early July will be Corey’s turn. This means the warehouse will be closed from July 1st – 11th. So, if you need something soon, be sure to order it now.

You can still order while the warehouse is closed

Orders received while the warehouse is closed will be shipped soon after the warehouse reopens on July 12th.

Don’t forget to feed your bonsai!

If you need more fertilizer, order now before our warehouse closes from July 1-11. Summer feeding promotes growth and helps prepare you bonsai for the fall and winter. Most people underfeed their bonsai. Don’t fall into this group. Healthy bonsai are well fed bonsai.

Don’t forget to feed your bonsai! Order your Green Dream and other excellent bonsai fertilizers (at discounted prices) before our warehouse vacation begins next week.

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Bonsai tree: Draw! (Your Bonsai)

This excellent bonsai drawing looks like a Japanese black pine, but that’s just a guess. As you can see, it and the others in this post are by Eduardo Guedes. Another worthy facebook find. (Note: the copy below is from an earlier Bonsai Bark post, but the drawings in this post are all first timers).

You can do it!

It’s vacation time here, so I’ll borrow a little copy from last year: We’ve featured bonsai drawings way back in the early years of Bonsai Bark (2009). We still think it’s a good idea and suggest you try your hand at it. Contrary to the pervasive poverty mentality many of us have about these things, you can do it if you just take your time. The drawings (you can call them sketches if that helps) don’t have to be perfect, and with almost any genuine attempt, you’ll learn something about your bonsai.

Not a bad rendition (note for none native English speakers: “Not a bad” often means excellent). Also by Eduardo.





Another Japanese black pine? Speaking of, the 2nd printing of our Japanese pine book is due in two or three weeks.

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Bonsai tree: Whoops! Mea Culpa

This one is an olive. And it is by Andres Bicocca. Who is from Argentina and isn’t from Uruguay. BTW: the way the foliage mass clings to the trunk, makes for a unusual looking bonsai. Though it has a wild, ‘work in process’ look, there’s something compelling about it with its strong nebari and well aged bark.

Egg all over my face

First, apologies to Argentinian (not Uruguayan) bonsai artist Andres Bicocca (see three posts ago). Second, apologies to Wild Bonsai; not only did I mis-attribute one of their trees but I mis-identified it as well (doubly embarrassing when you consider that their name is on the photo and the tree is clearly identified where it appears on Andres’ wall photos – thanks to to my virtual friend and unofficial fact checker Jose Luis Rodriguez for noticing this glaring error). It’s a Phemphis acidula, not a European olive (Olea europaea). So thanks Jose for keeping us honest and thanks Andres for your understanding, and thanks Wild Bonsai too.


Another of Wild Bonsai‘s impressive trees. Our original mis-identified Wild Bonsai tree is below. Both are Phemphis acidula.

Here’s the one I got all wrong. Notice the fine print on the bottom of the photo.


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Bonsai tree: Local Bonsai Styles 2: Growing Conditions, NativeSpecies & Culture

This venerable, naturally dwarfed Ponderosa belongs to American/British bonsai artist and teacher, Colin Lewis. Colin lives on the coast of Maine. Ponderosa pines grow in the inland mountains of the western U.S.; two distinctively different environments.

Climate, native species and culture

If you get a chance, take a look at the comments from the last post. They expand and provide insight into what started as a simple post with a single idea: the effects of culture (human rather than biological culture) on local bonsai styles. The first three comments deal mostly with nature (climate and other growing conditions, and native species) and the forth by Colin Lewis, returns to and amplifies the notion of culture as a primary influence on bonsai styles. Rather than say much more here, I’ll let Colin speak for himself (below). But first a couple more photos.

A wonderfully gnarly Premna by Robert Steven and his good friend, ‘Mother Nature.’ No way you’ll ever find a tree anything like this in the Green Mountains of Vermont or the scrub pine forests of Maine. It is distinctively tropical and almost looks like it grew in some unearthly magical realm (Indonesia, in fact). Robert is a frequent contributor to this blog and is the author of two distinguished and invaluable bonsai books: Vision of My Soul and Mission of Transformation.

Japanese beech by Colin Lewis. This species looks like it might be quite at home in Maine. In fact, when it comes to growing conditions, Maine and the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido have much more in common than Maine and the Rocky Mountains.

Colin’s remarks from the last post

“Local growing conditions and species are only part of the story. Look again at the olives from Uruguay and Spain and you’ll see that the do indeed have a lot in common. First, they are similar material, parts of the nebari of what were much larger and extremely old trees that have long since fallen apart and left just a ring of sprouting root remnants. They are not influenced at all by ancient olives because olives simply don’t grow like that. They are in fact the artists’ responses to the material. They are brilliant works of pure fantasy.

But there is something else: both artists are of Spanish descent, they both have the Spanish flamboyance and the confidence and freedom of spirit to express it. You can feel the swirling flamenco dancers in the works of both. David’s reflects more the sophistication of Madrid, while Andres’ reflect perhaps the more ethereal Uruguayan culture. Transplant either of them to Maine and give them yamadori larch – quite different in nature, and their results would still be similar to each other and would still reflect their Spanish roots.

In North America this unity of national cultural influence doesn’t – can never – exist. In part because of all the immigrant groups who still hold on to remnants of their ethnic origins; but importantly, Americans don’t grow up surrounded by a couple of thousand years of cultural and artistic heritage to give them a common emotional expression. Chasing after a national or local style in a multi-cultural society is futile. Looking for cultural styles within that society might be more fruitful.”

Colin Lewis is the author of Bonsai Survival Manual (and several other books, now out-of-print), and is the consultant editor to The Bonsai Handbook by Robert Prescott. Colin owns and operates Colin Lewis Bonsai Art and the Ho Yoku School of Bonsai. Colin is also responsible for Ho Yoku bonsai care products.

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