Bonsai tree: Bonsai Today Back Issues 65% off

This Hornbeam appears in a bonsai gallery in Bonsai Today issue 94.

Get yours before they are gone

For years Bonsai Today was the premier English language bonsai magazine. Fortunately we still have a selection of back issues that feature how-to articles and world class bonsai from most of the world’s greatest bonsai masters (East and West). However, we are determined to sell them all to make space for our expanding bonsai tool and wire selection. So don’t wait! Many issues are already gone and many others will be gone soon.

And yes, you read it correctly, that’s 65% off



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Bonsai tree: Mario & the Art of Bonsai

Bonsai calligraphy. Look familiar? We posted this wildly eccentric masterpiece right here on Bonsai Bark about a year ago. Maybe we’ll post it again next year. It belongs to Mario Komsta.

Mario Komsta

If you don’t know Mario’s bonsai, you’re in for a treat. If you do know Mario’s bonsai, you’re still in for a treat (exceptional bonsai bear repeated viewing). We’ve featured Mario’s trees several times now, and I suspect we’ll feature them again.

The Art of Bonsai Project

Without a doubt, the Art of Bonsai Project is one of the true quality bonsai spots on the web. Just like Mario’s bonsai, it bears repeated viewing. Here’s link to a feature on Mario.

Here’s one of Mario’s trees that also looks familiar. Have we featured it already (where’s Ferry when we need him?)? It’s called Snail. We found it this time on facebook.

One of Mario’s famous Hornbeams. This one appears on the Art of Bonsai Project. Here’s another one from an earlier Bark post.

Bunjin juniper by Mario. This one looks familiar too. I’m pretty sure it’s another Bark redundancy (it’s worth seeing again anyway). This iteration is from facebook.

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Bonsai tree: The Attribution Question

This is a wonderful tree and the presentation is quite good (though it is difficult to make out the companion plant and some of the details on the main tree). I think it might be a hornbeam. It’s from Bonsaimania on facebook. All it says is: La foto de este bonsái pertenece al álbum de Jordi Escaler (The photo belongs to Jordi Escaler’s album). Do you think this tree belongs to Jordi? When I tried to follow the link provided, ‘content unavailable’ came up. When I searched Jordi Escaler bonsai, I struck out.

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Bonsai tree: Super Mario

Hornbeam bonsai (Soro in Japanese) by Mario Komsta.

Mario Komsta is his name

Once upon a time, when I was the publisher/editor of Bonsai Today, we featured an article by a rising young European bonsai star (issue 102 – we also featured him in issue 105). His name was Mario Jano. Or so we thought. Turns out, we were wrong (for the whole story see Bonsai Today issue 104 page 53). His name was, and remains Mario Komsta, and judging by the photos here (there’s more on his site) he’s a bonsai star that has fully risen.



Japanese winterberrry bonsai (Umemodoki).



Another hornbeam bonsai.



Whoa! This is one daring Shimpaku bonsai. At first glance I thought ‘oh no, another crazy overly sculpted bonsai.’ But, the more I look, the more I like. It’s two trees in one with that wild free form jin tying them together.

All the photos in the this post are from Mario Komsta’s website.


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Bonsai tree: That Nasty Summer Heat Wave

Both photos in this post are courtesy of Randy Clark of the Bonsai Learning Center.
We just received the article below from Randy Clark of the Bonsai Learning Center in North Carolina on how to deal with the extreme heat that much of the country has been experiencing this summer. I may be a little late for those of us in the Northeast (at least here in northern Vermont), but for those of you further south, there may be more to come.
The Southeastern US is suffering from the heat wave this summer, although not as severely as is the rest of the nation. Nevertheless, temperature which are consistently in the plus 90 degree range present dangers to our bonsai which should not be ignored. Our trees do not enjoy these extended periods of sizzling temperatures any more than we do, but simply pouring buckets of water on them may not be the answer to the problem.

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