Bonsai tree: Shots from the 2nd U.S. Bonsai Exhibition

Nice trunk. Definitely looks like an azalea. The shot is from a video by Alejandro Medina Ibarra of the 2nd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition.
Alejandro Medina Ibarra
The shots here are all from a video of the 2nd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. The video is by Alejandro Medina Ibarra and it’s brilliant. I wasn’t able to attend, so I’m particularly grateful for Alejandro’s efforts. Something powerful and good took place in Rochester last month if this video is any indication. Really, check it out and you too will wish you’d been there (see you in 2012).
Bill Valavanis
I’m not sure how Bill does it, but he has now pulled off the two of the most important bonsai events in the history of North American Bonsai. You could even say the two most important events. Out of thin air no less. People that have brilliant big ideas and the energy, intelligence, perseverance, and skills to pull them off, are rare, and Bill fits that bill (sorry) perfectly.

This one looks like it’s by Larch Master Nick Lenz, one of America’s foremost bonsai artists, diggers, critics, and authors (Bonsai from the Wild).
More shots…





 
Bill’s front and Suthin’s back.


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Bonsai tree: fine wiring a shohin Itoigawa

Spent the day Sunday with bonsai friends, a great time to fine wire , wiring is fun when you have good friends to chat to, this itoigawa is coming along nicely.
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Bonsai tree:Decandling techniques

Source: Bonsai Tonight
Decandling techniques

The practice of decandling refers to the removal of spring growth on pine bonsai.  The goal of the practice is to balance growth and reduce needle size. Simply removing spring growth from a pine will result in smaller needles, but it will only go so far towards balancing the tree’s growth. Over time, the bonsai community has developed a number of techniques for this. The method I learned first is sometimes referred to as the “10-day technique” or even the “10-day, 10-day, 10-day” technique. It’s easy to learn and it works well. The steps:

1. Divide the tree’s growth into 4 zones depending on vigor. Zone 1 is the weakest, zone 4 the strongest. (See “Decandling basics” for details)
2. Remove the new growth in zone 2.
3. 10 days later, remove the shoots in zone 3.
4. Another 10 days later, remove the shoots in zone 4.

The process takes 20 days to complete. How does it work? The longer a shoot has to develop, the more time it has to gain vigor. By removing weaker shoots before removing the more vigorous shoots, we give the weaker shoots more time to “catch up” and grow strong. Stronger shoots get less time to develop – this keeps them in check. The very weakest shoots are left alone. Decandling very weak branches can significantly slow them down or bring them to a stop. Letting them grow for a year increases their strength.
Do I need to divide a tree into 4 zones? What if I wait more – or less – than the required “10-days” between removing each set of new growth? Adjustments to the basic technique are always available. What if I don’t have time to work on my tree three times over the next three weeks? There is a technique for that too.
The next method I learned is sometimes called the “stub technique.” It’s a great way to decandle a tree in a single day. The steps:

1. Divide the tree’s growth into 4 zones depending on vigor. Zone 1 is the weakest, zone 4 the strongest.
2. Remove the new shoots from zone 2.
3. Remove the shoots from zone  3 – leave a small stub at the base of these shoots.
4. Remove the shoots from zone 4 – leave a large stub at the base of these shoots.

“Small” stubs are about as long as the diameter of the shoot. “Large” stubs are about twice as long.

Spring growth

Spring growth removed

Large stub

Small stub

No stub

No stub – detail

Where, precisely, to make the cut for the weak “no stub” branches? Just above the line between last year’s growth and the spring shoot. Because adventitious buds develop from tissue in the new growth, cutting into last year’s growth prevents adventitious buds from forming and encourages needle buds instead. This subtle difference defines a line between decandling and pruning.
What makes the stub technique work? I’m not sure. Somehow leaving a stub slows summer growth making it a great technique for balancing a tree’s growth.
There are a number of refinements on this technique. Instead of leaving stubs, I sometimes remove needles from the more vigorous shoots. Sometimes I leave stubs and remove needles – it depends on the relative vigor of the branch I’m working on. I’ll say more about that later this week. Read more!

Bonsai tree: Colin Lewis Interview: “They’re All Important”

Faces of a transplanted bonsai artist. From Colin’s’ website.
Colin Lewis is a Englishman who somehow has ended up in the woods of Maine, where he raises bonsai, teaches, unpacks from his bonsai road show and drinks copious amounts of coffee in his pajamas. Most people who know Colin say that if you can get past his heavy foreign accent (joke!), you can learn a lot from him. Especially when it comes to the art of bonsai.
Among other things, Colin has a somewhat uncommon mix of talents. He can bonsai, he can teach, and, to top it off, he can write. So well in fact, that I once received an article for Bonsai Today (issue 79, on larch care) from him that didn’t need one single word (or even punctuation mark) changed. If you’ve ever been a publisher or especially an editor, you know just how rare this is.

But I digress, so without further ado, here’s Colin answering a few questions I emailed to him a while back.

Do you have, or have you had, bonsai teachers? (any stories?)

I never had a regular teacher, but I learned from so many fine artists. I lived close to Peter Adams and visited him from time to time. Dan Barton was another influence. I learned mostly by watching good people work – and still do.

What would you say are the most important things you’ve learned about bonsai?

They’re all important.

Do you consider bonsai an art?

Absolutely. But don’t look for comparisons with other artistic disciplines – there aren’t any.



Shimpaku from Colin’s website and from his book, Bonsai Design (unfortunately, out of print). The pot is by Dave Loweman.
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Bonsai tree:Decandling basics – Japanese black pine

Source: Bonsai Tonight
Decandling basics – Japanese black pine
The basics of decandling Japanese black pine are straightforward. The application of the basics is more of a long-term pursuit.
At its most rudimentary, decandling is the practice of replacing vigorous spring growth with moderately-vigorous summer growth – a technique for removing one shoot and replacing it with two. It’s a powerful tool for balancing black pine growth.
The technique has been practiced for roughly half a century. Saichi Suzuki, father of the famous Daiju En bonsai garden in Okazaki, Japan, stumbled upon the technique after awaking to find the new shoots of a Japanese black pine munched away by some critter. Over the course of the summer, new shoots replaced the spring growth. Curiously, the summer growth was more refined than the spring growth – the shoots were shorter, and more importantly, the new needles were shorter. Black pine had long been a challenge for its long needles. What Suzuki realized, upon witnessing a black pine bonsai produce shorter needles, was that there might be a way to produce the effect with predictable results.
Many years of experimentation led to today’s decandling techniques. Daiju En has since become known as the world’s premier bonsai garden for black pine.
Below is a photo of a black pine in January. Most of the needles are short from the previous year’s decandling, though you’ll notice a few longer ones if you look closely. These are from weaker shoots that weren’t decandled last year to help them recover their vigor.

Japanese black pine – January, 2009

Several months later, pines lose their tidy appearance. Spring shoots appear all over, usually more vigorous toward the apex. Several years of this unbalanced growth can quickly produce an ungainly effect. Here’s the same tree pictured in June.
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Bonsai tree: What About Refining Bonsai?

 
One page of a sixteen page article on refining branches, from Bonsai Today issue 13 (long out of print, but we’ve bought back a few old issues and are offering them at antique prices at Stone Lantern).
Years ago I heard an old Japanese master say that the primary difference between Japanese and Western bonsai is refinement. I concur; at the time, most Westerners we not taking the time and trouble to develop fine branching (and other things) to the extent that the Japanese were.
Now, though much has changed and Western bonsai is alive with creative energy, I think the willingness to do the tedious and time consuming work of refining branches is still, for the most part, lacking. I’m basing this mostly on my facebook and other web experience. More and more photos of bonsai are being posted. Some are excellent but precious few show that fine filigreed branching that you see on so many Japanese bonsai.

An excellent example of a bonsai with fine, filigreed branching. It’s from a flyer from the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. Unfortunately, neither the tree nor the artist is identified. My best guess is that it’s a Chinese elm and it was donated by a Japanese artist, though I could be wrong on both accounts.

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Bonsai tree:Trident maple reworking

A trident that has grown too vigorously tends to have the thick, youthful branches that this tree shows. In June, a day before the juniper styling shown in the last post, this tree was pruned for a new structure. It will be defoliated several times a year to develop a more delicate branch ramification.

Before pruning, with wildly growing, thick branches.

A primary feature of this old tree is the fused root base.

The top was cut out, lowering the tree by about 8 inches. The remaining branches will soon be flushed with new shoots, which will be defoliated in about 40 days. This will bring more shoots, so that in one year's time ramification can build exponentially. I will post future photos of this tree as it progresses.

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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.

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Bonsai tree:Way to go Rick!

A problem that some bonsai enthusiasts often face especially the less experienced is around the topic of shaping their bonsai tree.

For instance people have mentioned that they know the basics of pruning a bonsai and have experience of pruning other plants in the garden to remove dead growth or branches that are growing in the wrong direction.

The problem they have is a bit more fundamental around the artistry of the bonsai tree design. How do they know what shape the tree should be, they don’t have the eye! Whatever that means.

Well if any of you read the last article there is no need to let your bonsai tree grow for ten years before you get a feel for the shape it should be, however there are some guidelines you can follow that will help.

1) The variety of tree, the formal bonsai shapes such as formal upright, slanting and cascade are more suited to specific species of tree than others. So do some research decide on the style you want then choose a suitable bonsai tree variety.
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Bonsai tree:Before/After Chuuhin Shimpaku

The following pics are a before/after series of a chuuhin shimpaku juniper I recently styled at the nursery.   If you look closely, this bonsai is actually root-over-rock and relatively old.  It doesn’t appear that much was done to the tree, other than cleaning and a few adjustments; however, in reality it took nearly 7 hours from beginning to end (including cleaning, de-wiring, re-wiring every branch, and placement).  Please enjoy.

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