Clik here to view.
Kokufu 101: deciduous bonsai
When designing deciduous bonsai, one of the biggest decisions is how to form the branches. Some of the key considerations are the angle at which the branches emerge from the trunk (do they go up,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kokufu 101: conifers
You can often tell the species of a tree by its shape. The tree below could be one of three different species – needle juniper, cryptomeria, or hinoki cypress. Looking closer at the foliage,we can see...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kokufu 101: shohin
Today I’d like to share a single tip for styling shohin bonsai – focus on branch density. As you look at photos of shohin displayed at this year’s Kokufu exhibit, you’ll notice that all of the trees...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wiring a large cork oak
The last tree to start growing in my garden each spring is also the largest. It’s a cork oak I acquired from Kenji Miyata. Cork oak I try to cut back and wire my oaks in fall or winter, but I often...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bare-rooting a trident maple
The first thing I want to do when I acquire a new tree is get a look at the soil. Based on what I found when I started repotting the trident maple below, I decided to bare-root the tree. Trident maple...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Developing branches on Chinese wisteria
For years, I’ve been curious about what it takes to create dense branching on wisteria bonsai. I’ve seen many beautiful specimens that bloom every year, but I don’t see as many that have fine, twiggy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Timing spring pruning on coast live oak
April is a busy month for oaks in my garden. At the same time that my largest cork oak starts growing, a second flush of growth appears on the coast live oaks. Coast live oaks can start growing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Grafting follow-up – reducing the original foliage
Two years ago I grafted a prostrata juniper with itoigawa foliage (see “Side-veneer graft aftercare” for details). Since then, I’ve been incrementally reducing the original foliage. Here’s a photo of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spring deciduous work: stewartia
For the last few years, I’ve been working to increase the health and vigor of a stewartia bonsai. As of this year, the tree is strong enough for regular spring maintenance – cutback and leaf pruning....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kinsai satsuki azalea
‘Kinsai’ is a popular satsuki azalea cultivar. The flowers are red and the petals are narrow. Mostly. There are a few different variations of kinsai (pink flowers, wide petals, etc.), and there can be...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spring cutback on Chinese quince
Last December, I decided to take a big step to improve the branch structure on a Chinese quince. I cut off most of the branches. The tree was fairly ramified, but the size and arrangement of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A good reason to not skip annual maintenance on juniper bonsai
About a year ago, I passed a juniper in my garden that had filled in over the previous growing season. It was a good time to remove the old foliage, so I made a mental note to thin the tree. A full...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Guest post: The story behind Michael Hagedorn’s Bonsai Heresy
By Michael Hagedorn Galileo had more in common with witches than you’d think. He narrowly avoided being tortured and executed by denying thinking thoughts that he really shouldn’t have been thinking...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: Kimura Masterclass from Bonsai Empire
Bonsai Empire’s newest online course features the best known name in bonsai: Masahiko Kimura. The course was filmed last fall at Kimura’s garden about one hour outside of Tokyo. Here’s what you need...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Identifying the right time for spring cutback
Last year, I pruned and partially defoliated the Korean hornbeam below in early June. The timing was just about right for the work as each shoot had a moderate amount of new growth (see “Spring...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spring cutback on ume
Although the basics of spring maintenance stay the same from year to year, I’ll often make adjustments based on how the tree is growing. My standard approach to pruning ume, for example, is to cut...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Decandling a cascade black pine in two stages
Decandling is a pruning technique where spring growth is removed to stimulate a second flush of growth over summer. The basic technique can be an effective way to produce dense foliage on black and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cutback and decandling a field-grown black pine
I was happy to start working on a field-grown pine earlier this week. Long spring candles and healthy green needles suggested that the tree was strong enough to decandle, so the work started there...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Exposed root black pine: seven-year progression
Here is a look at the development of a semi-exposed root black pine over the past seven years. Very little wiring was done during this time, but the tree was decandled every year it was healthy enough...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Starting the refinement process on a field-grown Japanese black pine
About two years ago, I picked up some field-grown pines from Lone Pine Gardens in Sebastopol, California. The next winter I repotted the trees into smaller containers and let them grow freely to...
View Article