Spotted in the Wild
Historical Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and RSS posts previously curated by the club (2017–present). Not authored by the club — preserved here since the original source feeds no longer carry this history.
Video and photo gallery from the Australian bonsai collection
Just landed after a magnificent Australia visit as part of the Bonsai Reshaped event titled “Big & Small”. The video and photo gallery from the Australian bonsai collection is now ready. The photo gallery can be watched…
Shrubs and the Three Bears
Trees grow big roots that spread wide and deep. Shrubs—no surprise—have smaller root systems, but they differ in other ways as well. Right under the leaf litter is where most of the roots on a freely growing shrub are…
Container Selection For A Shohin Japanese Larch
I’ve been training this Japanese larch, Larix kaempferi, from a two- year bare root seedling for about six years. It has been trained in the two-line cascade style in a small square white glazed container. This…
Shohin redwood creation
I follow a similar approach when I acquire coast redwood pre-bonsai. First I repot, then I let the tree grow for a year, then I can get to work. In this case I let Adam Toth get to work. Adam helps me keep up with the…
The bonsai collection and events in Canberra these days
The days in Canberra at the Bonsai Reshaped 2024 are busy. Next week a members video from the Arboretum will be posted, but until then a few more posts from the event. Yesterday the big evening with the demo on stage…
Bonsai Reshaped in Australia
Take care of snakes, but enjoy the view. Stunning location in Canberra where the event Bonsai reshaped takes place these days. I have a view from my bonsai garden, but I have to work in some mountains and lakes I can…
Bonsai In The Dark- Celebrating The Total Solar Eclipse
My Monday Senior Crew and I organized a special celebration to commemorate the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024. Rochester, New York, was in the direct path of totality for the solar eclipse as it stretched…
A Schedule For Repotting
Our bonsai break bud at different times. When is best to repot? Do we repot them all at once? The general guideline to repot as they break bud is a good one. Some, like pines, though, are repotted a bit before we see…
Bonsai Australia coming up
Tomorrow I leave for Australia to join up with Marija Hajdic when we arrive down under. This year the Bonsai Reshaped event is held over 4 days April 11-14. Demonstrations workshops and lots of social connections are…
Guy wire bonsai
There are many techniques involved in creating bonsai. Wiring is one of those essentials. Wiring is used to redirect branches and shape these to recreate the image of an old tree. Big or small, wiring is not to be…
Mountain Hemlock Redesign—
Fronts are personal decisions. Fronts can also be a reminder of how dumb you were last year. Which relates to the previous statement. But front choice gives us a chance to highlight what we like about a tree. And this…
Pruning and repotting a clump style jabuticaba
For the last two years I’ve been working with a species that’s new to me – the jabuticaba ( Plinia cauliflora ). It’s a fruit tree native to Brazil that produces sweet fruit in summer. Jabuticaba (also known as…
Spring Bonsai Q&A Thursday
Spring has sprung very early this season so there is a lot to do fast regarding repotting if not done already. As usual the last Thursday of the month is Live Q&A time. Send in questions and pictures up front here…
Pot choices for two Shohin bonsai
Hmmmm…. what pot should I choose? This may be one of the spring questions often asked among bonsai enthusiasts. In this week’s video, I look into exploring the pot choice. Repotting bonsai is also a chance to select…
Repotting Trivia—
Here are a few photos from this spring’s repotting in Seasonal Workshops . Each has a note about what we were doing. Often pots have few, small drain holes. Sometimes they are not in the lowest place in the pot. In…
Early spring work
If you ask me what my favorite time of year in the garden is, I’ll say early spring, right after repotting. It’s the one time of year when everything looks good and there’s little work to do. Or so I used to think. In…
This weeks repotting video is free
I experience some technical issues this week and can’t post as normal today, so I decided to make this week’s video free for everyone to watch. So it isn’t delayed. You can watch it below. This week we continue to dive…
Shohin School
This January we had Daisaku Nomoto with Jonas Dupuich and Andrew Robson in Portland, Oregon for the Shohin School. I’ve enjoyed watching this event take shape the last two years, matched by the enthusiasm of its 50+…
Repotting Strategy
As I go into repotting season, I think about how my plants grew the previous year and whether I want to change the soil mix I use for the upcoming growing season. Last year, summer was mild which meant that many of my…
Luis Vallejo Bonsai Museum, Spain
January’s trip to Spain held many jewels. Visiting the UBE convention and show. Seeing David Benevente’s bonsai garden. Meeting Bjorn Bjorholm, after all this time for the first time (and a good lunch, that). Visiting…
Rose spring repotting
As spring all of a sudden jumps on us, we have to act fast. The temperatures this season (again) show how rapid growth can appear after a mild winter. With the risk of cold periods coming back. In these early days, it’s…
New Watering Nozzle Discovery
During the past 60 plus years I’ve seen and used a multitude of watering wands, nozzles and watering cans. These have ranged from expensive copper Japanese watering cans to very inexpensive Chinese green plastic…
All About Cascade Style Bonsai
The February meeting of the Bonsai Society of Upstate New York, based in Rochester, had an interesting and full meeting last evening. About 35-40 members from Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Ithaca, as well as a couple of…
Spring bonsai and Live Q&A Thursday
It happens! Spring is just around the corner. Before that, we have the LIVE Q&A as always the last Thursday of the month. This time at the exceptional date February 29. Temperatures are steady and after a storm the…