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.
11th Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo 2023– Part 2
The 11th Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo took place on December 2-3, 2023. As promised in my last blog, below are a few of the 66 photos Joe Noga took to commemorate the Expo. A big thank you goes to Steve Zeisel who…
Fall cutback on ume
The basics of fall work on ume are straightforward: remove the old leaves and prune to silhouette and/or the desired internode length. Before removing the leaves – no signs of fall color Fall has been mild this year so…
Are The Best Bonsai Grown By Hobbyists?
In this week’s Bonsai Wire podcast I discuss this idea with John Eads. John Eads owns Left Coast Bonsai , a young-tree bonsai development nursery left of Portland, Oregon, nestled up against the Coast Range. As a…
Bonsai holidays
Dear Bonsai friends. Thank you for sending messages and warm Christmas wishes. It warms my heart and I truly hope we will all have as peaceful as possible Christmas time. It is a special time of the season when many…
Little and Big Bluestem Kusamono–
On a recent visit to Wisconsin I was standing in a field with my mother, talking about the prairie remnant surrounding us. And in a slipstream moment, thought… What about a Bluestem kusamono? I hardly imagine I’m the…
Trident maple fall pruning and Expo update
Save the date! The second Pacific Bonsai Expo will be held on October 26-27, 2024. We’ll have more updates in upcoming posts so stayed tuned for more info! As for the fall pruning, below is a trident maple showing the…
Black Pine styling
Now online and ready to stream. I am styling a Japanese black pine Shohin bonsai. Step by step each detail is shown and explained. Learn about the styling process and how to balance health between each branch. Japanese…
Beech Fall Pruning GIF
Like last week’s post , here’s a GIF to help visualize pruning. With the Chojubai last week , we pruned the bottom more than the top. Here, with a beech, the top is pruned more, with some extensions left on the lower…
LIVE CHANGE to a weekly bonsai video stream
One step backwards sometimes is a giant step forward. Related to the issues I have had over the last year making live streaming with dropouts, sound failures and all that stuff you don’t want to happen. Searching for…
Red maple forest fall cleanup
The most consistent fall color in my garden each year can be found on a red maple forest planting that was started by a friend’s father back in the early 80s. Once most of the leaves turn color, I remove them all and do…
11th Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo 2023
The highly regarded and anticipated Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo was again held at the North Carolina Research Center in Kannapolis, outside Charlotte, NC, on December 2-3, 2023. A well deserved thank you to Steve…
Fall Pruning GIF
A GIF makes it easier to visualize branch removal. Here’s a Chojubai as an example of fall pruning. The pruning shown here may be applied to many shrubs. Although on first look the pruning looks uniform, it isn’t. With…
Cold snap Q&A Thursday
Temperatures are dropping these days. Not a lot but freezing it is and this demands some caretaking bringing shohin bonsai into the storage room. After a very wet period, cold can be very destructive. Soil filled with…
Autumn 2023 Japan Bonsai Exploration- Part 8
World Heritage Kiyomizu Temple Bonsai Suiseki Exhibition, November 24-27, 2023 Kyoto, Japan. Sponsored by Chinese Council General of Osaka, commemorating the 45th Anniversary of the signing of the peace treaty and…
Autumn 2023 Japan Bonsai Exploration- Part 7
Nippon Bonsai Taikan Ten Exhibition- Part 2 Musk Maple, Premna japonica Dwarf Mulberry
Autumn 2023 Japan Bonsai Exploration- Part 6
Nippon Bonsai Taikan Ten Exhibition, November 24-27, 2023, Miyako Messe, Kyoto
Autumn 2023 Japan Bonsai Exploration- Part 4
Shunka-en Bonsai Museum of Kunio Kobayashi, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo
Pruning Japanese Maples And Clumps
This specimen offered a couple key points about Japanese Maple pruning, and pruning forests and clumps. Japanese Maple in need of fall pruning. To prevent sap bleeding from cuts, Japanese maple is often best pruned…
Autumn 2023 Japan Bonsai Exploration- Part 3
Omiya Bonsai Village
Autumn 2023 Japan Bonsai Exploration- Part 2
Omiya Bonsai Art Museum
Autumn 2023 Japan Bonsai Exploration- Part 1
This year, like the past 25 years, Kora Dalager and I have been leading exciting tours to the Japanese bonsai world. Attached are a few photos to share with followers to my blog, S-Cube Uchiku Tei, the bonsai garden of…
Bonsai display basics
A number of conventions guide the way bonsai are displayed at exhibits around the world. This post covers the basics. The Space Bonsai displays at Japanese exhibits are commonly six feet wide – about the length of one…
Recipe: Alcohol / Resin Wood Hardener
Wood hardener lengthens the life of deadwood. It hardens punky wood in danger of eroding away, and likely protects against decomposition by pathogens. Store bought wood hardeners can certainly be used. I’ve tried them,…
Bonsai created from seed, cuttings or larger trees pruned back
Back from Sweden and back to normal. And then not. This time we will explore bonsai creations a bit more theoretical than usual. Digging into the different ways of creating a bonsai from scratch. How to grow bonsai from…