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.
Partial defoliation on shohin Japanese maple
Last year I defoliated a shohin Japanese maple in an effort to stimulate back buds (see “ Defoliating a Japanese maple “). The approach worked (see the “ Follow-up “). This year I want the shoots that developed from…
Making Nice Bonsai From Ordinary Material
Leaf pruning dwarf wisteria
For the last few years, I’ve taken a simple approach to refining a dwarf wisteria ( Millettia japonica ‘Microphylla’). In May or June, I reduce long shoots that extend beyond the desired silhouette. The process looks…
Trumpet Vine Bonsai
An American Elm Gets Potted
World Bonsai Day 2019
Each year the second Saturday of May has been designated as World Bonsai Day. This is an internationally celebrated event dedicated to furthering bonsai awareness and appreciation. World Bonsai Day was initiated by the…
BC Forest Update And Work
Coast redwood – repotting follow-up
Three months ago I pruned and repotted a coast redwood. Coast redwood After cutback After root work Repotting complete The tree responded well and produced new foliage. New growth three months later Foliage detail This…
Teach Yourself Bonsai #2: How to create a bonsai calendar – Japanese black pine
If you’ve been working with bonsai for several years, you may have an idea of what needs to happen when. If you’re new to bonsai, or to a given species, it can be helpful to create a calendar to keep track of annual…
Potting Up A Water-Elm
Bonsai Development Series #15b: removing unnecessary growth, part 2
In the last post we looked at the benefits of removing root sprouts on developing bonsai. We can take the same approach with water sprouts. Water sprouts are shoots that emerge from the trunk and generally grow straight…
Bonsai Development Series #15: removing unnecessary growth
Although I typically wait until May or June to start working on deciduous bonsai, there are a few jobs that I try to do sooner rather than later. One of these is removing unnecessary root sprouts. Root sprouts, or root…
Sunday Evening Hawthorn Notes
Learning about accent plants at Bonsai on the Bayou
The exhibit at Houston’s Bonsai on the Bayou featured a special display of accent plantings. The artist behind these, as well as many of the other accents in the exhibit, was Sooncheng Cheah. Sooncheng has been making…
World Bonsai Day!
Each year the second Saturday of May has been designated as World Bonsai Day. This is an internationally celebrated event dedicated to furthering bonsai awareness and appreciation. World Bonsai Day was initiated by the…
2019 MidAtlantic Bonsai Festival Demo Tree
Last week at the MidAtlantic Bonsai Festival Taiga Urushibata from Japan created a bonsai Ponderosa pine. It was originally collected by Andy Smith and quite healthy. It was a difficult tree to design. Robert Mahler was…
A Very Big Water-Elm Gets Styled
A closer look at the Bonsai on the Bayou exhibition
Anyone unfamiliar with the Texas bonsai scene might be surprised by the broad range of species in training in the Lone Star State. Alpine species, tropicals, and a variety of Texas natives are commonplace in Texas…
Prize-winning Bonsai at Bonsai on the Bayou: An American Bonsai Summit
Last weekend the American Bonsai Society held their 2019 Convention in Houston, Texas. Hosted by the Houston Bonsai Society, the event featured an awesome program of workshops, demonstrations, lectures, and artist…
Bonsai Odds & Ends – Some Evening Shots
2019 MidAtlantic Bonsai Societies Spring Festival
The 36 th annual Spring Festival of the MidAtlantic Bonsai Societies was held on April 11-14, 2019 in Harrisburg/Hershey, Pennsylvania. Featured speakers were Taiga Urushibata from Japan, Marc Noelanders from Belgium…
A Water-Elm Gets Styled
New pot for an exposed root black pine
Just over a year ago, I reworked an exposed root black pine and started thinking about what kind of pot it could go in (see “ Refining a young exposed root pine “). Exposed root black pine – December 2017 Last month I…
Refining the roots on an exposed root pine
One of the more fun parts of developing exposed root pines is adding movement to the roots. If you use a columnar container for the roots, the roots will grow in the shape of the column. Exposed root red pine It’s easy…