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.
Spring maintenance for junipers – removing the berries
When it comes to juniper bonsai, spring is great for watering, fertilizing and letting new shoots grow freely. It’s also a good time to remove newly formed berries. Chinese juniper grafted on California juniper – 17″…
Rough Bark Japanese Maples
The Rough bark Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘Arakawa,’ is a beautiful cultivar that exhibits rough bark, which adds impact to a bonsai. The rough bark is interesting and creates a focal point to the total aesthetic…
Focus on defoliation – determining how many leaves to remove
After an experiment with full defoliation on a Korean hornbeam – see the process ( here ) and the results ( here ) for details – I’ve made it an annual practice to partially defoliate refined specimens. The question…
The Initial Styling Of A Very Cool Cedar Elm
Designing A Bald Cypress Pairing – Next Step
Cutback and wiring on a semi-cascade ume
Mid-May is when I usually begin working on my deciduous bonsai. If a tree has grown well, I’ll reduce the new shoots to 2-4 leaves and wire any branches that need adjusting. An ume in my garden has been growing…
What In The World Do I Do With That?
Let’s See If I Can Add Video To My Blogs
Removing flowers on satsuki azaleas
Satsuki azaleas are beautiful when they bloom. Cutting-grown satsuki They are somewhat less attractive when the petals fall away. Azalea flowers after losing their petals Once most of the flowers on a satsuki have…
A Fun Friday With Cedar Elms
Starting Over With A Bonsai – You Will, Sooner Or Later
Repotting out of season – bringing new trees into the garden
I generally don’t do a lot of work on new trees until I have a good idea what shape the roots are in. I’ll water, fertilize and maybe do some cutback but hold off on wiring until I know the tree is strong enough to…
The Beauty of Maple Bonsai in Spring!
Spring is my favorite season of the year. Emerging colorful new growth and spring flowers of deciduous bonsai delight my senses and prepare me for another fresh new growing season. Also, since I HATE winter, deciduous…
Defoliating a shohin Japanese maple
I started working on a shohin Japanese maple about a year and a half ago. Here’s what it looked like at the end of 2016. Shohin Japanese maple The first order of business was repotting. I found the tree didn’t have a…
An alternative approach to repotting trees in development
For young trees growing in colanders, a repot isn’t always necessary when the roots run out of space. Here’s an overview of an alternative approach in two photos. Red pine in 6″ colander After nesting the colander…
2018 Gateway to Bonsai – exhibit highlights
The American Bonsai Society and the Bonsai Society of Greater St. Louis hosted Gateway to Bonsai this past weekend in Collinsville, Illinois. The event drew visitors from all over the country – and a few from outside…
Thinning a red pine forest
In general, I treat red and black pines the same. This doesn’t, however, mean that the trees respond the same to the same work. Black pines are generally the more predictable of the two varieties. After decandling, I…
Protecting bonsai from hail damage
Here’s a topic I never planned to address – protecting bonsai from hail damage. As most readers know far better than I do, hail can quickly damage bonsai – especially deciduous varieties with foliage that has yet to…
Art In Small Packages
My Latest Shot At Swamp Maple
I seldom write about Swamp maple, Acer rubrum ‘Drummondii,’ not because you can’t make nice bonsai with them but because I have had no success collecting larger specimens and maintaining them past a few years. In about…
Repotting Mr. Van Winkle
It’s been a couple of years since I repotted my big Willow oak, Quercus phellos. Last year I named him Rip Van Winkle, because he waited until May to finally bud out. (I was afraid he was R.I.P. Van Winkle.) Anyway,…
Just Had To Share
Chinese Elm – 8/4/14 Chinese Elm – 4/4/18 Not bad for four years’ work! The progression has been updated too.
Catching up on black pine work in spring
Spring is typically a season for letting bonsai grow freely. For black pines, some of the main tasks include fertilizing and removing young pine cones. Tea bag with cottonseed meal fertilizer Removing young pine cones…
Novel displays at Bonsai Society of San Francisco’s annual exhibit
You know it’s a good day when a bonsai display makes you do a double take. Slant-style spruce Yep, the tree is sitting on a sheet of glass. Better yet, the glass is supported – balanced no less – by two grooved wood…