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.
Checking the roots on a large cork oak
I’d like to highlight a comment from the last post : “Whenever I get a new tree I like to repot it at the first ideal opportunity, regardless of whether or not the tree or soil are showing signs of a required repot…
Signs that it’s time to repot
There are some obvious signs that indicate when it’s time to repot a tree – like when the water fails to percolate or when a pot breaks. Other signs are more subtle. When there’s a significant change in the amount of…
Selecting A Container For A Koto Hime Japanese Maple
I’ve been on the search for the “perfect” container for one of my favorite shohin bonsai Koto Hime Japanese maple started over 30 years ago from a cutting. During the past four months I’ve purchased three containers. A…
Koto Hime Japanese Maple
The Koto Hime Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘Koto Hime,’ is in the dwarf or yatsubusa group of plants which are prized for bonsai training. This cultivar is best when trained as a shohin or small size bonsai because of…
Restoring an old cork oak bonsai
Toward the end of 2014, I picked up an old cork oak bonsai that belonged to a former member of Bay Island Bonsai. The tree hadn’t been repotted for maybe 5-10 years. Getting it out of the pot took several hours – the…
2018 92nd Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition II– Part 2 (Final)
Here are the last images from this year’s tour to Japan to visit the Kokufu Bonsai & Japan Suiseki Exhibitions, Omiya Bonsai Village, S-Cube, Masahiro Kimura and Kunio Kobayashi’s gardens. Do you recognize this Japanese…
2018 5th Japan Suiseki Exhibition
The 5 th Japan Suiseki Exhibition took place on February 14-17, 2018, in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno Park. This is the same venue as the Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition on the second floor. Nippon Suiseki…
2018 92nd Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition II– Part 1
The 92 nd Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition is being held in two parts again this year. The second part II runs from February 13-16, 2018 and here are a few photos of bonsai which captured my trained eye. Please remember that…
Repotting a collected Sierra juniper
When everything goes just right, a tree collected from the mountains begins to grow and gain vigor. After a while, it’s ready to begin the journey of becoming a bonsai. The Sierra juniper below is showing strong signs…
2018 92nd Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition I– Part 2
The 92 nd Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition is being held in two parts again this year. Here are some more images from the first part. I saw a great number of foreigners this time, many from Italy. This year the Nippon Bonsai…
2018 92nd Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition Part I– Part 1
The 92 nd Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition is being held in two parts again this year. Part 1 is being held on February 8-11, 2018 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno Park. Part II will be held next week after all the…
A Visit To Shunka-en Bonsai Museum– February 2018
Our group spent the morning at Kunio Kobayashi’s Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in the Edogawa Ward of Tokyo. The perfectly clear weather, but cool, gave us the opportunity to fully enjoy the quiet beauty of Mr. Kobayashi’s…
Bonsai displays at the 16th biennial Shohin Seminar
With small bonsai display, the focus tends to be on the arrangement of elements as much as on the individual trees themselves. The great challenge, then, isn’t just developing trees that work on a small scale, but in…
A Visit To Morimae’s S-Cube & Omiya Bonsai Village– February 2018
Kora Dalager’s and my semi-annual tour to see the finest bonsai in Japan began yesterday. First visit for the day was Seiji Morimae’s S-Cube bonsai garden Uchiku-Tei in the city of Hanyu, Japan, approximately one hour…
February Sucks, Styling Helps
Every August I think August is the suckiest month, then along comes February and I remember there are worse things than killer heat and humidity. To help make February less Continue Reading →
Hornbeam Harvest Part 2
I made a collecting trip with a new bonsai friend today, and we got some really nice American hornbeams (Carpinus caroliniana). Among the nicknames for the species is “Musclewood.” This Continue Reading →
Hornbeam And Huckleberry Trunks
I posted a blog a couple of weeks ago about new American hornbeam and Huckleberry specimens I’d collected. That post disappeared when we changed hosting services. I don’t feel like Continue Reading →
More Great BC Material – Collecting Trip 3
The weather was dodgy today, meaning we had a torrential downpour all across South Louisiana. We did have the good fortune to be able to collect a few nice trees Continue Reading →
I’d Like Your Opinion On This
After posting yesterday’s blog, a reader commented that I should include a standard reference object in order to make it easier to gauge the size of certain trees. Here’s a Continue Reading →
2018 California Shohin Seminar – selections from the exhibit
This past weekend the California Shohin Society hosted the 16th Biennial Shohin Seminar in Santa Nella, California. The event was a huge success. It revolves around a full day of workshops and features demos, a large…
Bonsai on display at BIB’s 19th annual exhibit
One thing I’ve appreciated about Bay Island Bonsai’s annual exhibits is the use of moss to cover the surface of the soil. The convention is common among bonsai exhibits in Japan and elsewhere. It gives the trees a clean…
Fantastic Sierra juniper at Bay Island Bonsai’s 19th annual exhibit
Sierra junipers have become a favorite variety of mine in recent years. They grow vigorously and often feature deadwood with undulating movement and exciting jin. The Members’ Choice award for large conifer at Bay…
Setting a display with a Western juniper and Japanese maple
I’ll be showing a medium sized Western juniper and Japanese maple at this weekend’s Bay Island Bonsai exhibit – that much is clear. What I’m still working on is how they’ll be arranged and which stands work best. Here…
How to use a bonsai jack
“Bonsai Jacks” are tools designed to bend heavy branches and trunks. They allow us to make these bends incrementally – and safely – by twisting a threaded rod. The best way to describe their use is with an example, so…