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.
50th Gafu Ten Shohin Bonsai Tour
Join Kora Dalager and me for the 50th Anniversary Gafu Ten Shohin Bonsai Exhibition held in Kyoto, Japan, in early January. This is the premier exhibition of shohin bonsai in Japan. Some of the best shohin bonsai…
New Jersey Bonsai Societies 2nd Annual “The Art of Bonsai” Exhibition & Sale
Join me and hundreds of bonsai lovers next weekend in Lincroft, New Jersey for their Exhibition & Sale. The Bergen, Deep Cut, Great Swamp and Pennsylvania Bonsai Societies are sponsoring this exhibition. Over 50…
Decandling an old cork bark black pine
I’ve been working on the cork bark black pine below for about twenty years. It’s had it’s ups and downs but had filled in enough in recent years that it felt like a good time to thin the tree. The idea is that by…
Styling a Dwarf Wisteria Bonsai (Milletia) #bonsaitrees
In this video we create a Milletia bonsai out of humble material. The tree's progression was documented over three years time. The full video will soon be available in 4K so make sure to subscribe now! Serious about…
Ficus Bonsai maintenance
Learn how to take care of your Ficus and how to maintain its shape! In this video we show how to prune a Ficus bonsai, how to repot it and how to wire its branches. For more information about keeping a Ficus, or Ficus…
Chinese elm Bonsai progression #bonsai
We style this little Ulmus parvifolia (Chinese elm) and filmed our work over the course of 3 years time. The full video will soon be available in 4K so make sure to subscribe now! Serious about growing your own Bonsai…
In Appreciation and Memoriam: Warren Hill
Warren Hill, one of our giants, passed away a few weeks ago. Years ago, back when I was a potter, Warren was one of the first people to buy my bonsai containers. He was the curator of the National Bonsai Collection at…
Koji Hiramatsu creates a Shohin Bonsai
Koji created this Shohin sized Juniper Bonsai at the UBE bonsai event in Spain. Serious about growing your own Bonsai trees? Then consider enrolling in one of our online Bonsai Courses, taught by expert teachers. For…
Shohin redwood update
Three years ago I started working on a small coast redwood (see “Creating redwood bonsai: step 1” for details). Since then I’ve grown out some sacrifice branches and removed them when they reached the desired thickness.…
Jasmin Bonsai progression (Gardenia) #bonsaitree
In this short video we style a Gardenia Bonsai, filmed over 3 years time. The full video will soon be available in 4K so make sure to subscribe now! Serious about growing your own Bonsai trees? Then consider enrolling…
Low cost Bonsai ($6)
Can Bonsai be created from plants as cheap as 6 USD? In this video we create a small Spruce (Picea abies) from Christmas tree stock of about 5 years old. The video shows the progression of the tree over 3 years time!…
A Pine Puzzle…
If you see needles that look like this: Your first thought might be, needlecast! And you might be right. Unless, on the reverse (I flipped these needles over), there’s this: scale insect! Scale insect often prefers the…
Bonsai in Fall colour #bonsai
Enjoy the stunning Bonsai Museum of Luis Vallejo, located in Spain (part 3) Serious about growing your own Bonsai trees? Then consider enrolling in one of our online Bonsai Courses, taught by expert teachers. For the…
The 5 year journey of a Maple Bonsai
In our longest running YouTube project we share the progression of a Maple Bonsai (Acer palmatum) from nursery stock to Bonsai. We share how to thicken a trunk using sacrificial branches and apex, and how to prune, wire…
THE PUZZLE PINE
Jan Culek works on a Scots pine /Pinus sylvestris JAN CULEK WORKS ON ONE OF THE ‘100 PINES’ Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris, is one of the most popular pine varieties and one of the most commonly styled tree. This…
The “Frog” Azalea, Revisited
Years ago this azalea was much taller. Then the top died back. Then it was gifted to our garden, where we puzzled over what to do with it. Here is the Satsuki ‘Yamato’ in 2017, a few years after arriving in the garden.…
Styling a Thuja Bonsai (White cedar) #art
We style a White cedar Bonsai out of humble and affordable nursery stock material in this video. The full video will soon be available in 4K so make sure to subscribe now! Serious about growing your own Bonsai trees?…
Bonsai Moss (application and acquisition)
In this lecture Michael shares his knowledge on moss, and its application on Bonsai trees. Ideally we collect moss from sunny spots, like roofs, old rail tracks, or even concrete slabs, because this moss will thrive on…
Shade Cloth Part III: Shade The Sides
As soon as you chose the perfect shade cloth percentage, chose from the bewildering array of colors, and proudly erect your new shade cloth structure, you may notice a failure of the thing to work. Along the southern…
Sebastian Fernandez bonsai demo at UBE
Sebastian Fernandez styled this Taxus at the UBE Bonsai event, Spain 2024. Serious about growing your own Bonsai trees? Then consider enrolling in one of our online Bonsai Courses, taught by expert teachers. For the…
The middle stages of pine development – my favorite!
When you have a good trunk to work with and the goal is to improve the branches, you’re working with a tree in the middle stages of development. For pines with large trunks, this stage can last five to ten years or…
Trophy 2024 #bonsai #tree
The Trophy Bonsai Exhibition 2024 - part 2 Serious about growing your own Bonsai trees? Then consider enrolling in one of our online Bonsai Courses, taught by expert teachers. For the curriculums and free lectures, go…
Back budding trick for Yew bonsai
Back budding tricks for Yew bonsai and best practice techniques to establish a healthy coniferous bonsai are explained in the main content of this week’s tutorial. You find the video here:…
What Bonsai Are Worked On In June?
And, what do we do with them? This photo essay offers several answers. June and July are Satsuki Azalea months. After flowering the entire flower, with the ovary, is removed. Another Satsuki losing its flowers. Carmen…