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.
Coast redwood development update
Three years ago, I wired a shoot on a coast redwood to create a new trunk on a multi-trunk composition (see “ Coast redwood cutback ” for details). The shoot grew well, and it’s now time to cut it back. Coast redwood –…
Wiring at decandling time
Fall and winter are my favorite times to wire black pines. The trees are relatively dormant, the foliage is mature, and I have a long time before spring to get the work done. I can also do this work when I decandle, but…
Cutback at decandling time
Decandling season is a good time to do cutback on black pines. Although we can’t cut past green needles and expect buds to pop on old wood, we can cut anywhere else as long as there is healthy foliage on the branch.…
Exhibit Books
Almost twenty years ago I made my first exhibit catalog – a retrospective featuring trees from Bay Island Bonsai’s first five exhibits. BIB’s first exhibit book Collecting the images and metadata from five years’ worth…
Spring cutback on stewartia
It’s been a couple of years since I shared an update about a twin-trunk stewartia in my garden. The basic care for the tree has consisted of cutback to 2-3 leaves on new shoots and leaf pruning in spring followed by…
Review: Mastering Shohin Japanese Black Pine Bonsai
Eric Schrader and the team behind Bonsaify.com released an online course this week titled, “Mastering Shohin Japanese Black Pine Bonsai: A Complete Guide from Seedling to Show Tree.” I reviewed a pre-release version of…
Cutback and leaf pruning European beech
Now’s a great time of year to check the foliage on deciduous bonsai to see how full the crown is. If you can’t see through the tree, it may be due for some time in the workshop. Mature beech, for example, are usually…
A visit to Bonsai Mirai
It’s always a treat when I get to visit bonsai gardens that I don’t see very often. Although it’s thrilling to see great trees for the first time, revisiting favorites can be particularly satisfying. I had both…
A visit to the Clark Bonsai Collection
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to visit the Clark Bonsai Collection at the Shinzen Friendship Garden in Fresno’s Woodward Park. The Clark Collection is one of three GSBF-sponsored bonsai gardens in California.…
Tips for hosting a successful workshop
Keying off last week’s theme, I wanted to share tips for workshop leaders. How does one host a successful workshop? Respect your students’ time. Clean the workshop and set up workstations before participants arrive. Try…
International Bonsai Spring 2023 Open House & Sale
The International Bonsai Arboretum will be hosting the Spring 2023 Bonsai Open House & Sale on May 20-21, 2023 in Rochester, New York. The Bonsai Society of Upstate New York will be having the 50th Anniversary one day…
Tips for a successful workshop
It took me years to figure out how to get the most out of workshops. Here are some tips to avoid downtime and get the most out of your bonsai classes. Bring clean and healthy trees. Ensure trees are free of pests and…
Post-bloom clean-up on wisteria
Usually my Chinese wisteria sends out leaves and flowers at the same time. This year it was all flowers. Chinese wisteria ‘Caroline’ After enjoying the bloom, it’s time to remove the flower stems. This saves the tree…
Is bonsai getting harder?
In short, yes! This is an old question that comes up from time to time. Eric Schrader mentioned that he’s fielded the question more than once in recent weeks, and the idea has got me thinking. If it feels to you like…
@jojubs Oh yes.
@jojubs Oh yes.
Setting up an effective workstation
This turned out to be a big year in the garden for repots. Together with Adam, Steve, Christian, and JC, we repotted around 195 bonsai and pre-bonsai plus 14 flats of young trees – far more than the normal routine. In…
@meta_adam Cheers buddy!
@meta_adam Cheers buddy!
2023 Mid-Atlantic Bonsai Societies Spring Festival Club Exhibition
The 39th Mid-Atlantic Bonsai Festival was held on March 31-April 2, 2023 in Parsippany, New Jersey. This year there were many beautiful bonsai displayed by the 10 member clubs of the Mid-Atlantic Bonsai Societies. Each…
Oribe Glazes
The color “Oribe” is a type of Japanese ceramic glaze in blue and/or green. It first appeared during the Keicho and Genna Eras (1596-1624). The name Oribe is derived from Furuta Oribe, a pupil of Sen no Rikyu, under…
You just finished repotting – now what?
When you finish the last of the repotting – and breath a sigh of relief – it’s time to sit back and let the trees grow into their new homes. While the trees are busy sending out new roots, our main job is protecting…
Pot selection exercise – cork oak
One of the best things about repotting season is that it provides an opportunity for us to select new containers for our trees. When we move trees from training pots or poorly matched containers to something better, it…
@jojubs And Mr Lineker is entirely right.
@jojubs And Mr Lineker is entirely right.
going well. There are still many articles, old and
going well. There are still many articles, old and new, to be added as well as an update of the Progressions Series… https://t.co/ClKCZXcKKj
It’s been a huge job but I really wanted to get
It’s been a huge job but I really wanted to get the website updated so it’s much better streamlined for use across… https://t.co/MlBrekNasK