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This week I have a question for you: What would you like to see here?

I think the bold feeling of Ponderosa looks great on big trees. On smaller ones, I’m not so enamored. So for 20 years I’ve explored, like others, grafting Japanese Black Pine onto Ponderosa Pine.

Black pines are one of a number of species that don’t naturally produce balanced growth. These pines are likely to produce strong shoots near the apex or at the ends of lower branches and weaker shoots everywhere else.

Some temporary changes for members of Kisetsu-en the next two weeks.

A “Champion Tree” is a specimen that has been measured to be the largest of its species (see “Champion Tree Registry“). The findings are based on a points system that considers tree height, trunk circumference, and average crown circumference (there’s a manual that spells out the details).

A few projects from the 2025 June Seasonal workshop—with notes on Styrax, Black Pine, Red Maple, a ground-layered Beech, and a magnificent flowering carnivorous plant.

Developing a bonsai can be a fulfilling accomplishment. Taking a young cutting or seedling and carefully growing it to a size for shaping and training is one of the most common methods for bonsai creation. Although time consuming, this technique has been popular, and a bonsai can be developed right from the beginning according to your own taste and understanding of bonsai. As your bonsai experience and knowledge increase (hopefully) and developing your own style bonsai can be developed.

Shohin bonsai—tiny trees with towering presence—are a marvel of miniature horticulture. Typically no taller than 20 cm (about 8 inches), these small-scale bonsai demand not only artistic vision but also precise care. Among the most critical aspects of their health and beauty is one often underestimated: fertilisation.

I was reminded last week what an awesome resource we have in the Pacific Bonsai Museum. For those who haven’t visited, the museum hosts a collection of outstanding bonsai in Federal Way, Washington. It may be best known, however, for staging some of the most engaging and thought-provoking exhibits and events in the bonsai world.

“Make a concavity when finishing pruning cuts.”