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Here is a set of images for a clearer idea of the benefits of shade cloth.

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 masterpieces will be displayed for your appreciation and study.

As well as we need a little time off we also think you should be able to be inspired on a rainy day.

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 beautiful bonsai from around the region will be on display for your appreciation. 

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 reducing the needles on the upper branches I can help the lower branches get more sunlight and maintain vigor. (For details about what the tree looked like when I started working on it, see “Increasing density on a cork bark pine.”)

Warren Hill, one of our giants, passed away a few weeks ago.

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. From here on out the goal is to create a silhouette that complements the trunk.

If you see needles that look like this: 
Your first thought might be, needlecast! And you might be right. 

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.

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.