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This juniper was one of the first restyling adventures of my new apprentice, Patch Clark.

Bark is the protective outer covering of a tree’s trunk and branches. It serves several vital functions:

If you haven’t finished your fall pine work, there’s still time! Fall and winter, right up until buds start elongating in spring, is a good time to prune and wire dormant conifers including Japanese black and red pines.

In the past I’ve called this annual “blooper” reel. Fewer of these 2024 shots seem like authentic bloopers, but there are still plenty of bats, toothy fungus grins, and odd sugary drinks to keep you wondering. I do.

A couple of years ago, I came across a great batch of cork bark elms at Lone Pine Gardens. It had been a while since I’d owned one, so I picked out my favorite and brought it home.

I came across a few of these photos from a “memory” which popped up on my Facebook page, and thought I’d update the development of this Scots pine from a Xmas tree farm in Pennsylvania. Of course, I’ll add a lot more information in Part 2, but I’m busy finishing the anticipated 2023 US National Bonsai Exhibition Album.

As the year runs out, here is a possible bonsai promise to yourself for 2025. Learn to observe and understand your bonsai.

I am the last person to write about physics. In high school I recall a particularly excruciating segment on optics, which left me cross-eyed. I have, however, seen a lot of crunched trees in cars and have a suggestion or two on how to get them from point A to point B without damage.

Bonsai have filled a lot this year as it has done for several years. A lot of friends around the world make the world small and comforting in these challenging times in my part of the world. Denmark is still as safe a country as it can be, but we feel the same as we did when I was a kid when the Cold War was around. Luckily bonsai knows nothing about all of this and that is a comfort.