A Quick Guide to Black Pine Fall Work
A bonsai truism is that in fall we get to clean up the mess we initiated in the spring. And for pines, this mess is most apparent for the multiple flush species, like Japanese Black Pine. Black Pine will regrow from a technique known as decandling, when we cut off the spring shoots. The pine […]
Using Birds In Bonsai Display: Part II
After the post about birds in bonsai display I received a note from a friend. She reminded me that there’s more to display than location and season, and that birds (and animals) have personalities and presences that spark an emotional response. And she’s right. So here’s Birds Part II, how we might subtly tweak a […]
How To Tweak Fall Color
We tend to think of fall color in deciduous trees in clear terms. The fall leaves of Gingko are yellow. Those of Red Maple are red. Except, sometimes the Red Maple has yellow leaves. Which asks a few questions. Why are plants not the same color year after year in the fall? What’s going on […]
How To Balance Long-needled Pine Shoots
The long-needled pines like Ponderosa and Austrian Pine tend to grow large end shoots with many needles. Selectively trimming needles off can help balance shoots, weakening strong ones and strengthening the smaller ones. Typical Ponderosa pine branch with a fat end bud on the main shoot (left) and 2 smaller shoots back down the branch […]
What Do We Do With Bonsai In October?
In fall, bonsai are starting the slow slide into slumber. The following photo essay shares a few ideas of how to read the results of our summer work, and what to do in the bonsai garden in fall. This Satsuki Azalea is telling us that watering and fertilizing were adequate over the summer, as we […]
East Bay Bonsai Society and Lake Merritt
This past weekend was the East Bay Bonsai Society’s annual show in Oakland, CA, where I gave a talk about conceptual bonsai and ran a couple workshops. And I critiqued the show. The following photos are from the EBBS show and from the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt, which was only a 2-minute walk from […]
The Effect of Gravity on Tree Growth
While a branch’s origin on the trunk doesn’t change—one thing I remember answering correctly on my biology SAT test 400 years back—the branch itself may bend and reorient. Trunks and branches are subject to many forces that change their shape. Some are environmental. And some are of the tree’s own making. One curious force that […]
Using Birds In Bonsai Display: Part I
Birds are often used in traditional bonsai display to give a suggestion of where the tree is. Is the bonsai in a field? In a swamp? By the ocean? On a mountain? Usually we use an accent to fulfill this need. An aster to suggest a field. A sundew for a bog. Birds offer the […]
Portland Japanese Garden: Part II
Delivering bonsai to the Portland Japanese Garden has one hairy bit. After grinding up a steep hill you come to the roof panels on the spectacular Kengo Kuma buildings, which are conveniently lower than the top of a 26’ U-Haul. But by taking this arrival slalom at 0.5 mph, in the past eight years both […]
Portland Japanese Garden: Part I
In early 2017 I got a call from the then-curator of the Portland Japanese Garden, Sadafumi Uchiyama, who asked for help sourcing bonsai. I coughed up some phlegm—getting over bronchitis that week—and said, “Yes, I’d like that”—cough—“thank you.” “We need about fifteen bonsai for a display. In two months. Sorry for the short notice—people are […]