Dwarf Bamboo Care And Display
Dwarf Bamboo in the genus Sasa is a common ground cover and makes a good accent. This is a moss ball, or kokedama, planting. A kokedama doesn’t have a pot, it’s just a mass of roots and soil. Sasa is a vigorous grower and can fill out fast. This one has grown out well but […]
Summer Doings in the Bonsai Studio
These are some of the projects we’ve had going on in the bonsai studio this month. A small bunjin Shore Pine in need of a touch up. The needles stopped growing a month ago, and now some older ones may be removed. After needle pulling and a reset. Some of you may recognize this bunjin […]
Foemina Juniper Revisit, With Design Comments
A Foemina Juniper in 2023, after its first styling. Foemina in early July, 2026. Letting bonsai get shaggy is a good now and then to help build energy and momentum, especially with trees like this Foemina which is left to grow out each year. But if left too long it is hard to get back […]
Suggested Books For Bonsai Enthusiasts: Part 2
A second selection of tree-ish books you might enjoy. None of these books are about bonsai, but like the list in Part I, they may illuminate why bonsai captivate us. The first two books I’ve read and think are marvelous, and the last one has been recommended to me many times, including by readers of […]
Correcting Water pH For Better Plant Health
When we drink water, our kidneys adjust the blood pH to 7.35-7.45. Plants also have the ability to change pH around their roots, up to 1.5 pH points. But in more extreme pH situations, plants suffer. Water pH measures the concentration of hydrogen ions. If you have more hydrogen ions, you have acidic water. If […]
How Hard Water Can Limit Plant Growth
Do you have white buildup on your faucets? If so, you have hard water, which can cause yellowish foliage, few blooms, and lack of vigor in your bonsai. If you see whitish stains on sinks and leaves, the problem is hard water from dissolved salts. This isn’t table salt, sodium chloride, but rather calcium and […]
“Beavering” A Large Low Branch
When I was a kid we lived in Amherst, Massachusetts, and on the weekends would run up to the Berkshires, in the foothills of the Appalachians, to fill a few gallons with fresh spring water. It’s a beautiful wet and wild area. I caught my first brook trout (12”) up there, and saw my first […]
A Deeper Dive Into Decandling
It’s Japanese Black Pine decandling time again. Or it might be, depending on where you are. It is where I am, the Pacific Northwest, where we’re finishing up decandling this week. The decandling date will differ according to where you live, which is determined by latitude. Here in Portland, Oregon we cut end of May […]
Guest Post: Sergio Cuan
This week, I’m delighted to turn over the blog to Sergio Cuan. Sergio is one of my favorite bonsai artists. He also did all the sick illustrations in Bonsai Heresy. Since working on that project together, many have asked what Sergio’s background was, and I barely knew myself, saying, “Well, I think he worked for […]
How To Clean Up Tsukumo Cypress
A couple weeks back I did a post about cleaning up Junipers. In short, with a Juniper you cut any over-long shoots, pull off dangling shoots below the horizontal, and then pull off old shoots in the interior. But we shouldn’t pinch the living tips that remain. Tsukumo Cypress is a good comparison tree. It […]