Before and after Itoigawa juniper (Juniperus chinesis 'itoigawa') by David Benavente. It helps to start with a powerful tree. Still, this takes nothing away from the considerable skills of an artist like David Benavente. In fact, bringing a great tree back to shape and taking it to the next level requires considerable skill and experience

Still traveling so we'll take the easy way out and borrow from our archives. This one last appeared in 2018

Today’s Itoigawa juniper is one of several remarkable Before & Afters (Antes y Despues) that David Benavente posted several years ago. By the way, if you’re confused about the the differences between Itoigawa, Kishu and Shimpaku junipers? Nebari Bonsai can help shed some light (the link is below)

Before

One of changes that stands out, is the way the crown has been refined and lowered; exposing more of the remarkable 'flaming' deadwood above. This also frames and draws your eye to the powerful swirl of deadwood in the center of the tree.

Here's your link to Nebari Bonsai

Here's your link to more by David Benavente

This photo and the other photos shown here are from the 2nd UBE Bonsai Convention the was held recently in Aranjuez, Spain

I couldn't resist more from Bontxai_bonsai delicatessen The variety and quality of the trees and quality of the photos are remarkable. All were taken at the 2nd UBE Bonsai Convention. None were identified or attributed

The following is from our Feb 2nd post....   I get more impressed every time I see photos of bonsai in Spain. It's not just Spain of course, impressive bonsai are popping up over much of the world. Still, the Spanish are doing their fair share when it comes to quality bonsai. And equally important, quality presentation and photography 

Here's your link for more great shots from Bontxai_bonsai delicatessen 

Circles, semi-circles and waves. It's a yamadori Pemphis acidula by Gede Merta

It has been awhile since we visited Gede Marta and his Bonsai Bali. Mr Merta often works with yamadori (collected from the wild) Pemphis acidula, a tropical plant native to the Indo Pacific region, which includes Indonesia and specifically Bali, Gede Merta's home

I'm not sure if it's his doing or the natural look of collected Pemphis acidula (most likely a bit of both), but Gede Merta's bonsai, especially his Pemphis, have a distinctive look that's easy to identify 

All the trees below are also Pemphis acidula by Gede Merta

That's Gede Merta's face in the corner 

 Here's a photo of Gede Merta from a post we did in 2016

You can enjoy more of Gede Merta bonsai on Facebook 

This and the other photos shown here are from the 2nd UBE Bonsai Convention the was held recently in Aranjuez, Spain

I get more impressed every time I see photos of bonsai in Spain. It's not just Spain of course, impressive bonsai are popping up over much of the world. Still, the Spanish are doing their fair share when it comes to top notch bonsai. And equally important, top notch bonsai presentation and photography 

I found these photos at Bontxai_bonsai delicatessen. All were taken at the 2nd UBE Bonsai Convention. None were identified or attributed

I cropped the lead photo for a closer look at the tree. I'm pretty sure I've seen it before, but a cursory look only turned up one that is similar (a Taxus by Mauro Stemberger- see our newsletter  - you can sign up for it on the right side or the bottom of this post)

All the photos above are from Bontxai_bonsai delicatessen on Facebook 

The Little Book of Bonsai

Yesterday we received a new book many of you have been waiting for.
It's The Little Book of Bonsai and though it is geared to beginners, it's different than any beginner's bonsai book we've seen

The biggest difference is the overall quality, especially when you consider the price (14.99 and hardcover no less). The clarity of the writing, the quality of the bonsai pictured (both the trees and the photos), the easy to follow instructions, and the overall quality of the production all come together to create a book any beginning enthusiast, or really any enthusiast should have in their bonsai library. Try it for yourself and you'll see
Continued below...

This photo is a good example of the quality
of the trees and the photography you'll find in
The Little Book of Bonsai

Here's what Michael Hagedorn (author of Post-Dated: The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk) and foremost American bonsai artist and teacher wrote..."We have waited a long time for a concise introductory bonsai book written by an expert, and we finally have it. Dupuich's book has the earmark of a classic"

And here's what Bill Valavanis famous bonsai artist, publisher, creator of the U.S. National Bonsai Expositions and third inductee into the American Bonsai Hall of Fame wrote... "This well written and beautifully illustrated book covers bonsai care along with authoritative information for creating you own bonsai. Highly recommended for beginners"

High Quality Trees and High Quality Photos 
enhance the book throughout
Many, if not most of the bonsai in the book belong to Jonas

If you have progressed beyond the beginner's stage on you bonsai journey. you can still be inspired by the bonsai Jonas uses as examples. They are, in almost all cases, superior to most of the trees you see in other beginners and even intermediate bonsai books

Hardcover, 6 1/4" x 7 3/4" 106 full color pages with clear, easy to follow illustrations and photos.

Price Only 14.99

ORDER YOURS NOW FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPMENT 

Several things stand out about this transformation by Noaki Maeoka, but perhaps the most impressive is how unhealthy this tree looked when the process started and how radiantly healthy is it now

There's a lot more that you might find compelling about this transformation; like the play of the boa constrictor like living vein with the deadwood, and the finely worked deadwood at the apex. And even though I know from comments over the years, that some of you don't care much for the sculpted deadwood look, I find that it adds a daring touch that makes this tree distinctive and even memorable (if you see it again in a couple years, you'll probably remember it)

By the way, these are all the photos Noaki posted,... what he started with and what he ended with eighteen years later

Before. It's hard to tell how much of the discoloration of the foliage is poor health and how much is winter color, but it doesn't look too good to me. FYI, if your eye is untrained, by the time you notice unhealthy foliage on a conifer, especially if it is widespread, it may be too late to save the tree. 
This brings up the advantage of most deciduous and other broadleaf trees that show stress early with wilted leaves. If you're paying attention you can catch wilting early and water before the damage is serious (sometimes there's more to it, but often it's as simple as this)

After. A picture of radiant health 

Cropped for a closer look at the living vein and deadwood

If you'd like to see more of Noaki Maeoka's bonsai, here's your link to him on Facebook

Delicate beauty of a Red maple forest. Photo by Stephen Voss

Stephen Voss seldom shoots the whole bonsai and though I can’t speak for him, it seems as if he searches for the the heart of the tree in details. The photos shown here were shot by Stephen at the U.S. National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. You can enjoy more of Stephen's brilliant photos in his book, In Training

The title of this post is from a quote by Ryan Neil. The whole quote is below 

Portrait of a Trident maple

“There’s an intimacy to bonsai that is largely invisible. It exists in those sacred moments between artist and tree in partnership; an understanding of what is and can be as it unfolds over seasons and years.

Stephen’s photographs shed a quiet, respectful light on these wonderful moments. I feel fortunate to see such beauty being put into the world with the careful intention these trees deserve. ”
– Ryan Neil, Bonsai Mirai

 Shimpaku

 Azalea 

Crabapple

The famous 'Hiroshima' Japanese white pine 

 In Training by Stephen Voss
Now on Special at Stone Lantern

You can bet that this Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) was fertilized with a master’s touch. Speaking of, this photo is from our Masters’ Series Pine Book

Time to fertilize is coming. For those of you who live in warm climates, it's already here or coming soon. At least for your younger trees where rapid growth is desirable. With older trees that are already well established, it's best to wait a while

Our friend Michael Hagedorn put it this way on his Crataegus Bonsai blog...  
“For fertilizing bonsai, we can make this one basic distinction: Begin fertilizing a young, unrefined tree when it begins growing early in the spring. Wait a bit with an older, refined tree—usually begin fertilizing when it’s just hardening off it’s spring growth…
Quiz: If we were to fertilize everything the same, strongly, starting early in the year, what would happen?
The young trees would stay forever young
The old, developed trees would become young again.” 

So what do Japanese black pines have to do with fertilizing, other than like all bonsai, they need timely feeding? Not much really, but nevertheless I decided to expand this post beyond fertilizing to include needle reduction on Japanese black pines. Mostly because I needed some good images to go with the fertilizing text. Coincidentally, Michael Hagedorn also references cutting candles (a key part of needle reduction) on Black pines in his post about fertilizing

There’s plenty to say and show about needle reduction on Japanese black pines and these illustrations provide only part of the picture. For the whole picture, check out our Masters Series Pine book (all the images in this post, including this one, are from this book)

A bird's eye view of a limb on a Black pine right after completing needle reduction

 
Usually, when we think of Japanese black pines, we think of larger bonsai. However, with good needle reduction, smaller Black pines can work too, as attested to by this photo and the one at the top of the post. Both are from our Masters’ Series Pine book

For more of Michael Hagedorn's bonsai insights
here's your link to his blog/website

Our Masters Series Pine Book 

Winter
Luis Vallejo calls this tree a Spanish oak (Quercus faginea) though Wikipedia and some others refer to it as Portuguese oak (other names that popped up are Valencian oak and Lusitanian oak).  It belongs to Luis and resides at his Municipal Bonsai Museum of Alcobendas in Spain

We've got another Oak for you today. The last one was a live oak and this one is deciduous (Quercus faginea) shown over three seasons. It has several common names but we'll stick with Luis Vallejo's Spanish oak

Most oak bonsai we've seen in the States are live oaks. Their leaves tend to be smaller than deciduous oaks and therefore more suitable for bonsai. However, as we explore we're discovering that there are deciduous oaks with small leaves that are being used for bonsai. Particularly in Europe

The photos are from Luis Vallejo's Museo de Bonsai Alcobendas (Alcobendas is a suburb of Madrid). We've featured numerous trees from Luis'  Bonsai Museum over the years and will no doubt feature more over the coming years (scroll down for a link to Luis' remarkable bonsai collection)

Spring/Summer

Fall

Cropped for a closer look at the trunk. I'm not sure what the white on the bark is

Winter with companion. Before the snow 

 Quercus faginea growing in a field in Spain 
Wikipedia calls it a Portuguese oak rather than Spanish oak

Here's your link to Luis Vallejo's website

This superb tree came unidentified and I'm not sure who the artist/owner is. The leaves look like Live oak leaves and the bark is corky, so you might imagine it's a Quercus suber (a European oak that's the source of cork for wine bottles). By the way, you might notice just how small the pot is in relation to the tree (more on this below). The photo was posted by Eric Batllori Gomez. His caption reads Jean-Paul Polmans (it got complicated when I started following leads, so we'll leave the rest up to you).

Just two trees today. Both are live oaks that are native to the Mediterranean area, and each is quite impressive with a surplus of character and age.   

A little grainy but otherwise a decent look at the base of the trunk and the pot. A pot this small in relation to the size of the tree is usually just for shows or photos. As soon as it has served its purpose, the tree goes back into a larger pot that's more suitable for growing

A closer look at the magnificent trunk and bark

When you get this close, it's clear to see that the leaves are of they type you would expect on an live oak (live = evergreen)

Raffaele Perilli's Holm oak with Green T Turntable and tools

A closer look at the tree above. The heavy trunk and gnarled bark create an impression of great age and the two sabamiki (holes) add to this impression.