This Hornbeam by Mariusz Komsta has appeared on Bonsai Bark in a number of incarnations. Though it does appear even more ramified in later photos (see below), still, this particular stage in its development is a good example of ramification while maintaining an overall sense of proportion. In the photo below, the branching almost overwhelms the trunk, while in this photo, it serves as a perfect counterpoint that emphasizes the trunk's power. Nice choice of pots too.

We're trying to catch up from taking a few days off, so we'll take the easy way out and visit our archives

This post is drawn from three earlier posts. Some of the content is from a post that appeared way back in May of 2010, titled Developing Ramification on Deciduous Bonsai. The exceptions are the photos at the top and bottom of Mariusz Komsta’s magnificent, now famous Hornbeam, both of which also appeared in earlier Bark posts
Continued below...

Continued from above...
Ramification literally means branching or branch development. However, when it comes to the art of bonsai (and especially deciduous bonsai) it has come to mean branch development that displays a couple key features: taper and fine branching. These features are critical when it comes to developing quality deciduous bonsai.

Deciduous trees develop rapidly but they also lose their shape rapidly. In other words, with the application of some precise pruning and pinching, you can create excellent fine branching on deciduous trees in just a few years. But it’s an on going process that requires continued trimming and pinching to maintain.

Pinching back. Notice that is it says the pinching back is done “from the end of March to the end of April.” This may vary, depends upon your climate (the original article is from somewhere around Tokyo, Japan; which is about the same latitude as Charlotte, NC). Here in northern Vermont it’s more like mid May until mid June.

Talk about ramification! Here’s a latter version of Mariusz’s famous Hornbeam. Though I am only guessing, it seems to me that Mariusz is using this tree as an experiment in ramification. 

Here's a link to the original by Mariusz Komsta

 The illustrations above are from Bonsai Today magazine.
Though Bonsai Today is no longer published, we still have
a large selection of back issues on our website. All issues
feature valuable how-to articles with ample illustrations and photos. 
But don't wait, when they are gone, that's it!

This may be the most conventional of the bonsai shown in this post, though I don't think most people would pair it with the word 'conventional.' More like unique or at least unusual, or maybe just excellent (both the tree and its striking pot). It looks like a pine as do all the trees shown here, but no variety is given. All we have is the name of our source, Anh dep bonsai, and these remarkable photos

Before we go on, I suppose it would be remiss not to mention Bunjin. Or maybe Literati would be better in this case (or maybe they're just two words for the same thing?). Here's a link to a post on Bunjin. And here's one about Literati

More unique? Can you even say that? 

This is the one that first caught my eye. When it popped into view the thought that came to mind was... 'aha eccentric bonsai, we have a theme!' Though I suspect eccentric is a poetic usage when applied to things rather than people (except for the more scientific definition which roughly means 'off center')

Here's a link for more of these wonderful trees

Fall. This lovely photo looks like a painting. We can't tell what type tree it is, but we're sure it's not a pine (for some very confusing information on the variety and the source for this tree, see below)

Not too long ago I commented on how machine translations are getting much better lately. Well, you can scratch that when it comes to languages that don't use our alphabet. Like Korean for example (see below)

Even without anything readable to go on, We know the tree shown here is deciduous. Beyond that not much, except that I like it, even though I'm a little frustrated with the translation. But no complaints, it wasn't that long ago that we would never see photos from Korea without leaving the comfort of our home

Summer

Google translation for the varietyThe only thing that makes sense
is that it doesn't make sense (you get what you pay for)

Winter 

Our source. Here's your link so you can see for yourself

Winter closeup

From the other side and with companion

It's Not Too Late - Same Day Shipping

orders that arrive by 1:00pm EST are shipped the same day

All Bonsai & Garden Hand Tools* 
Marked Down

Several Hundred Other Items 
Including Wire, Pots, Embroidered Clothing 
and Much More Are Also Marked Down

FREE Ground Shipping Continental U.S. Orders 35.00+ 

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, 
Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa
(sorry if I missed yours)
May you enjoy a prosperous healthy New Year 
with good friends & family

Just in case you haven't heard, our new Green T Mini Shohin Bonsai Work Stands are still going strong. Their sizes are small, but their potential to improve the way you work on your little trees... and the results, are large indeed

The secret is the 3Axis technology with its tilting system that rotates on a sphere. For stability it comes with a mechanical lock and straps to secure your bonsai. This allows you to change the inclination of your small trees in ways you may have only dreamed of

The S Model has a firm suction base to attach to a table or other similar flat horizontal surface and the V Model attaches with a C-clamp

For specs, other useful info and prices, here are your links to our website; Green T Mini S model and Green T Mini V model.

A Shohin Shimpaku resting on a Green T Mini V model Shohin bonsai work stand 

Green T mini and the ancient art of sword trimming. Looks easy, but your sword better be sharp!

S Model with Shohin pine 

Tilt!

Hall of Fame bonsai artist, teacher, author, publisher, organizer, entrepreneur and everything in between and beyond, Bill Valavanis with his V model Mini Green T

This Green T Mini Work Stand S Model is a work of art on its own...

..as is the V model

From horizontal to vertical and everything in between

V model on the left and S model on the right.

 

The contemporary art of trimming small bonsai on a beautiful Mini Shohin Work Stand (V model)

Larches in training by Francois Jeker

Though larch (Larix) bonsai are not entirely uncommon, you don't see as many as certain other northern conifers. I'm not sure why, they are easy to grow (especially if you live in a cold climate), not that difficult to style and are naturally attractive trees.

If you start with decent stock and you have some grasp of design and technique, you can end up with the kind of results you see above and on other posts here on Bonsai Bark
Continued below...

 
Coming in September  - Time to start making your plans

Continued from above...
Which brings us to my Larches and the upcoming 7th U.S. National Bonsai Exposition in Rochester NY (September 2020). I'll be bringing quite a few American larch (aka Tamarack, Larix laricina) and most will be more advanced than the small sampling we presented in 2018. Anyway, it's not too early to put North America's most important bonsai event on your calendar and start making plans

This towering Tamarack is too tall for Sutin's photo, so the top and a tiny piece of the bottom of the pot are missing. It belongs to Suthin Sukosolvisit and is from a post we did back in 2016. Tamarack is a local name for the American larch (Larix laricina). Suthin identifies it only as 'larch,' a genus of trees that numbers about twelve species; so Tamarack is a guess based on geography

Inspiration for your bonsai. Here's something from a post we did back in April, 2010.
The photo originally came from Bonsaimania.

If you think you've seen the trees in this post, it may be because we featured them back in 2016. We haven't borrowed much from our archives lately, but it's the home stretch of the holiday frenzy and there's much to do, so we've made an exception for today

It's Not Too Late - Same Day Shipping

orders that arrive by 1:00pm EST are shipped the same day

All Bonsai & Garden Hand Tools* 
Marked Down

Several Hundred Other Items 
Including Wire, Pots, Embroidered Clothing 
and Much More Are Also Marked Down

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, 
Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa
(sorry if I missed yours)
May you enjoy a prosperous healthy New Year 
with good friends & family

Luis Vallejo calls this Yama momji Japanese maple. Yama is mountain and momiji is Japanese maple (Acer palmatum). In English, you'll sometimes hear this variety referred to as Mountain maple, which is the original, naturally occurring Japanese maple. Because of the differences in the leaves, I'm guessing that this was originally several different trees that were planted very close together, rather than a clump planting

All the photos shown here are from Luis Vallejo's Jardin de Bonsai. With the exception of the tree above, they're all pieces of bonsai rather than the whole tree. You might call them art shots 

There's Still Time to Order

Persimmons. We've featured several Persimmon bonsai lately. Now we've got one more in full fruit, though this time just the top half of the tree

This one could only be a Stewartis 

Olive anyone?

Pomegranate? 

We'll leave this as simply Pine

 Luis Vallejo's bonsai are regulars here on Bark. If you've like to see more, here's a link to his timeline

In spite of our Bare Bonsai title (Bill Valavanis wrote 'Naked Bonsai') the tree in this rather unique display has leaves. It and the other photos shown here are courtesy of Bill and are from the recently completed Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo in Kannapolis, North Carolina

Here's a quote that I borrowed from Bill Valavanis, about the recent 2019 7th Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo...
"This premier event featuring naked bonsai in all their glory is sponsored by Steve Zeisel only to promote bonsai. He is an advance hobbyist who truly wants to share the love he has for bonsai with others. The unique venue is the perfect location to showcase beautiful bonsai and to allow artists the freedom to express their bonsai and show creative bonsai displays."

There are so many good ones, but there's no way I can show them all here, so I just picked a few, almost randomly (the emphasis is on 'almost'). I hope I didn't miss your favorite. Or worse, your entry
Continued below...

Looks like a Persimmon

Continued from above...
Judging results from the 2019 Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo as judged by William N. Valavanis:
"Best Evergreen Bonsai - Adair Marin
Best Deciduous Bonsai - Stu Charlesworth
Best Fruiting Bonsai - Mac McAtee
Best Bonsai Display - Gary Clark
Best Tropical Bonsai - Rob Kempinski
Best Native Bonsai awarded by the American Bonsai Society:
American Beech - Julian Adams"

The individual trees aren't labeled, nor are their labels for which tree belongs to whom, so your guesses are as good as mine.

 
I like this one a lot. The tree is a good one and then there's the way the little orange companion reflects the orange scroll.

I would give this one the 'strongest tree in show' award. If such a thing existed. 

Looks like the stand was built for a cascading bonsai. By the way, that's a long way from the base to the tip of the cascade. No mean feat.

A seasonally correct companion planting. Nice pot too.

Nice Penjing style planting.

This one speaks for itself.

I have a soft spot for a good Hinoki cypress... assuming this is a Hinoki. 

A shot of part of the venue from above.

 The illustrious Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) won the Prime Minister Award at the 45th Sakufu-ten Exhibition which is being held at the Ueno Green Club. It belongs to Mr. Taiga Urushibata. The pot is Shozan. I cropped the original for a closer look. It's below

Not much today, just some of the most exquisite bonsai you'll see anywhere (if I exaggerate, it's only by a little). They're from the 45th Sakufu-ten Exhibition, which is being held at the Ueno Green Club in Tokyo.  I found them on Boon's timeline. He found them on Makiko Koba's timeline (if you pay attention to Boon, good things will come to you)

 See what I mean when I say 'some of the most exquisite bonsai you'll see anywhere'? No info is provided but this one is clearly a Juniper that looks a lot like a Shimpaku. Though there are other very similar varieties of juniper that are sometimes hard to distinguish from Shimpaku (Itoigawa and Kishu come to mind; same genus, same species, but different varieties)

Again no variety given, but the flower and the leaves bring a type of Azalea to mind

Does this little guy list to the right? Or is it just me?

This can only be a Chojubai flowering quince

One of the better Shohin displays you'll see. We'll leave the guessing to you

The original photo 

 If you'd like more, here's your link to Makiko Koba's timeline
And here's your link to Boon's (remember, good things happen if you pay attention to Boon)

One of the daring Japanese cliff climbers who risk their lives going after some of natures best and most inaccessible bonsai

There's a long, fascinating story that comes with this tree. Unfortunately, the machine translation from the Chinese is quite sketchy so you have to be patient and a bit of a detective if you want to get to the bottom of it all. Fortunately, there are 35 photos to help us along 

My time is limited, so this is just a quick overview. If you really want to dig in, and there's plenty to dig into, I suggest you visit our source. His name is Zhao Dun. You can find him and this story on his Facebook timeline. BTW, the tree and story are from Japan, but the text in our source is Chinese. 

BTW, The tree is a Juniper and though it looks like a Shimpaku, I couldn't find any reference to the species or variety

Before and after (the before shot is from 1988, the tree was collected in 1984). I think this gentleman might be the tree's first caretaker. His name, according to the machine translation is Mr Iraq, but I wouldn't take it to the bank

1992. If you follow the entire progression, it looks like the tree may have stayed in the same pot from beginning to end

2005. The great bonsai Master Saburo Kato was the next caretaker of this magnificent tree. I believe it stayed with Mr Kato for several years, perhaps until he died in 2008

2012. Several places in the story the tree is called the Fairy Tree (everything is suspect with the machine translation) and then at the end it is called the Dragon Tree. A more fitting name

The Magician, Bonsai Master Masahiko Kimura, (with his back to us) took over sometime in 2012 or shortly thereafter (no exact date is mentioned)

A better shot of Mr Kimura (aka Mr Wood, see below)

Here's the machine translation for this shot... "After the work of Mr. Wood, 5 big men from the green garden brought the tree into the garden." By the way, one meaning of Kimura is 'tree wood.' 
So we've got the machine's accidental little joke and to add to the fun, we've got the perfect name for a man who excels in growing, shaping and carving wood

Finally! No date is given. However, we do have dimensions 100cm tall x 140cm across (39" x  55"). It seem larger than that based on the photos. But then If you add about 14" for the pot, then its stands at about 49" tall. That's a big tree. 

This unusual rock planting is the handiwork of Michael Hagedorn. The tree is a Western hemlock

We can't stay away from Michael Hagedorn's artistry for long. Not only is Michael one of North America's most accomplished bonsai artists and teachers, but he's a wonderful writer with one thoroughly enjoyable book under his belt and another on the way (see below) .

This time I thought I'd treat you to a few of Michael's potless bonsai. We're busy with the season, so I won't say more. If you'd like to see more of Michael's potless bonsai and how they're done, you can visit him on his Crataegus Bonsai blog/website

Michael's famous very large Mountain hemlock clump 

Now you know just how large very large is

Rocky mountain juniper

Ezo spruce clump

Vine maple

No, this photo does not need to be rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise. The tree is a hybrid, with Itoigawa juniper foliage grafted onto a Rocky mountain juniper 

 Michael's Post-Dated 
still the best bonsai read

 Anticipating Bonsai Heresy

“The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting”
Andy Warhol

 Coming in the Spring of 2020

"Finally, a bonsai book that corrects the record once and for all!
Not only does Michael dispel long-held bonsai myths, but he wonderfully weaves personal, often self-deprecating anecdotes
into the mix. Well written, deeply researched, and perfectly timed,
Bonsai Heresy is a must-read for every bonsai enthusiast."
—Bjorn Bjorholm, bonsai artist and educator