When you look at this Hawthorn by Brian Van Fleet, it's easy to imagine you're looking at a full sized tree

John Naka was a great Japanese American bonsai artist, teacher, author and font of bonsai wisdom. Like Mark Twain, another American font of wisdom, Mr Naka's words are often quoted (and no doubt misquoted ).

One of Sensei Naka's most famous quotes is "Make your bonsai look like a tree." Good advice, though there are always going to be bonsai that may only suggest a tree, but don't exactly look like one.

This 'suggestion' of a tree is especially true with some carved, highly sculpted Junipers (see below), where it seems that no real attempt is made to make them look like trees.
Continued below...

This Japanese maple reminds me a lot of some of the massive old Sugar maples you see here in Vermont. It belongs to Walter Pall.

 Continued from above...
I'm not sure if Sensei Naka would agree with this, but if bonsai is an art, as many of us claim, then innovations like intensive carving and sculpting and other deviations from some closely held norms are to be expected. Perhaps even deviations from some of the norms set down by a brilliant teacher like John Naka.

Deciduous bonsai are different from many other trees. Good ones often look uncannily like trees in nature. Especially when the trees in nature are grand old oaks or maples or other similar types that stand majestically alone on an open hillside or meadow

In these cases it looks as though the hand of man has played little or almost no part (this is often far from the truth), and it's true that you seldom see highly sculpted deciduous bonsai. They almost always look best when they mirror full sized trees

In marked contrast with the bonsai above, this before and after Shimpaku juniper might suggest a tree in nature, though I think you'd be very surprised to see a wild tree that looks like this, even on a collecting trip at high altitude. The artist is Naoki Maeoka. By the way, please don't think I'm criticizing this tree, I like it and admire Mr Maeoka's skill.

If you'd like so see more from the three artists whose trees are shown here, we've got these links for you:
Naoki Maeoka, Walter Pall and Brian Van Fleet

John Naka's Famous Sketchbook

If you're on our blog, your on our website
see the menu above

If you like fat, well-tapered trunks with good nebari, you can do a lot worse than a Trident maple. This photo and the others shown here belong to Cristian de Ross

Just in case you missed it last time I said it... I always get a little buzz of excitement when we discover a new (to me) bonsai artist that I like. Today our new artist is Cristian de Ross who lives and practices bonsai in Caxias do Sul, Brasil. Enjoy! 

Here's Cristian's machine traslated caption for this one... "Small display, back to practice compositions. Itoigawa in rock renato and ribas vase Vase Vase @Sergioonodera. Caliandra in vase. Tables@Pepebonsaidisplay. Cleber display"

I cropped the photo above for a close up of this Itoigawa juniper on rock

The caption with this one says simply... "Buxus in another stage" Buxus is Latin for Boxwood

Here's where I got the Trident at the top of the post. And here's Cristian's machine translated caption ... "Acer vase @sergioonodera buxus vasinho japa gift from friend egbert and elaeagnus Japanese Vase with painting representing the wedding of the fox of Japanese folklore.#shohinbonsai #minibonsai #bonsai #shohin #tree #autumn #outonoinverno2019" 

Artist and unidentified bonsai... "Plant Crafted for @lucasg.menegazzo at @bonsaicabofriorj in the workshop organized by @bonsairegiaodoslagos. Thank you guys!"

To enjoy more of Cristian de Ross' bonsai, you can visit him on Facebook

BLACK FRIDAY JUST STARTED!

 98% of Our Items* Are Now Marked Down

The upper left image is the 'before' shot and the other four images present four different pots to choose from. Here's Boon's caption... "Blue Atlas cedar. Started by Jim Gremel. Refining and choosing new pot. Which one?"

We've got another of Boon's popular Which Pot Would You Choose? posts. And as a bonus, it's also a Before & After post (the before photo the 4 pot choices are below )

If you would like to present your which pot? choices in the comments, please visit us on Facebook

Before. iIf you want to choose this pot, we'll call it #5 

 Pot #1

 Pot #2

 Pot #3

Pot #4 

 BLACK FRIDAY STARTS TODAY!

 98% of Our Items* Are Now Marked Down

Some Items Marked Down 50% or More

Free Shipping Continental U.S. orders 25.00 or more

If you're on our blog, you're on our website 
see the menu above

*8 of our 600+ items cannot be marked down

This strikingly unique Shimpaku juniper is our inspiration for the 'tortured' in the title of this post  (this alludes to comments we hear sometimes - see below). I like the contrast with the cinnamon colored live veins and white deadwood. It looks like lime sulfur was just applied to the deadwood, thus the bright white. Over time, it will fade to a more natural and aged looking whitish grey

Back in the day (I think it was a Wednesday... sorry, bad joke) we used to hear references to bonsai being a form of torture. Mostly people were kidding, but you couldn't always be sure, and looking at some bonsai like the Shimpaku above, you might understand where this idea came from. Though if you know bonsai or anything about plants, you can see that the tree is perfectly heathy, even robust.

All the photos shown here were originally taken at Fujikawa Kouka-en Bonsai Garden in Japan. Home of some of the best bonsai (and bonsai apprentices) anywhere

 Close up of the 'tortured' limbs. I'm not sure if it's possible to follow the live veins' circuitous paths. As least in this photo

A powerful old Shishigashira Japanese maple. Can you tell if the red leaves are spring or fall color?

 Impressive nebari

Trident maple root-over-rock. I first saw Trident maples growing on rocks at Roy Nagatoshi's Fuji Bonsai nursery in Southern California. I think it was 1986. Because I'd never seen root-over-rock Tridents anywhere else, I assumed they were distinctive to Fuji nursery. Later I discovered the truth; like so many great bonsai ideas and practices, this style originated in Japan

Closeup. There's something about the way Tridents grip the rock. Overtime you'll see less and less rock as the roots spread and thicken (well, they started as roots... they're actually part of the trunk now)

A small piece of Fujikawa Kouka-en 

Luminous multi colored leaves crown this powerful Trident maple. (I know I said we were through with fall color for this year, but I couldn't resist this and the others shown here)

We can't go too long without circling back to Suthin. He's one of our favorites, and in that sentiment we know we're not alone

Today it's six Trident maples with massive trunks. Tridents grow like weeds down south (not so fast up here in Vermont) so you can sometimes find ones with heavy trunks that won't break the bank. I don't have any sources right now, but google might help if you'd like to give one a try

Here's your link to Suthin's timeline 

Here's the caption that came with the photos shown here...  "Visit to Hartmut Muenchenbach - Jennifer Price, Thomas Haering and WP (Walter Pall) visited Hartmut Muenchenbach - the legend. He lives in the very south of Germany in sight of the border to Austria."

Last year we featured a visit by Walter Pall and Jennifer Price to Hartmut Muenchenbach's bonsai garden. Recently Walter and Jennifer paid another visit. Most of the photos shown here are from this visit, though we threw in a couple from last year

Speaking of envy, it's best not to indulge. It only causes discontent. Still small flashes can arise and catch us unaware when we encounter something as beautiful as Hartmut's garden. No problem though, we'll take it as inspiration

Jennifer Price with camera

Hartmut, the legend 

All the photos shown here are from Walter Pall's timeline

One of Bill Valavanis' gorgeous maples

I know we've probably overplayed our fall color fixation this year, and I can't promise for sure, but this one may be the last for a while

Where's Bill? Another installment in the famous Where's Bill series on his timeline  

Same maple, different place

All four photos shown here are from Bill Valanis' timeline 

This rock-juniper planting is reminiscent of some Penjing plantings we've featured over the years. Even the concrete tray with its look of marble fits the type (see below) 

We usually experience some excitement when we discover a new artist and this time is no exception. In this case it's Stan Cox of Bonsai Dreamscapes. I like the lack of artifice in Stan's plantings. Like someone playing around and having fun with rock/plant combinations. I know that Stan is a professional and there's more to it than that, but what is communicated has that enjoyable and inviting quality that might make you want to give it try. A successful outcome for sure

Stan's name for this desert stone-scape is El Dorado. Don't quote me, but I think the trees are boxwood

 This one is called Benevolence. The trees look like dwarf Alberta spruce

Karst. The plants look like Dwarf Japanese garden junipers (Juniperus procumbens 'nana'), as do the trees in the planting at the top of this post

Secret Falls. More of the same type junipers

Stan makes his own concrete made-to-look-like-marble trays. This might be the one under the planting at the top of this post

 By the way, Stan's plantings are for sale. Here's your Dreamscapes link

 Before during and after Shimpaku juniper by Koji Hiramatsu

A great thing about Juniper bonsai is their abundance. Numerous species grow throughout the Northern Hemisphere, many of which are available at nurseries, garden centers, and of course at bonsai shops and nurseries

Of all the junipers, the Shimpaku with its beautiful dense foliage is the most prized. The only downside is they grow so slowly. However, you can speed up the process by grafting Shimpaku onto hardier juniper stock, like San Jose juniper, California juniper, Prostrata juniper or other thick trunked stock*

Before. Based on what you can see through the holes, it looks like there's a lot of action underneath the thick foliage canopy

Trimming the foliage back and discovering a trunk like this just might make your day

After. The flow of the crown to left balances the flow of the deadwood to the right, and the radical reduction in the foliage accentuates the power of the trunk 

. A closer look. A guy wire is an easy way to pull a branch down. If you use a Tie Pot, the knobs make it easier still (just below)

You can visit Koji Hiramatsu on Facebook

Tie Pots Are Available at Stone Lantern 

*Here's a link to a Bonsai Bark post on grafting Shimpaku onto California juniper

Before and after Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora) by Naoki Maeoka. 

Continuing with our Literati/ Bunjin theme. Due to its long somewhat narrow trunk with no low branching, many people might call this pine bunjin. The only thing that might give pause is the relatively heavy, robust crown. Most bunjin reflect hostile growing conditions and sport only sparse foliage

In a broader sense, some people see bunjin as the most perfect expression of bonsai. Completely natural and simple, even humble. And of course, helped along with skilled human hands and eyes. So I think this one qualifies and even if it doesn't, well... maybe it does anyway

We'll continue this discussion on bunjin in our newsletter with a quote by John Naka (if you're not subscribed to our newsletter, just scroll down)

Before. The original photo

The original after photo. The trunk's strong base, irregular and understated flowing lines work to perfection. And the highly evolved refinement, give it away as Japanese rather than Penjing.