I'm not so sure about the apex or the way it's so crowded in this photo, but I like the tree anyway. Especially that gnarly old trunk. It's a Chi Chi, a small leaf Ginkgo cultivar. As you can see, it's from Lakeshore Bonsai (Toronto area). Here's Lakeshore's caption: "Ginkgo biloba ‘chi-chi’, 7 years in development from imported raw material. Probably started as an air layer in Japan."

Finally home last night from vacation. Now to attack and vanquish two weeks worth of accumulated loose ends. Meanwhile, to save a little time, we’re resurrecting a post we did back in June 2016. We’ve added one tree that was recently sent to us (see just below)

I borrowed the following from an ofBonsai article by Heather Hartman:
“It is best to style Gingko based on their natural inclinations toward a column, or flame shape. Ginkgo can resent pruning, and as a result, many ginkgo bonsai have a similar look, due to how they show their dislike. Pruned branches are prone to dieback, either shortly after being pruned or the following winter. This can result in a heavy trunk with relatively few, upward facing branches. Twigs will grow in clusters from the branches. As the growth and replacement of branches is repeated over the years, it can result in interesting, gnarled areas on the trunk. Fortunately, not all shoots will dieback, but predicting which ones will and which ones won’t is nearly impossible.”

Here's a good one in full fall yellow from this season (2018). It belongs to Roger Case

This one belongs to Dan Barton. I found the photo on ofBonsai Magazine. It and the photo just below are part of a Ginkgo article by Heather Hartman (a good read, especially if you like Ginkgo - see above for an excerpt).

Same tree as just above, different time of year and no moss covering the roots.

This eccentric Ginkgo with its rough bark, great taper and impressive hole (sabamiki) was sent to us by Calin from Italy. Would you remove the middle trunk?

I cropped the photo at the top of the post for a closer look at the trunk

A Sierra juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) sculpted by wind and snow. It lives near Granite Lake at 8,500 feet in the Emmigrant Wilderness (near Yosemite in California's Sierra Nevada mountains). This photo and the next two are borrowed from Bonsai Society San Francisco. Thanks to Terry Davis of Mullet Wrapper fame for the suggestion

Tomorrow and Sunday are travel days, so today is our last full day of vacation. To save time I decided to resurrect this post from April of this year. It relates to what we’ve been up the last five days (Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce and environs), though we didn’t see any trees quite as dramatic as the one above. Nor did I get any photos anywhere near as striking (my photos skills leave a lot to be desired, especially with my cell phone).

There are more reasons why this post is appropriate. Though these photos are from the California’s Sierras, many of the trees are the same types you find in northern Arizona and southern Utah, and we are now in SF visiting family (see above and below for this connection)

The following quote which refers to the tree in the first three photos, is from Bonsai Society San Francisco… “The tree is about 7 feet tall and has the shape of a bonsai after many years…”

I cropped the original for this closer view

Continued from above…
“This tree shows that under harsh conditions we see that the lifeline on the top of the tree or on the windward side is frequently killed while the lifeline that is more protected is the portion that soldiers on, gaining protection from some of the environmental harshness from the deadwood sections. Where the wind and snow conditions are particularly harsh the successive killing of portions of the lifelines can cause the live sections of some branches and trunks to seem to melt over the dead sections that they neighbor.”
Quoted from Bonsai Society San Francisco

"Detail of deadwood on the top of the windward side of the tree. The different sections appear to melt together."

The most famous Sierra juniper (or is it a Sierra juniper?, see below) is called the Bennett Juniper. You can visit it in the Stanislaus National Forest of California. It's considered the oldest and largest Sierra juniper (or Juniper period?) at possibly 3000 years old, with a height of 26 meters (85 feet) and a diameter of 3.88 meters (almost 13 feet).[2]

For a long time the Bennett juniper was considered to be a Sierra juniper (J occidentalis), but according to Wikipedia, it was recently reclassified as different species (Juniperus grandis).*

Cropped for a closer look at the trunk

A little perspective

*From Wikipedia… “Originally the Bennett was considered to be a Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis – Western juniper is another common name for Sierra juniper). Over time the differences between the northern and southern populations of western junipers justified dividing them into two subspecies and the Bennett is in the southern population which was named Juniperus occidentalis australis. A field guide published by UC Press in 2001 gives the common name Mountain Juniper for the australis population.^[3] DNA studies (2006) by Adams^[4] resulted in the southern population being raised to species status and it was given the common name “Grand juniper” (Juniperus grandis). This name and status is recognized in the USDA Plant Database.^[5]“

In this part of the world (Grand Canyon, Zion & Brice National Parks and surroundings) it's not unusual to see trees like this growing out of rocks. Somewhere there has to be some soil or duff, but often you can't see it. The magnificent old tree is a pine (see below) and the dramatic backdrop is the Grand Canyon. The photo was borrowed from Bonsai Mania

The photos shown here are from a post we did back December 2010, a while after my last trip to the Grand Canyon. It was the South Rim then. Now it’s the North Rim as well as Zion and Bryce National Parks. We’ve got some hopefully decent cell phone photos, but probably won’t have time to sort through them all until we get home. Meanwhile, here are some from a post we did back in December, 2010. The text is being written now. Quickly, so we can get back outside!

This blurry blowup confirms my notion the the tree is a pine, perhaps even a Bristlecone. To be sure, I got my trusty National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America out, and sure enough, the Intermountain Bristlecone (Pinus longaeva) has a spot on the map that falls right on the Grand Canyon (this was written in 2010. What follows is from today). The pines we see most around here are Ponderosa and Pinyon. I haven't noticed any Bristlecone this trip (Note: a day later and just back from Bryce where we did see some Bristlecone pines)

This one looks like a Juniper with the foliage in full winter color. Both Rocky Mountain junipers (J. scopularum) and Utah junipers (J. osteosperma) are found around the Grand Canyon and your guess is as good as mine. The shot was borrowed from Flickr

Brilliant fall color. Sweet tree too. It belongs to Harry Harrington. Here's his caption: "A quick shot of my English or Field Elm bonsai today (Ulmus minor), showing autumn colour. Height 17"/42cm. Developed from an airlayered branch 12 years ago, some of you may recognise from my book Bonsai Inspirations 1. Pot by Victor Harris of Erin Bonsai."

Still on vacation so we’ll dig back into our archives again. This one originally appeared in November, 2016. It’s in keeping with our somewhat current fall color theme. As a bonus, we’ve got a photo of full fall color Aspen from near the rim of the Grand Canyon (taken yesterday on a cellphone)

Got a couple Harry Harrington beauties in fall color for you today. I lifted them from Harry’s facebook feed. Harry also has three excellent bonsai books, two of which you can find at  Stone Lantern

Here's another deciduous tree that was originally Harry Harrington's. It's not as brilliant as his elm (above), but I like it anyway. Especially the nebari (exposed roots). Here's Harry's caption: "Lovely image I've just received of my Small-Leaved Lime/Tilia cordata bonsai, that now lives in Northamptonshire. Height 22"/56cm, I started it as a pencil-thick sapling in 2001 and its progression series can be seen in the book "Bonsai Inspirations 2." Bonsai pot by Victor Harris of Erin Pottery."

BTW: we call Tilia cordata 'Little leaf linden' on this side of the pond

Aspens shot yesterday by Barbara Patitucci with her cell, near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The most prevalent conifers around the North Rim are Ponderosa pine and White fir, so I suspect these are what you see in the background

This photo was taken to emphasis the flowers, rather than the tree. If you were to take a photo of this tree when it's not in flower, you'd take it a from a point a little lower to better show the powerful trunk and nebari. Sometimes photos just seem to appear on my desktop without any reference. This is the case here, so my apologies for failure to attribute this multi-hued Satsuki azalea to its rightful owner

Entering the second week of a two week vacation. Today it’s the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We’re experiencing unusual wet, grey and cool weather (the remnants of hurricane Rosa) in a part of the world where you’d expect 80F and sunny this time of year. Anyway, in order to experience something akin to an actual vacation, we’re going to dig back into our archives. This one originally appeared in Jan, 2016. It’s in keeping with our current color theme, though today it’s mostly spring instead of fall color

Got a strange old pot lying around that just won't work with any of your trees? Here's Michael Hagedorn's solution. We'll call it Narcissus in a bonsai-ish pot.

This colorful tree-pot match is from our 2014 bonsai calendar. There aren't a lot of trees that can handle such a brilliant pot. Judging by the berries and the bark, I'd say it's a Japanese winterberry (Ilex serrata).

While we're on the topic of calendars, this is from our 2019 Japanese Bonsai Calendar. They arrived a couple weeks ago and are, as expected, flying out the door

Finally, some fall color. It's a Trident maple on a Green T Bonsai Turntable. It's an old model Green T. Now they all have the green rim around the edge of platform

In addition to brilliant fall color, this Trident maple has almost everything you'd want in a bonsai; a massive trunk, fluid natural looking nebari, good lines, a well-matched pot and healthy green moss. The artist is German Gomez.

Looks like this photo was shot in mid to late spring. The traces of fresh spring red on some leave are a giveaway.

When I first glimpsed this photo, I though maybe it was a painting. In addition to being a great bonsai, it's a good example of what fall color looks like on a Larch (larch are one of only four deciduous conifers). Also a good example of what larch cones look like. I'll take a not-so-wild guess that it was collected somewhere in Europe. Which would make it a European larch (Larix decidua). The photo is from the National Exhibition in Switzerland (Mostra Nazionale Svizzera 2016).

Still on vacation, so we’ll just show you two trees from a post we did back in October, 2016

The photos are from Nicola Kitora Crivelli’s facebook photos. Nicola is an accomplished bonsai artist and Sensei at his Kitora’s Bonsai School. I’ll assume he took the photos as I seem to remember other quality photos of his cropping up (pun unintended) here and there.

–

Couldn't resist this one. The tree looks like a Japanese maple. And then there's the scary looking vice-device about to devour it.

Close up. You have to admit it does look painterly

Trident maple from the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum, North American Collection in Washington DC. Donated by Brussel Martin

The early days of our blazing fall colors are here.* The full display is a couple weeks away, but there’s ample reds and yellows up the sides of our hills and mountains in Vermont. But even though our leaves are renowned, we’re not the only place with such good fortune. Pretty much everywhere there are distinct seasons have their own jaw dropping displays. All three photos in this post originally appeared here on Bark in October, 2010. 

Fall color in Germany. This one's a beech by Walter Pall

Back to DC. Zelkova serrata from the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum, North American Collection. Donated by Yuji Yoshimura

You can find this brilliant, full fall color Pomegranate (Punica granatum)and a whole host of other powerful bonsai at Bonsai Mirai.

I’m on vacation so we’ll resort to our old tricks. This one originally appeared October of last year. It’s the beginning of fall color time at home, so the time is right

I’ve been meaning to feature Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai since we saw them at the 6th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibiton with their vendor’s display of some of the best trees in the building (including the display area). If you don’t know Bonsai Mirai, you’re in for a treat. And if you’re ever in the Portland Oregon area, you can enjoy a real time visit to what just might be the most impressive yamadori (bonsai collected from the wild) collection in North America.

–

Just three photos of this one magnificent Pomegranate today. It was originally collected in the California Central Valley by Troy Cardoza. Its age is listed as 100-250 years. Its dimensions are; height 30", width 32" The pot is by Sara Rayner. It's listed on Bonsai Mirai as sold (sorry!)

Our last shipment of Tie Pots sold out in two or three days.

Tie Pots have the potential to revolutionize bonsai growing