You can barely see a small piece of the living vein on this juniper. No variety is given, but it looks like a Shimpaku, a variety that Kimura (it's his tree) and much of the world seems to favor.

We've got some of the most powerful and famous Japanese bonsai in the world for you today, including several by Masahiko Kimura, the man whose daring innovations transformed the art of bonsai.

Here's an amazing before and after Shimpaku Juniper by Kimura. No wonder they call him the Magician. The tree's height started at 15" (38cm) and ended up at 28" (71cm).

Well, this one may not qualify as powerful, but it is lovely. It's a Cotoneaster from the 34th Taikan-ten Bonsai Exhibition. No information on the artist or owner is given. We found this and the other photos shown here on a FB account called Bonsai Master.

Japanese black pine 🖤 8th World Bonsai Convention, Japan. The hearts came with text. Not a bad sentiment.

This masterpiece Shimpaku is from Kunia Kobayashi's Shunka-en Bonsai Museum. Its massive flowing deadwood with its single living vein jumps out. As does its strong and compact crown which was no doubt designed to hold its own in contrast with the sheer power of the deadwood.

A Diospyros Kaki Japanese persimmon, also from Kunio Kobayashi’s Shunk-en Bonsai Museum.

The elegant triple trunk Japanese maple with its powerful nebari, great taper and highly developed ramification, is from the 34th Taikan-ten Bonsai Exhibition.

Japanese Yew 💚 8th World bonsai Convention, Japan.

Twisted. Japanese Juniper from the 💚 8th World Bonsai Convention, Japan.

This Shimpaku juniper belongs to Masahiko Kimura, Japan's most famous bonsai artist and innovator. The tree which is called Flying Dragon is also quite famous.

This Shimpaku planting is one of Mr Kimura’s artificial rock masterpieces. And yes, he made the rock too.

Here's a famous Kimura planting that has spawned numerous copycats. The trees are Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa).

One more by Kimura. It's a Japanese white pine, aka Japanese five needle pine, Goyomatsu, Pinus parviflora.

This Rocky Mountain Juniper was designed in class at Todd Schlafer's First Branch Bonsai. Here's Todd's caption: I wasn’t sure exactly how this tree would look when we started designing it, but I knew it was going to be special. I love how this tree turned out with the collaboration and input from students.

We're featuring Todd Schlafer's trees today. Todd is a rising star in our bonsai world and has become something of a regular here since we discovered him three or four years ago. It's not hard to tell why he keeps popping up.

A closer look.

This Rocky mountain juniper was recently worked by a student at Todd's First Branch Bonsai.

Todd likes to shoot closeups which can add a lot to our appreciation of a tree.

Another Rocky mountain juniper. Here's Todd's comment with this one: Rocky Mountain juniper - Recently worked on by Ralph Padilla, then @tommylee and I worked on it during his recent visit.

Detail.

It's not that often that you'll find a tree with with the top half of the trunk deadwood. When you do, and in the right hands, the result can be striking. This one is a Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) that belongs to Ryan Neil (Bonsai Mirai). All the photos in this post are from Ryan's facebook.

One of the things I like about Ryan’s photos are his close-ups (see below). It doesn’t hurt that his trees are phenomenal and so well photographed in the first place. But then to show such vivid close-ups invites you in further. Like you are there in the studio.

Here's Ryan's caption: Sub alpine fir, Abies lasiocarpa collected in the Washington Cascades. The dead top and contorted branches tell of the rugged alpine environment.

Ryan's caption: Colorado Blue Spruce. Picea pungens. Collected from the Rocky Mountains. This tree is nostalgic for me, having grown up in Colorado. Spruce are part of the landscape of my childhood.

A different kind of close-up. Ryan's caption: Bon-sai means "tree in tray" in Japanese. The container is just as vital to a composition as the tree itself. When a tree and container are well-matched, the union is transformative, as with this pot by Austrian ceramicist Horst Heinzlreiter and its Colorado Blue Spruce.

Sun is shining on my bonsai, but I stay in bed a little longer. --Maura Stemberger.

All today's photos are from from Mauro Stemberger's Italian Bonsai Dream. No captions came with the original photos below, so we'll leave it that way.

The view from the studio of Andrew Robson's Rakuyo Bonsai. This is the second time we've features a tour by Michael Hagedorn of a bonsai garden that belongs to a former apprentice of his.

Here's what Michael wrote about the tour: This is the second in a series of posts about the gardens of my former apprentices. This time, Andrew Robson, who was with me from 2016-2019.

Like myself and Bobby Curttright, Andrew has chosen the modest-space professional bonsai garden, much like the Japanese do. The garden of Rakuyo Bonsai is only a mile from my studio near Portland, Oregon.

On the property was a huge red oak, which was cut down for light. The massive trunk became boards for Andrew’s benches. Not often you see benches with live edges.

A Katsura in full glow.

Though his collection ismostly deciduous, Rakuyo does sport some sweet conifers, an Itoigawa in this case.

Bench upon bench of deciduous trees are at Rakuyo, making this quite a show in fall.

An old Winter Hazel in late fall.

Andrew spent some time creating a large tokonoma in the studio,
and there’s always a tree or stone on display in it.

With a collection like this you're going to need security.

I'm a sucker for a tree like this, with its colorful profusion of tiny fruit and its muscular little trunk. It's a Dwarf Kumquat (Kinzu). All today's trees are from the Shohin facebook group where some are credited, and some not. We do our best.

The caption with muscular little tree reads; Black pine on display at the 8th World Bonsai Convention in Saitama Japan.

There's a lot of information in this photo, and perhaps best of all, the genus of the tree (obvously Juniper) and the artist/owner (Koji Hiramatsu a long time favorite of ours) are both mentioned.

Here's a sweet little pine with its perfect mini pot and display stand that's easy to love. Shohin's caption reads; On display at the 8th World Bonsai Convention in Saitama, Japan.

This simple and clean little display is a sheer delight to behold, but the artist and plants will have to remain a mystery.

What a great little tree. You don't see many Ginkgo shohin.

Seeing trees photographed at home on their benches is a different experience than seeing them when they're photographed in a studio setting. Today's photos are of Walter Pall's bonsai garden as posted on Jennifer Price’s timeline. The only text provided is: Discussing trees in Walter Pall's garden today.

That's Walter with the American Bonsai T-shirt. I don't recognize the other gentleman.

This Scot's pine (Pinus sylvestris) is from the cover of Bonsai Today issue 104. It belongs to (or belonged to?) Walter Pall.

Perhaps you're familiar with the term naturalistic bonsai. If not here's a quote by John Naka on the topic: Do not try to make your little tree look like a bonsai, try to make your bonsai look like a little tree.

Walter Pall has thought on the subject oo: I have seen that the trend in styling is toward more and more refinement, which often takes away all the naturalness. I find that too many of these bonsai look like they are made of plastic and are not real.

And of course we have some photos to illustrate the point. If you'd like to further bone up on the topic Walter has an excellent article on his Bonsai Adventures blog.

Another naturalistic tree by Walter that's also from Bonsai Today (issue 106). It's a Norway spruce (Picea abies).

Some of Walter's best trees are Norway spruce and this one is no exception.

This one has Walter Pall’s naturalistic style written all over it. Here are some specs (from Walter’s website): Norway spruce. 75 cm high. Around 150 years old. Pot by Derek Aspinall. From a tree which was collected in Switzerland in 1998.

Here's another superb examples of a naturalistic tree. It's a Ground juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) by Nick Lenz, from Bonsai from the Wild 2nd ed. (Stone Lantern Publishing - now out of print).

Nick "Larch Master" Lenz was responsible for this one too. And yes, you guessed it, it's and American larch (Larix laricina, aka Tamarack).

Moving on to some highly stylized bonsai of the type that Walter Pall might take issue with. Bonsai that, instead of mimicking trees in nature, serve more as abstractions that bring to mind naturally grown trees that have been sculpted by the ravages of nature. Which might help explain why there's so much emphasis on deadwood.

I picked this one by Isao Omachi because it's such a powerful example of a highly refined tree with remarkable sculpted deadwood.

Like the tree above this one is also a juniper by Isao Omachi. Not only does it feature deadwood that has been sculpted, but its crown is perfectly layered and groomed. Not something you'd typically see in nature.

We'd be remiss not to show a tree or two by Masahiko Kimura, the original master of sculpted deadwood. This photograph is by Owen Reich.

Here's another one by Kimura. Even though you can't see it. there has to be a living vein hiding somewhere.

This humped back Wild apple appears on the back cover of Nick Lenz' Bonsai from the Wild (long out of print).

Today, we've got a somewhat random collection of top notch American bonsai. There are so many, so don't despair if your favorite is not here. We're planning to make this a regular series, but even if we do it a thousand times, we'll still miss some good ones.

This Hinoki cypress by Dan Robison is from Will Hiltz' wonderful book Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees. I don't know if Elandan Gardens still has copies for sale, but you can find it online and it's a purchase worth making.

The natural look (or who needs manicured bonsai?). This photo captures two things I love about Eladan Gardens. The first is the rugged uncontrived look that characterizes Dan Robinson's bonsai, and the second is the perfect setting. The tree is a Sierra juniper (Juniperus occidentalis).

One of Nick "Larch Master" Lenz’ famous unique American larches as it appears in Wikipedia.

Another unique bonsai by Nick, who was gifted in so many ways. I believe Nick made the ceramic tank too.

This photo is from a post by Ryan Neil titled Bald Cypress #1, Evolution.

Ponderosa pine potted in an old brake drum by Michael Hagedorn of Crataegus Bonsai. By the way Michael is the author of Bonsai Heresy a book that annihilates mistaken notions and illuminates deep bonsai truths.

Ben Oki's famous Chinese hackberry (Celtis sinensis). Mr Oki donated it to the Pacific Bonsai Museum where it now resides and stands as one of the crown jewels in this amazing collection.

This Trident maple belongs to Bjorn Bjorholm.

Bjorn at his Eisei-en Bonsai Garden with a monster yamadori One seed juniper (Juniperus monosperma). It's the same tree that Bjorn worked on in an advanced bonsai course that was hosted by Bonsai Empire. We featured it in a review of the course couple years ago.

This Korean hornbeam belongs to Bill Valavanis. Bill has at least two famous Hornbeams. This one's a Korean hornbeam (Carpinus turczaninowii - some sources list it as Carpinus coreana, and I have seen it listed as Carpinus turczaninowii var Coreana... I'm sure Bill could shed some light).

I know it's not fall yet, but all too soon for some of us. This is Bill Valavanis' famous Full moon maple. You might notice how it has been thinned to offer a look inside, revealing the upper trunk and and even some twigs way up top.

We've some good ones by Bill today. He's one of North America's most accomplished bonsai artists and teachers, and after creating and hosting seven U.S, National Bonsai Exhibitions, he is without a doubt our leading bonsai impresario. He is also the third inductee into the North American Bonsai Hall of Fame.

 
Perfect photo, sweet tree! This lovely deciduous Magnolia with pulsing flower buds is a study in contrast and timing.

Another deciduous Magnolia that's about to bloom.

Here's a Magnolia that's just a little more advanced in the bloom cycle, with both buds and flowers. You're probably familiar with Bill's magazine, but if you're not, here it is. Still going strong too, with an online version that was added recently.

Bill likes red pots! The tree is a Firethorn (Pyracantha) that belongs to Bill Valavanis. Bill sent it to us with the line I LIKE RED POTS TOO!, in response to a Bonsai Bark post we did in 2018 ago that was titled: Red Bonsai Pots, a Shift in Taste.

This is one of Bill's luxurious Japanese maples, of which there are plenty.

Where's Bill?

More color! Once you get hooked on the brilliance it's hard to stop. This Full moon maple with its fiery foliage belongs to Bill.

Unless you live in Vermont, or a similarly colorful place like Rochester NY, you might not know that spring color is almost as dramatic as full color. A little more subtle, but stunning nevertheless. This lovely Siegen Japanese maple with scroll and companion is pretty good example of early spring splendor. It belongs to Bill Valavanis, as does everything shown here today.

Multi hued Toyo Nishiki Flowering Quince by Bill.

Just in case you think Bill is all business. I believe this shot is from 2018 38th Nippon Bonsai Taikan Exhibition.

Where to find him:
Bill on FB
Bill's blog
Bill's magazine
U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition