Category: Create

Technique by FarrandJan 18, 202015:44

Flowers from Korea

The challenge is to create a finished tree starting from scratch. In this series we look at creating bonsai from cuttings, grafting and other methods using interesting and unusual species. With the help of illustrations...

Technique by FarrandJan 10, 202015:13

Pruned by air

Roots are happy in pots with an air pruning function. Jens Lindworsky invented the Tie-Pot with knobs for attaching guy wires and with air root pruning, which prevents the formation of unfavourable circular growing roots....

Styling by FarrandJan 10, 202014:03

The wild one

Wild olive trees provides one of most ideal materials for bonsai. Marcial Yuste Blasco, who runs a bonsai school in Spain, prefers to work on material from the wild. For Marcial, it possesses the characteristics...

Technique by FarrandDec 20, 201910:16

On a tightwire?

Winding wire around a branch is easy; effective wiring is more difficult. Wiring skills by Taiga Urushibata Wiring is an indispensable skill in bonsai; it is something that needs to be used at many stages...

Step by Step by FarrandDec 13, 201921:38

Popstar bonsai

Branch development on an elm Inspired by a colourful autumn, we look at how to develop branches on deciduous trees that show seasonal colour. Guided by Master Hiroki Miura, Ayaka Yamamoto, a famous popstar in...

Masterclass by FarrandDec 6, 201912:37

As one with the tree

Hiroaki Suzuki becomes as one with the tree during the styling of a pine Young artist Hiroaki Suzuki takes on the challenge of transforming and displaying a five needle pine The aim is to change...

Styling by FarrandNov 13, 201921:48

Just cut all the branches?

How to deal with upward-growing branches on a pine Impossible material with all its branches growing upwards becomes a fine bonsai. Toshio Ogawa notes the superb movement of the lower trunk and solves the problem...

Technique by FarrandOct 25, 201912:37

Heavy bending

How to bend thick branches Sometimes wire is simply not enough to bend the branch in the desired position. Here we sum up the proper techniques to make things bend smoothly. Lower a branch by...

Masterclass by FarrandOct 19, 201912:00

Puzzling it out

Manuel Germade shows us how he solves the puzzle of this juniper. You can read and watch him working on the tree. This is all about making choices. Which branch is too long, too much,...

Masterclass by FarrandOct 11, 201912:00

Hungry to learn

Salvatore Liporace reworks one of his finest bonsai. The first styling of this Juniperus chinensis ‘Sargenti’ has a long history which goes back 20 years when its top was 40 cm higher. Gradually it was...

Shohin by FarrandSep 27, 201921:22

Where are the roots?

Air-layer experiment. What works best: Sphagnum or a tourniquet? Yukio Hirose (Yamato-en) is up for an experiment. Which of the air layer techniques gives best results, the one that uses sphagnum only, or the technique...

Styling by FarrandSep 21, 201912:40

Tough to work on

The birch has many virtues, it can prosper in the harshest environments, but as bonsai you need to be a little more patient and gentle to achieve good results. Harry Harrington gives us his hands-on...

Styling by FarrandSep 13, 201913:33

A perfect fit for kengai

Giacomo Pappalardo shows the many variations of the cascade style One of the most dramatic styles in bonsai is the kengai, or cascade. It has many variations and its style options are almost endless. Trees...

Styling by FarrandSep 6, 201920:53

Can this become a bonsai?

Garden material can be most interesting for bonsai. It can also be very challenging because it was not really grown for bonsai purposes. Bruno checks out a garden hinoki cypress to see if it can...

Masterclass by FarrandAug 10, 201915:32

On the edge

Creative genius, Ryan Neil, turns bonsai upside down You can give Ryan Neil almost any kind of material to work on and he will create something special from it. Here Ryan is confronted by an...

Shohin by FarrandJul 19, 201921:44

5 becomes 2

A boring forest is divided up and receives a fresh remake Harumi Ishii (Ueharu-En) shows us how to transform an uninteresting mountain maple forest into two stunning new creations We are separating the trunks into...

Step by Step by FarrandJul 5, 201922:27

Too dominant at the top

The charm of the Japanese beech The Japanese beech is always an exhibition eye catcher. Its smooth grey-white bark and muscled trunk give the tree a most majestic appearance. Easy to work on, as seen...

Styling by FarrandJun 22, 201915:24

The masterplan

An impossible pine is just perfect for a cascade, but it takes a little time Giacomo Pappalardo likes the dramatic moves of the cascading pines you encounter in the mountains. An unsightly pine with a...

Styling by FarrandMay 17, 201913:49

Rocking the pine

Todd Schlafer works on a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) With a background as a rock musician Todd’s career as a bonsai artist is a big hit. We met Todd during Michael Tran’s Generation Bonsai event...

Shohin by FarrandMay 10, 201921:50

The little gem

Reworking a small juniper Alexandre Escudero is crazy about shohin bonsai. At the nursery of his teacher Hiroyuki Tanibata, he found a little gem of a juniper. Let’s together find the beauty lost on this...

Masterclass by FarrandMay 3, 201911:00

Nature guide

Inspired by nature, Kenichi Abe shows us how to work on a pine. Styling a pine into a bonsai is a balance between pruning and wiring, as Kenichi Abe, Master of pines from the Azuma...

Styling by FarrandApr 26, 201909:00

Is this a satsuki?

Satsuki specialist Tadao Tabata saw bonsai potential in the many trunks In a field at the base of Mount Akagi more than a thousand satsuki were planted and then grown wild. Two years ago this...

Free by FarrandApr 25, 201912:50

The big Sabina

Maybe the largest potted juniper in the world, a sabina juniper standing at studio botanico of Salvatore Liporace. It is waiting to be styled by the grand master....

Free by FarrandApr 20, 201909:00

The ‘wire’ tree

Jan Culek sketches options for a juniper Although it seemed completely wired and styled, this juniper still looks like a wild bush. What it needs is a totally different approach to get it just right. […]

Masterclass by FarrandApr 19, 201909:00

The knot of El Tim

Like smooth machinery, El Tim (The Team, consisting of Leo, Alberto and Luis) work on amazing material and produce stunning bonsai. Initially, the Scots pine specially donated by Michael Tran’s Minoru bonsai, looks like a...