Ceramist Jonathan Cross creates pots in the desert Jonathan Cross creates ancient looking sculptures and pots, which may even sometimes look like architecture. All seem to come from a kind of post-apocalyptic aesthetic imagery. His…...
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Malus
Crab apple Malus sieboldii is a member of the apple family, a deciduous tree that can be found growing throughout Japan. Botanically speaking, ‘Miyama Kaido’ is the same, the difference lies in the colour of […]
Ficus
Figs are keystone species in many tropical forest ecosystems. Figs have figured prominently in some human cultures, such as Buddhism, objects of worship and many practical uses. For bonsai they are a great source of […]
The call for bonsai art criticism
The first experiment of Pacific Bonsai Museum’s two-year-long project, the LAB (Living Art of Bonsai), has been run and the results are the unnerving of the artists. Pacific Bonsai Museum’s Curator Aarin Packard asked three,…...
Abstract bonsai, possible?
Contemporary Western art requires that focus be given not only to the aesthetic but also the intellectual contemplation of a work. It follows the belief that the artistic experience happens in the contemplative space between…...
Bonsai down under
Tony Tickle visits the National Bonsai & Penjing Collection in Canberra, Australia and hopes it will inspire other countries to consider their own collections. If you visit the website Trip Advisor and search ‘Things to do […]
Prunus
You can propagate and create bonsai from cuttings and by grafting, especially with unusual and interesting species. We are creating a slanting style bonsai with a mountain cherry: Prunus jamasakura SPECIES Common name: Wild cherry…...
Sankan-gi | Triple trunk style
Triple trunk style – This has three, five, or seven trunks of different trunk diameters growing from a single root ball. If there are three trunks of differing diameters, it is referred to as a […]
The Bonsai Ballerina
Jennifer Price discovered bonsai 8 years ago after retiring as a professional ballerina. She had the opportunity to study with long-time friend and teacher, Jim Doyle and, through Jim’s influence, went to work with artists…...
Yose-Ue | Forest/group style
Forest/group style – We can see this as a small forest in a flat pot. It should create the illusion of a miniature version of a forest. The distances between the trees should be different. Do […]
Moyogi | Informal upright style
Informal upright style -The trunk is slightly bent and tapers toward the top. The top of the tree is straight above the base of the trunk. The branches are distributed asymmetrically. The lower branches must […]
Chokkan | Formal upright style
Formal upright style – The trunk is straight and tapers toward the top. The branches of the bonsai must gradually become shorter and thinner from the bottom to the top, be horizontal compared with the […]
Sabamiki | Split trunk style
Split trunk style – Usually has the base of its trunk split or hollowed out. In nature this style is usually found in very old trees. In bonsai, Sabamiki can add a feeling of great […]
Bunjin-gi | Literati style
Literati style – This strange style is characterized by a thin slender trunk with only a few branches. The lower branches are often dead and barren, but the trunk itself is full of great character. […]
Seki-joju | Root-over-rock style
Root-over-rock style -A rock planting where the roots grow over the rock and disappear into the ground. In nature, trees are forced into all kinds of shapes under the influences of weather, wind and placement. […]
Ikadabuki | Raft style
Raft style – This represents a fallen tree, with the trunk buried under the soil. The branches at the top of the fallen tree grow straight upwards as trunks. In nature, trees are forced into […]
Kabudachi | Clump style
Clump style – This is basically the same as the double-trunk style (Sokan). However, we only refer to a multi-trunk style if three or more trunks are growing out of the ground from a single […]
Ishitsuki | Rock-clinging style
Rock-clinging style – A planting where the tree grows on a rock, or the roots cling in a small rock crevice where there is a little soil. One of the tree shapes that is planted […]
Sharimiki | Driftwood style
Driftwood style – A tree where the trunk is mostly deadwood, more commonly seen on junipers and yews where the trunk is primarily deadwood with one or two live veins running up to the remaining […]
Netsuranari | Sinuous-root style
Sinuous-root style – Resembling the Yose-Ue style, but all the trunks are connected by a single root system. It consists of a primary tree with multiple stems, each of which has emerged from various points […]
Kengai | Cascade style
Cascade style – In nature, this tree grows on a rock face and, because of snow and wind, it first grows downwards and then upwards again. In Kengai the leaves grow lower than the pot. […]
Hokidachi | Broom style
Broom style – Trees in this style have an upright trunk with branches and foliage radiating outwards in the shape of a Japanese fan or an umbrella. In nature, trees are forced into all kinds […]
Shohin
Miniature trees – Bonsai are classified in sizes. The most commonly known are Mame (5–15 cm / 2–6 inch), Shohin (13–20 cm / 5–8 inch), Chiu (41–91 cm /16–36 inch) and Dai (76–122 cm / […]
Shakan | Slanting style
Slanting style – In nature, a tree can lean to one side when there is a prevailing wind direction, or when a tree is standing in the shade and growing towards the light. In the […]
Tanuki | Artificial driftwood style
Artificial driftwood style – Tanuki is not so much a style, more a technique for making bonsai look older than they are. A live plant is joined to a piece of driftwood. Sharimiki is the […]
