Bonsai Today

Online magazine for Bonsai lovers

bark

Technique

Reverse taper

Miura Hiroki (from Miura Baijyu-En nursery) is a specialist in shohin bonsai. Here he shows how to improve trees with reverse tapering trunks by using air-layering techniques


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Spring

All about roots

Hiroki Miura guides you through the struggles of repotting pines, pruning and cutting their roots


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Masterclass

A Pine Puzzle

Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris, is one of the most popular pine varieties and one of the most commonly styled tree.


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Styling

An offer one can’t refuse

'The tree featured here is an eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis), which is native to Eastern Canada and much of the north-central and north-eastern United States'


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Masterclass

THE GIANT LOOP

Mauro Stemberger styles a massive Scots pine with a loop shaped trunk


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Technique

Silvery bark

The challenge to grow bonsai from scratch: Betula


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Case History

Out of the box

Harry Harrington works on a very bulky elm that has no tapering. By carving the trunk the problem is solved.


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Grafting

Creating shohin from faulty material

Use dull material to make impressive bonsai helped by grafting techniques. Here we show you how easy it can be. Pyracantha is in the Rosaceae family in the subset that contains Crataegus. It provides bright orange berries during the winter, a time lacking in colour. It is a very robust…...


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Styling

Just drop it

Creating a literati red pine by focusing on the dropping branch


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Technique

Amelanchier

How to create bonsai from cuttings; the Korean juneberry.


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Grafting

A ‘needle wrap’

Grafting is a very useful technique for conifers such as junipers and pines.


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Masterclass

The ‘Mugo’ team

The mugo pine is an extraordinary example of a yamadori, an impressive trunk with some natural shari and lots of compacted branches on top. A real challenge for Matt and Tyler


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Styling

Jack & John

British artist, John Milton, works on a white pine in Japan.


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Propagating

A corky type

The challenge is to create bonsai from scratch How to create bonsai from cuttings, grafting and other methods using interesting and unusual species. With the help of illustrations we will see how to take a piece of material through to completion. This time we work with cuttings of the Nishikimatsu,…...


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Shohin

Prickly situation

Jean-Philippe Hoareau (JP) works with the prickly juniper The needle juniper or Juniperus rigida, is a far more rugged tree than the Chinese ‘shimpaku’. Its deadwood is spikier and so is its foliage, too. You can get in a very prickly situation when working with this variety because of its…...


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Shohin

A clever operation

Getting rid of faults and improving good characteristics Hiroki Miura works on a Chinese quince. It’s too heavy at the top, so that it is not entirely suitable for becoming an interesting shohin. It has, however, some very good qualities which, with the aid of air layering, can be used…...


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Shohin

Regular fit

Alexsandre Escudero works on a tiny Itoigawa juniper An average juniper can be changed into something interesting, you just need to have a vision and opt for doing something different to make it less regular. The tree I will work with is very commonly seen as bonsai, a purpose-grown juniper…...


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Technique

Like Frankenstein?

Shigeo Ebihara’s unbelievable method of trunk shortening This operation on an old maple took more than four and a half years to complete. The tree has one major fault that is impossible to solve using ordinary techniques. It needs new skills developed in order to remove the straight, leggy section…...


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Workshop

Just too long

Jan Culek copes with a tree that is almost impossible to style The pine Jan has chosen to work on (Pinus sylvestris) hasn’t the most ideal branch setting and trunk shape. It is a clump with long, straight trunks, so what to do with it? The pine has three trunks…....


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Shohin

A powerhouse

Mike Lane gives an in-depth look at the venerable Sea Hibiscus An unassuming bonsai subject at first glance, the sea hibiscus appears to lack any of the desirable traits we pursue when looking for good bonsai candidates. I had overlooked this abundant material myself, during my initial years in bonsai…....


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Sundries

It’s a ‘mossy’ world

Moss is essential for bonsai, but you can enjoy it for itself, too If you have a garden where nothing will grow, cultivating moss in pots is the solution. Enter the ‘mossy’ world of Junichi Tanoue Moss is something that surrounds us and can be grown indoors, something many try,…...


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now
Tree guide

Quercus suber

The Sardinian coastline consists of numerous small beaches embeddedin outstretched tongues of land. No wonder this Italian island is so popular among the tourists. But if you can make the effort to travel inland you will soon discover its majestic scenery and breathtaking vegetation. Using two examples, Salvatore Liporace will

Styling

Too obvious?

A semi-cascade for this oak was so logical René Alber: ‘This huge, but compact cork oak (Quercus suber) is ready for styling. The trunk is massive, has a wonderful curving movement and a fantastic corky bark. With these excellent characteristics an impressive bonsai can be created’The cork oak was collected…...


For Basic, Plus, and Premium members.
Log In Join Now