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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…...
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,…...
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…...
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…...
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…...
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…...
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…....
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…....
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,…...
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
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…...