Bonsai Today

Online magazine for Bonsai lovers

Cascade

Shohin

Strapped tight

How to fix a black pine that is rather too dull…

Fundamentals

The trunk

The second essential element in bonsai is the trunk, or Kokejun. A trunk should taper to the top and it also determines the movement of the tree.

Technique

Trachelospermum asiaticum

How to create bonsai from cuttings, grafting and other methods using interesting and unusual species…

Shohin

Is this all?

Hiroki Miura works on a Chinese juniper

At first glance, the featured juniper has great looks; however, Hiroki Miura shows us that when we take a closer look, the tree is really a bit dull . . .


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Step by Step

Easy does it

Maple, winter hazel and hawthorn are all very easy to grow.


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Workshop

Pop or rock?

Pop star Shintaro Akiyama jumps into the deep when creating a rock planting in cooperation with Kunio Kobayashi and Osamu Fukudate of Shunkaen


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Styling

The Azuma pines

Daiki, the third generation Abe, works on seed-grown pines


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Articles

Purple rain

A visit to the garden of Amy Liang, the grande dame of Taiwan bonsai


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Shohin

Winning touches

Morten Albek takes time to go through some of the shohin displays at the Nöelanders Trophy.


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Styling

How to ‘crack’ a white pine

Masayuki Fujikawa transforms a white pine by changing the angle and compacting an elongated trunk. One of the best characteristics of this tree is the aged appearance of the bark, making it look as though it was just collected from the mountains. Additionally, the leaf characteristics and the power in…...


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Shohin

The new big

Koji Hiramatsu works on a black pine Shohin and the slightly larger Kifu-sized bonsai have become ever more popular. This because they are much easier to enjoy and appreciate compared with the larger trees and you can still enjoy the same aged character, or get the feel of a larger-sized…...


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Styling

This one?

Jörg Derlien’s all too familiar struggle to find the right pot fit for his larch The larch depicted here, a Larix decidua, was acquired in 2009 and obtained from the Alpine region of Wallis in Switzerland. From the very beginning, I was enamoured with its winding, twisting trunk and from…...


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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…....


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Styling

Get rid of undesirable features

Masayuki Fujikawa transforms boring material into a semi cascade Masayuki Fujikawa: ‘The tree shown here is too big to be considered a chuhin, but the idea is not to make it a chuhin for the sake of showing off the skills required to do so, but to make the most…...


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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…...


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Masterclass

Amigos of the tejos

How to transform a ‘pig’ of a tree into a breathtaking cascade Kevin Willson had a few years stay in sunny Alicante, Spain, where marvellous material can be found. Dug from the surrounding mountains are yews, junipers and olives — all Mediterranean trees that require a different approach from the…...


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Technique

The himalaya rose

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 create a semi cascade style from cotoneaster cuttings A semi deciduous shrub in the…...


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Garden visit

Keep it natural

The bonsai passion of Valter Giuliano Hidden in the Piëdmont mountains of Italy, you can find a small bonsai paradise. It’s the work of Valter Giuliano, who likes to keep things natural What is your professional education? I’m from the 3rd generation of a bakery family. I retired 4 years…...


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Shohin

Little princess

Orihime and Maihime are two maple varieties with very tiny leaves With the discovery of a very small-leafed variety comes a new chapter for the maple bonsai. Mr Katsumi Komiya (Shofu-en) guides you through the specific techniques needed for small leaf maples There are a number of very small-leaf varieties…...


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Profile

Fan of naked trees

The bonsai passion of Sergio Cuan A huge fan of deciduous trees, Sergio Cuan, at first thought that bonsai might be just too difficult to grow. Sergio Cuan Born in: Havana, Cuba Married to: Laura Cuan Children: Isabella and Madeleine Education: Bachelor in Fine Arts, the Pratt Institute, New York…...


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Tree guide

Adenium

Jerome Kellerhals’ bonsai garden is in sunny Florida, where he mainly works on semi-tropicals. The Ademium, or desert rose, is one of his favourites and, surprisingly, has much to offer as material for bonsai. I am going to talk about the styling and caring of Adenium. It contains about 12

Workshop

Pimped juniper

A dull juniper is matched with a rock full of character A rather dull juniper can become very striking when a rock with lots of character is added, Nishikawa Tomoya (Shirasagi-en, Himeji) shows how that is done. Chuhin-sized semi-cascade and a standing rock. Over recent years rock planting and other…...


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Styling

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 that cannot be made into any other style are a perfect fit for kengai. Junipers…...


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Masterclass

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 extremely chunky yew that appears to have only faults. Ryan’s creative eye soon sees possibilities…...


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Report

A consistent club

The ‘Midden Nederland‘ Bonsai Association annual show in Leersum NL. They are one of the most active societies in Holland, the show is always a guarantee for high quality bonsai. Fine displays with shohin and mid-sized trees. Maples, larch, junipers and pines and many native varieties. Enjoy the small video

Styling

Rocking the pine

Todd Schlafer works on a Scots pine 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 l and asked him to work on a yamadori Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) I ‘ve a degree…...


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Tree guide

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 material with many style options Majestic appearance Ficus are exceptionally interesting trees. Their appearance grabs