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japanese maple
Pot-bound
How to repot small trees in spring Yukio Hirose (Yamato-en) guides you through the principle techniques of repotting deciduous bonsai. According to Yukio, ‘In spring you have the chance to give the tree fresh new soil, clip the roots and keep the tree healthy. The ideal time for repotting is…...
Can you see the forest for the trees?
A group planting is one of the most creative styles and quite easy to make With the guidance of shohin expert, Hiroki Miura (Miura Baijyu-en, Osaka) the Japanese popstar, Ayaka Yamamoto, learns how to make a group planting, or yose-ue. But first let’s learn from some examples. The theme this…...
A date with spring
Spring tasks for native deciduous bonsai Repotting is the primary focus for bonsai enthusiasts during spring. However, there are a number of other tasks, often forgotten, that are worth carrying out at this time of year. The beginning of spring and start of the growing season when deciduous trees come…...
Acer palmatum
Acer palmatum, the Japanese maple, has a wide distribution and grows at many elevations throughout its native habitat. In cultivation, it is seen everywhere as a garden plant and as bonsai. Under good conditions, the tree grows from about 2.7m to 4.6m in a spreading or rounded, open-tiered shape, depending
The birth of new buds
In autumn you can improve the branch setting of your maple The bare branch structure is revealed and good and bad things are seen. You’ll note where node length has become too long, whether there are too many buds or branches from one point and it enables you to correct…...
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 two pieces of material: The initial material is a group planting of Japanese mountain maple…....
Fabulous feet
Thread and approach grafting new roots to improve the nebari Many enthusiasts would like to improve the nebari of their bonsai. By using thread grafting and approach grafting techniques this can be easily done A young and pliable branch from either a separate plant, or the bonsai itself, is threaded…...
The first cut is…
If the branches only have twigs at the tips it is time for drastic measures. Andrea Meriggioli, author of ‘Bonsai Maples’, explains how to create a denser ramified maple using graft techniques A Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Arakawa‘) is in need of improvement. At first sight everything looks good, but…...
The home of display
The essence of bonsai display Through the gate one enters into another world of bonsai Display in a traditional setting, the esoteric mysteries of Japanese beauty. Throughout the world the word ‘Bonsai’ is used and understood. Contained within that word is a sense of beauty and perspective on nature that…...
Northwest Rendezvous
The Bonsai Society of Portland and Pacific Northwest Bonsai Clubs Association presented the 2018 Northwest Bonsai Rendezvous this month in Milwaukie, Oregon. The event was a big success! Three days of workshops, critiques, and demonstrations made the time fly by. Just steps away, a high quality exhibition featured some of the region’s best…...
Bonsai ‘built’ on a frame
How to create a bulky maple As I have said previously, this technique implies wrapping a number of young plants, seedlings, around a man-made structure, called a ‘frame’. Its shape will be the one the finished maple will take on eventually. The structure can be made of metal or wood…....