Bonsai Today

Online magazine for Bonsai lovers

kiryu

Step by Step

A moyogi juniper

This less than pretty juniper has hidden potential; its almost bare trunk has enough foliage to make an elegant bonsai


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Spring

All about roots

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


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Propagating

Giant Itabi

How to create bonsai from cuttings: This time we are working with Giant itabi (Ficus thunbergii)


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Styling

The Grim

Bruno Proietti Tocca philosophises about his work on a savin juniper


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Technique

Gardenia

You can propagate and create bonsai from seed, cuttings and by grafting


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Tree guide

Pinus Nigra

Austrian pines make great bonsai; their rugged bark and dark green needles give them a special character.


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Step by Step

Queen of pines

With the guidance of shohin expert, Hiroki Miura (Miura Baijyu-en, Osaka) the Japanese popstar, Ayaka Yamamoto, learns how to create moyogi style with a pine.


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Technique

Just a plastic tray

Working with deciduous trees is always a long-term project which needs some clever thinking, too


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Technique

Wisteria from scratch

How to create bonsai from cuttings, grafting and other methods . This time we work with Wisteria


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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,…...


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Technique

Is this too right?

The challenge is to create a finished tree starting from scratch Here’s how to make bonsai with rare, interesting and promising species through the process of taking cuttings. The complete process, from selecting the material to maintenance after taking the cutting, is clearly explained. This time we work with Cryptomeria…...


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Propagating

A good omen

It is a deciduous tree of the Fagaceae family and grows naturally in the mountains of various parts of Japan, also on the coastline on the side of the Sea of Japan. The oak’s local name is ‘Kashiwa’ and is mainly planted as a windbreak in those areas where it…...


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Seed

Larch from seed

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. Here we create a formal upright style, or Chokkan, from larch seedlings. A deciduous coniferous tree of…...


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Spring

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…...


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Masterclass

Too thick to bend?

Manuel Germade deals with a tough case — a Buxus with unbendable branches. Working on a tree that’s long, slender, with a fantastic curling trunk seems like perfect material. But there is just one downside, you can’t bend its branches because they all grow vertically. A challenge for Manuel, he…...


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Technique

Mind the gap!

The problem of poor roots on a pine can be solved Can you improve the root base of a pine, just as you can with deciduous trees? A good question, so it seems a good idea to have an article on the improvement of a piece of material with poor…...


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Tree guide

Pyrus pyrifolia

How to create bonsai from cuttings, grafting and other methods with interesting and unusual species. With the help of illustrations we will see how to take a piece of material through to completion The pear A large deciduous tree in the pear genus of the Rosaceae family. It is found…...


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Spring

What’s under the soil?

Repotting your bonsai is rather like a health check The trees of Hiroshi Takeyama, the head of Fuyo-en bonsai nursery, have a distinctive character and elegance. He is renowned for his conscientious and thorough work, particularly with repotting, and is considered to be one of the most skilled at developing…...


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Technique

Chionanthus retusus

The challenge is to create a finished tree starting from scratch In this series we look at creating bonsai from cuttings, grafting and other methods using interesting and unusual species. With the help of illustrations we see how to take a piece of material through to completion. This time we…...


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Propagating

The Edo cherry

The challenge is to create a finished tree starting from scratch. In this series we look at creating bonsai from cuttings, grafting and other methods from interesting and unusual species. With the help of illustrations we see how to take a piece of material through to completion. Common in the…...


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Propagating

Purple rain

The challenge is to create a finished tree starting from scratch In this series we look at creating 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. Wisteria is…...


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Propagating

Thuja

The challenge is to create a finished tree starting from scratch In this series we look at creating 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. Oriental Thuja…...


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Shohin

The little gem

Reworking a small juniper Alexandre Escudero is crazy about shohin bonsai. At the nursery of his teacher Hiroyuki Tanibata, he found a little gem of a juniper. Let’s together find the beauty lost on this Juniperus itoigawa and discover step-by-step how to rework a shohin-sized tree. I bought this Juniperus…...


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Step by Step

Celtis sinensis forest

The challenge is to create a finished tree starting from scratch In this series we look at creating bonsai from cuttings, grafting and other methods with interesting and unusual species. With the help of illustrations we will see how to take a piece of material through to completion Years 1…...


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