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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 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…...
I will burn all my trees
François Jeker’s 31-year-journey growing a bonsai forest When we make a bonsai forest, we think we are the Creator. We are under the illusion that we decide everything, the choice of the trees and their placement, but nature has already done a good part of the work. When we collect…...
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,…...
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…...
Bonsai timetable
Bartoz Warwas knows that a good plan is the key to bonsai success Before Bartoz explains his timetable for planning the development of bonsai, he will tell you the story of a European hornbeam that has been with him for more than 10 years In all probability, we are living…...
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…...
Cats Paws
Kusamono is a different type of bonsai With the guidance of Hiroki Miura (Miura Baijyu-en), Japanese popstar, Ayaka Yamamoto, is introduced to the world of Kusamono. Kusamono is a form of bonsai where a grass or a flower is used instead of a tree. There is an enormous variety of…...
Little show offs
Can orchids be just like bonsai? Growing epiphytic orchids is an art in its own right, especially in Japan.Epiphytes are plants that grow anchored to other plants, they can grow on the trunks of trees, sometimes in the canopy of a tree. They are non-parasitic and absorb their water and…...
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…...