Bonsai Today

Online magazine for Bonsai lovers

trunk

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.

Styling

Make a forest look natural

The late bonsai Master Takeo Katsumata left behind a great number of works that exhibit his trademark natural scenes. He had a unique obsession...


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Masterclass

THE GIANT LOOP

Mauro Stemberger styles a massive Scots pine with a loop shaped trunk


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Case History

Out of the box

Harry Harrington works on a very bulky elm that has no tapering. By carving the trunk the problem is solved.


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Grafting

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…...


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Shohin

Would you dare?

Chojubai, the dwarf variety of the Japanese quince, is cut in half.


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Sundries

Paper bonsai

Udo Wollenhaupt is passionate about drawing and sketching bonsai.

Styling

First steps

Pinus Nigra - From raw material to bonsai in 7 years.


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Technique

Split in three

Considering the front, planting angle and every different orientation of material is part of the deep fascination of transforming a bonsai.


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Technique

Pruned by bacteria?

Using beneficial bacteria for stronger, better ramified and disease-free bonsai.


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Workshop

Hidden in cones

According to Todd, Douglas firs are one of the most unpredictable trees he has worked with.


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Styling

Jack & John

British artist, John Milton, works on a white pine in Japan.


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Shohin

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…...


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Design Sketch

The Southern

Serge Clémence sketches options for the oak of Kai Kempf The oak (Quercus pubescens) or downy oak, shown here is a fine tree and very interesting, native to southern Europe and Southwest Asia. Downy oaks typically grow in dry, lime-rich soil. It’s a sub-Mediterranean species that grows from coastline to…...


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Shohin

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…...


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Styling

Worth working on?

There is almost no material that is completely useless David Soto: ‘My students, often try to mimic the work of great masters. It’s only natural, and if you don’t own one of those very high quality pieces of material that we are accustomed to see in different articles or during…...


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Styling

Power lifting

Bonsai material so large it needs to be lifted by crane, yet that doesn’t mean it has no character. The deadwood and trunk have superb movement and the skeleton of the branch structure has had work put into it. Its height just about fits in the large bonsai category. Material…...


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Case History

Prisoner of time

The development of a Buxus sempervirens According to Marco Giannini trees develop into bonsai via a careful balance of technique and time. Respect for the original habitat where the tree once lived will make it look natural and give it even more tranquillity. First, I am going to tell you…...


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