Jul
10
I’ve been quite pleased with how quickly the privet grows, although it is a two-edged sword. It also means quite a bit more work, but it is great to see development in one season rather than several. It took me a bit to catch on that it needed defoliating to reveal the structure and make [...]
Apr
14
The clamp Suthin is using to squeeze the trunk together makes it possible to work without a helper.
Apr
12
Of course, as anyone who knows Frank would understand, I had to warn when I was beginning to record. I’ve always been a bit bothered by the regularity of the coils on this tree, but of course, the plan has been to compress them. Suthin demonstrates this very well over the course of this series [...]
Apr
12
I had the pleasure of visiting with Suthin Sukosolvisit while he was working with Frank Kroeker in Topeka on Sunday. He worked on two of my trees, including this shohin shimpaku which I won in a raffle three years ago, which Suthin grew from a cutting. I like the idea of having him then work [...]
Mar
17
This is the tree I used in my grafting article, “Bud Grafting on Japanese Black Pine.” I’ve had this tree for over ten years, and the branches are quite leggy at the bottom, as all were there when I purchased the tree. In a bid to move forward with it, I’ve pruned and wired it, [...]
The purpose and necessity of repotting bonsai is axiomatic, and need not be repeated here. However, there is some confusion about the best way to accomplish this crucial task. In this article, we will examine in depth every aspect of [...]
Dec
06
Here’s the promised update on the ficus so far. This is my only winter setup except for an oil-filled radiator for heat since we don’t have central heating. The sun does a great job of warming up the greenhouse tent and you can see some of the branch and trunk development since the last photo. [...]
Nov
23
This is the first prebonsai I ever purchased, possibly 13 or 14 years ago. The first photo was the original planting position, with the base of the tree coming straight up and a ninety-degree bend in the trunk.
The new planting angle had a nice movement to it, so I was quite pleased in May [...]
Nov
23
What would you do with this?
Originally posted Friday, April 10, 2009 (current edit at end of post)
This tree is one given me by a dear friend who is too generous. Seriously, he helps me in many ways. When I first looked at this tree, I didn’t know what to make of it, but [...]
Grafting is a valuable tool for improving one’s bonsai, but it is sadly misunderstood, and therefore, underused. A prominent bonsai master known worldwide has often been heard to say that his teacher didn’t graft, so he doesn’t either! There is [...]
