When is best to repot? Do we repot them all at once? The general guideline to repot as they break bud is a good one. Some, like pines, though, are best repotted a bit before we see bud elongation. Maples, as buds open. If you have a long spring—one that goes on at a mild temperature for a couple months or more—then the schedule separates into phases. A long spring schedule might look like this: Deciduous first: Quince (Japanese and Chinese), Trident Then, Black Pines Satsuki, as they green up Single flush pines, like Japanese White and Ponderosa Spruce Then more deciduous, like Japanese Maple ..read more

Fronts are personal decisions. Fronts can also be a reminder of how dumb you were last year. Which relates to the previous statement. But front choice gives us a chance to highlight what we like about a tree. And this week’s example is one of a changed mind. For some years I convinced myself—and a fair number of others—that the first front of this Mountain Hemlock was a good one. If you prefer that front, I could hardly disagree. Though this year I am of a different mind. The owner of this Hemlock gave us the thumbs up to repot it at a new front. This is the original front for this marvelous ..read more

How to grow a nebari is often talked about. And it should be. The timing and method of uncovering a developing nebari is phase two. In this example we uncover a Red Maple nebari overgrown with fine roots and moss. Red Maple with a good nebari already. If the roots are not buried a bit, even by 1/4”, fused nebari doesn’t happen. The soil and moss on right side and left side are being removed to see if the nebari has expanded. Here the trunk is flaring into the soil in the back, but the question is, what lies beneath? Same question in the front. Fine roots may be covering a fused nebari under ..read more

Here are a few photos from this spring’s repotting in Seasonal Workshops. Each has a note about what we were doing.  Often pots have few, small drain holes. Sometimes they are not in the lowest place in the pot. In either of those situations drilling new holes can help the pot drain. Pictured here is a diamond hole saw on a drill which, with a spray of constant water (helps to have a buddy), will easily and without much danger to the pot create new holes. Making simple clips for small sized drain holes. Larger drain holes benefit from your more complicated clips. All have their use. A ..read more

This January we had Daisaku Nomoto with Jonas Dupuich and Andrew Robson in Portland, Oregon for the Shohin School. I’ve enjoyed watching this event take shape the last two years, matched by the enthusiasm of its 50+ students. Andrew Robson, Daisaku Nomoto, and Jonas Dupuich at the Shohin School this past January. Many of you know Jonas from his excellent educational resource, blog, and online store Bonsai Tonight. Andrew Robson runs Rakuyo Bonsai, a spectacular deciduous bonsai garden is barely a mile from my garden, here in Portland, Oregon. Andrew and Jonas are the founders of Shohin Scho ..read more

Quick note: Apologies subscribers, we are having a temporary issue with getting the blog to your inbox. We’re working on it! This week, a photo essay of a Stewartia root graft in a recent winter Seasonal class. These winter classes are focused on repotting, and a great time for root grafts. A couple prospective Stewartia seedlings for the root grafts. One site excavated to accept a root graft scion. This area could have better surface roots. A second area that needs nebari roots. Chiseling out the groove to accept a seedling’s lower trunk. Testing the graft’s position and depth. The scion ..read more

One name that comes to mind on any list of great creators of bonsai is David Benevente. Years ago David worked at Luis Vallejo’s Bonsai Museum and has since run his own garden outside of Madrid, Spain. This a real working garden. Bonsai are crafted in three separate workshop areas. Given the functional nature of the garden—sales are its main focus—it is a testament to David’s artistic sensibility that it feels like a museum. The use of the site itself is worthy of comment, with exposed granite bedrock surfacing here and there like the backs of whales. David has a knack of placing a branch wher ..read more

The annual Trophy in Belgium is widely regarded as the central EU bonsai show, and deservedly so. I was lucky enough to see it in 2015 and felt I’d only once before seen that level outside of Japan, in Taiwan. Less known to those outside the EU is the UBE convention and show in Spain. This is a Spain-only show, which given the quality of the trees speaks volumes about how deep a bench the EU presently has. Much as I am proud of our momentum over here in the Americas, hats off to Spain. Though they have superb imports, they are also working with European natives at that same level: Sabina Junip ..read more

We made this composition in 2016. It was a funny little tree, so we made an unusual presentation on a rock and it’s been sitting out there maturing. The inspiration for it was medium-age trees that grow upright, halfway down a cliff. Before the big rocks and whatnot crash down on them and add shari and broken tops. Not one of the usual bonsai templates, but then why not. We only have one in the yard. Here’s a link to how we made it: Hemlock on Cliff ..read more

Here’s a GIF of a small Japanese Black Pine after a couple adjustments. These are subtle, so it may take several viewings to see the final adjustments. The GIF has 3 parts. Here’s a breakdown of the adjustments: Part 2: Needles pulled, and lowest right and left branches lowered Part 3: The crown has a peak to the right, making it lopsided; it was tucked back to center, making the tree’s foliage lower, more compact, and focused on the trunk This tree, incidentally, has a Ponderosa Pine trunk that was grafted with two scions of Japanese Black Pine ..read more