Repotting Strategy
Bonsai Tonight
by Jonas Dupuich
2w ago
As I go into repotting season, I think about how my plants grew the previous year and whether I want to change the soil mix I use for the upcoming growing season. Last year, summer was mild which meant that many of my trees didn’t dry out between waterings. Among the pines, a few trees needed watering daily, but far more needed watering every two to three days, and some went about a week between waterings. I also saw more signs of root pathogens in the garden like pythium, an organism that thrives in mild conditions. Although I don’t know what the weather will be this year, I want to hedge aga ..read more
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2024 PBE: Submissions are open
Bonsai Tonight
by Jonas Dupuich
1M ago
If you’re thinking about submitting to the 2024 Pacific Bonsai Expo, now’s the time! We’re accepting submissions through April 30 so the deadline’s a ways off, but now is a good time to take pictures of any deciduous bonsai you’re thinking of submitting as we’ll need photos of these trees without leaves. Maples, plums, ume, and elms are already leafing out in Northern California so time is limited. Beautiful bonsai from the 2022 Expo Here’s what you need to know about submitting to the Expo. We’ve expanded the jury this year to include five outstanding jurors: Bjorn Bjorholm, Dave De Groot ..read more
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Takeaways from the second Shohin School Winter Seminar
Bonsai Tonight
by Jonas Dupuich
1M ago
Last month, Andrew Robson and I hosted a Shohin Seminar in Milwaukie, Oregon, featuring Japanese professional Daisaku Nomoto. Around fifty participants from seven states enjoyed two days of shohin education focused on how to create and display small trees. The event was a ton of fun and participants had the opportunity to shop from a great selection of vendors including Kora Dalager, John Eads, Andrew Robson, Nao Tokutake, Mary Lai, Scott Elser, Daisaku Nomoto, Aki Yamakawa, and David Knittle. Participants were encouraged to bring their own trees for critiques and display practice. We found th ..read more
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Baikoen Bonsai Kenkyukai 60th Annual Winter Silhouettes Show Highlights
Bonsai Tonight
by Jonas Dupuich
2M ago
On January 13th and 14th, the Baikoen Bonsai Kenkyukai hosted their 60th Annual Winter Silhouettes Show in Arcadia, California. Winter silhouette shows are a treat as there aren’t many around and it’s great to see exhibits that celebrate deciduous trees without their leaves. Why the focus on trees with no leaves? To appreciate the trunks and branch structure. Creating great deciduous bonsai requires time and the repeated application of good bonsai techniques before trees begin to look their best. The Baikoen event definitely had a number of trees that were looking their best. Here are a few of ..read more
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2024 Pacific Bonsai Expo updates
Bonsai Tonight
by Jonas Dupuich
2M ago
We have a lot of news to share about this year’s event! I’ll provide the highlights below and will follow up with more detailed info over the coming months. First up, we’ll be hosting the event at a… New Venue! For the 2024 Pacific Bonsai Expo we’ll be moving the event to a new venue: the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland, California. The venue is located next door to the Oakland Museum on the shores of Lake Merritt, just across the lake from the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt. The board decided to make to move to meet the community’s desire for an expanded event. We’re currently w ..read more
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Fall cutback on ume
Bonsai Tonight
by Jonas Dupuich
3M ago
The basics of fall work on ume are straightforward: remove the old leaves and prune to silhouette and/or the desired internode length. Before removing the leaves – no signs of fall color Fall has been mild this year so the leaves remained healthy into December. By removing the leaves, I could better see what branches had grown since I last pruned the tree in spring. After removing the leaves Although it’s hard to see from the photos, I made a lot of cuts to remove dead branches and stubs. I also shortened the relatively small number of branches that extended beyond the desired silhouette. A ..read more
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Trident maple fall pruning and Expo update
Bonsai Tonight
by Jonas Dupuich
3M ago
Save the date! The second Pacific Bonsai Expo will be held on October 26-27, 2024. We’ll have more updates in upcoming posts so stayed tuned for more info! As for the fall pruning, below is a trident maple showing the last bit of fall color. Trident maple with fall color After removing the leaves it’s easy to see how much the tree grew this year. It had been weak for a few years so I repotted it last year and let it grow freely. As a result, there are good shoots but no signs of the vigor I’d expect from a fully healthy trident maple. New shoots It’s also easy to see that the upper branches ..read more
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Red maple forest fall cleanup
Bonsai Tonight
by Jonas Dupuich
3M ago
The most consistent fall color in my garden each year can be found on a red maple forest planting that was started by a friend’s father back in the early 80s. Once most of the leaves turn color, I remove them all and do fall pruning. Here’s the tree before I removed the leaves. Red maple forest And here’s the tree after removing the leaves. After removing leaves Once I could see the branch structure, I reduced long branches, crossing branches, and branches that extended beyond the desired silhouette. I also added a few guy wires to reposition a few of the trunks. After pruning and repositio ..read more
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Bonsai display basics
Bonsai Tonight
by Jonas Dupuich
4M ago
A number of conventions guide the way bonsai are displayed at exhibits around the world. This post covers the basics. The Space Bonsai displays at Japanese exhibits are commonly six feet wide – about the length of one tatami mat. As most bonsai are anywhere between a few inches tall and up to three or four feet at the tallest, a six foot space provides enough room to present one or more trees plus additional display elements as space allows. Display Elements Basic display elements include trees, stands, and accents. To fill the display space, it’s common to display one large tree (18″ to 36″ t ..read more
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Highlights from the 8th US National Bonsai Exhibition – part 3: Shohin edition
Bonsai Tonight
by Jonas Dupuich
4M ago
Our third installment of the US National Bonsai Exhibition wrap-up focuses on shohin. This year’s exhibit featured 120 of them! If you’re interested in learning about shohin and shohin display, check out the note following the post about registering for next year’s Shohin School Winter Seminar. 6-tree display by John Kirby Although it’s hard to see details in full-display photos, it’s relatively easy to consider the size and style of the trees, the shape and color of the containers, and the effectiveness of how the trees are arranged. 6-tree display by Gary Andes 5-tree display by Brian Hol ..read more
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