Techniques
Galleries
Finding the Tree Within
Co-authored by Will Heath There comes a time in the design of every bonsai where the artist must decide on a path to follow, a path that will bring out the full artistic potential of the tree, while using only what it offers, c...
Bonsai Collecting
Yamadori
There is a lot of interest these days in ‘Yamadori’ or collecting bonsai material from the wild. In trendy contemporary bonsai circles especially in Europe, America and Japan, ‘Yamadori’ is all the rage....
Bonsai Collecting
Collecting Yamadori in Southeastern Europe
Andrija and I are from Croatia, we live together in Kaštela (region Dalmatia), a small town on the Adriatic coast, in a Mediterranean climate. We grow home Mediterranean species: Olive Tree (Olea Europaea), Mock Privet (Philyre...
Pruning, Trimming, and Pinching
Root Pruning And Why – Part Two
The two worst scenarios you are likely to encounter in dealing with nursery trees are the mud ball core and layered concentric roots. Both conditions are caused by the way trees are handled in the nursery trade. The first, the ...
Pruning, Trimming, and Pinching
Root Pruning and Why
Probably the most misunderstood practice in bonsai is the art of Root Pruning. When I first started growing bonsai, root pruning was not a subject often breached by gardeners as a common practice for growing anything. It was ki...
Styles and Styling
Literati Style (Bunjin)
I do not agree when someone says ‘if we cannot make a good bonsai from a poor material, at least we can make literati‘. To create good literati bonsai, one needs to understand the philosophy, the aesthetic knowledge...
Pruning, Trimming, and Pinching
Two Needle Pine Care Basics
This article is about the maintenance of the Pinus sylvestris and the Pinus mugo, but the techniques I will describe here can, with some small adjustments, also be used for, Pinus nigra, Pinus uncinata or Pinus ponderosa. Some ...
Bonsai Collecting
Collecting Basics
Collecting From The Wild All those who collect plants for bonsai should observe the ethical considerations of collecting because the manner in which we collect affects the perception of collectors worldwide. Unethical collectin...
Wiring
Wiring Roots
When we design bonsai, we wire the trunk, branches, and sometimes even the young shoots of a tree in order to bend and set them into positions that conform to our artistic vision. Throughout a bonsai’s styling we use wire...
Galleries
Airlayered Yamadori Hawthorn
The initial thoughts of this project began in the winter of 1990/91, when there was nothing more to do than read about Bonsai. I had been growing bonsai for a few years,but the more I read the more I realised that my trees lack...
Wiring
Wire
Wire is applied in a position of 45 degrees, in order to be able to hold the branches in position. Also be sure to make the wire be on top of a bend, in order to give it effect. Remember to select a wire that will be able to ho...
Propagation
Plant Propagation by Stem Cuttings: Instructions for the Home Gardener
Propagation by stem cuttings is the most commonly used method to propagate many woody ornamental plants. Stem cuttings of many favorite shrubs are quite easy to root. Typically, stem cuttings of tree species are more difficult ...
Propagation
Plant Propagation – Asexual Propagation (Part Two)
Grafting Grafting and budding are methods of asexual plant propagation that join plant parts so they will grow as one plant. These techniques are used to propagate cultivars that will not root well as cuttings or whose own root...
Propagation
Plant Propagation – Asexual Propagation
Asexual propagation, as mentioned earlier, is the best way to maintain some species, particularly an individual that best represents that species. Clones are groups of plants that are identical to their one parent and that can ...
