Bonsai Art

More Yamadori Finds (part 1)

Posted by Adam 2 Commented Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Under: Yamadori
A few days ago I found a lovely looking tree which I wrote about at “Naturally Formed Hazel Bonsai“. I went for a search around the same area again today and found other nice looking specimens. I brought home two oaks and two birches which I’ve yet to do anything with yet. All of them need a bit of growing on to look good as they are a bit bare at the moment.

One interesting yamadori specimen I spotted today looks very interesting. It is another hazel tree but is larger than the other one I collected. It’s going to need a good shovel to get it out.
The problem Is I don’t know what to do with it once I retrieve it as it’s a bit of a strange shape. It looks to have had a tortured life so far! I think it’s going to need to be a lot shorter than it is at the moment, but I don’t want to lose the character that it has.

Any suggestions?

Part 2

Part 3
5 Top Indoor Bonsai Care Tips by Samuel Phillipson

Posted by Adam 5 Commented Monday, March 23rd, 2009

Under: Tips
Indoor bonsai care can be quite a difficult process to say the least. Without proper care and attention bonsai trees are prone to dying which is a rather unfortunate for the grower and the tree itself. Many people have different views on the proper way to care for bonsai trees and today I am going to tell you the five top indoor bonsai care tips around. By using the advice provided you will be able to grow great looking bonsai trees and prevent yourself from becoming a “bonsai gardening statistic”. The tips I am about to share with you are of course reasonably basic, however, they are extremely effective at encouraging the growth of bonsai trees. Without using the five tips it is nearly impossible to grow a good tree as they are the basic things every bonsai tree requires in order to develop. In a way indoor bonsai care is a bit like building a house – you need firm foundations before you can complete the rest of the construction. The following five indoor bonsai care tips are a firm foundation for growing great trees. Read more »
A Well Set Out Bonsai Garden

Posted by Adam one Commented Monday, March 23rd, 2009

Under: Styling & Pruning
Heres an example of a well set out bonsai garden. This is at Du Fu’s Cottage In China. The guy in the video says that it is a topiary garden but it’s actually a bonsai garden! Click read more to see video… Read more »
Buying Bonsai Plants In The UK

Posted by Adam No Commented Monday, March 23rd, 2009

Under: Buying & Selling
Trying to buy bonsai plants in the UK can sometimes be a bit of a struggle. Where do you look? How much are you willing to spend? Here’s a few short tips you help you out on your bonsai buying quest!

Avoid indoor bonsai in garden centres. Half of these trees are actually supposed to be outside and by the time you get them home they have been indoors for too long already and are starting to die. Types you see such as maple, juniper and hornbeam should never be brought indoors

If theres a good bonsai centre close to home, use it. Sure these places are more expensive than garden centres but they are much better looked after and the shop keepers can tell you exactly how to care for them. They will have been treated right their whole life so should be in perfect health. You are paying for the amount of care they have received.

Join a club where you’ll find others wanting to trade. Lots of bonsai owners like to swop and change their trees now and again so who better to swop with than other like minded individuals? Take your trees along that you want to trade and you will definitely find a taker.

Search on ebay. Ebay is a great place to buy bonsai trees. You can search by region so that the only ones that will appear are close to home so you won’t have to travel far to collect them. Smaller trees can be posted if you want to risk it.

Use a mail order online shop. There are some good online shops out there selling shrubs. This is by far the cheapest way to create your own bonsai and give it your own stamp without spending the earth.
Repotted My Oak

Posted by Adam No Commented Saturday, March 21st, 2009

Under: Styling & Pruning
Today I repotted my oak tree. I put it back in the same pot as before but gave it a little trim. I gave it a new soil mix and covered the soil with grit and fertilizer. I think it could do with going in a ceramic pot now but that will have to wait until next year now.

The person I bought this tree and a few others thought that it was a very clever idea to screw them down to the wooden pot… What a fool. I thought I’d got rid of all the screws but then I found a screw in the root of the tree holding it to the pot!

The stone is there to bend the large root upwards slightly. It was on a strange angle where it was, heading straight across the top of the pot and chopped off at the end.

The tree has been raised slightly in the pot to expose the roots a bit more.
Collecting Trees From the Wilds – Part 3

Posted by Adam No Commented Saturday, March 21st, 2009

Under: Tips, Yamadori
Today I put my yamadori ash bonsai into a training pot. I saved a large steel bucket from a skip to use as a training pot to make sure the roots don’t spread too much. As you may know, I haven’t long had the tree. Usually with yamadori you need to keep them in the ground for them to recover for a period of at least a year or so. But this ash I have has been doing so well I thought I’d put it in it’s new training pot. Read more »
Weathered Bonsai

Posted by Adam No Commented Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Under: Styling & Pruning
Fantastic Weathered Bonsai found at Loren Webster’s blog.
Giant Oak Photo

Posted by Adam No Commented Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Under: Full Size Trees
Who said that I love oaks? I suppose I might have mentioned it now and again…

Here’s a picture I took in August 2007, at the National Botanic Gardens Of Wales which is near Carmarthen. The oak itself is huge and must have been around for hundreds of years.
Naturally Formed Hazel Bonsai

Posted by Adam one Commented Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Under: Yamadori
Today I acquired a beauty of a tree from the golf course where I work. It was situated next to a well used path and was found growing in a very twisty pattern with natural jins. I assume golfers must have been hitting it with their clubs as they walk past getting their practice swings ready! It was also growing in a pile of rocks so the roots were quite short and had fine hairs.

As a result of all this, it has had a struggle to survive and this shows in the fascinating patterns in the branches.
It is potted in a 10″ pot.

I cannot take any credit here! All I’ve done with this one is put it in the pot and trim the branches back a bit.
Making Bonsai

Posted by Adam No Commented Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Under: Tips
To make a bonsai you need the following:
1. An interesting small shrub or tree
2. A shallow bonsai pot
3. Imagination Read more »

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