Bonsai Art » Styling + Pruning

Cotoneaster Restyling

admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:33:53 +0000

Here’s a before and after of a cotoneaster I restyled. I am extremely happy with the results and I really think it has turned out to be one of the best cotoneaster bonsai I have ever seen. It’s history as a bonsai goes back at least 10 years and possibly more. I bought it from a lady who’s husband owned it but had passed away. Unfortunately she didn’t know how to care for the trees and had to sell them all off. This particular one seemed to have been neglected for a long time as you can see in the photo. I found evidence that it had previously been in a shallow pot as there was mesh halfway into the root ball! I spent a few hours trimming it and moving it to a new pot and this was the result:

It has bushed out a bit more since taking the photo so I will be adding another soon. They really are great shrubs to use for bonsai as they give a lot of interest. The bark looks aged and rough quite early on and the leaves are very small. Add to that the fact that they flower in spring and grow berries late summer they give year round interest!

False Cypress Styling

admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:25:22 +0000

Heres a before and after of a false cypress (cryptomeria) I bought recently for a little project at the weekend. I am fairly happy with how it turned out but I think it’s got a long way to go before it’s looking great. I think I may have worked too quickly on it as some of the needles are turning a bit yellow unfortunately. Having said that, this variety does turn a golden yellow in the winter so it might be ok, only time will tell.

Needle Juniper Progression

admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:21:28 +0000

Heres a before and after of a needle juniper I have been developing. At the start when I bought it from a garden centre the trunk was horizontal to the ground and needed a lot of work to get it upright.

Juniper Bonsai Progression

admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:15:05 +0000

This photo shows the 5 year progression of one of the first trees I developed myself. I bought it from a nursery and as you can see it has progressed quite a bit.

A Well Set Out Bonsai Garden

Adam — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:07:43 +0000

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… Found on youtube

Repotted My Oak

Adam — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:30:59 +0000

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.

Weathered Bonsai

Adam — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 10:21:11 +0000

Fantastic Weathered Bonsai found at Loren Webster’s blog.

Willow Leaf Ficus

Adam — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:59:33 +0000

Here is a fantastic tree I’ve found online created by Ed Trout which is a willow leaf ficus.

It is a great design which is a root over rock. It looks like he’s grown it over the rock for a good few years to increase the root size and then switched it onto it’s side. It’s an amazing feat to undertake and is a very natural looking result also.

Ed Trout’s “Willow Leaf Ficus”

New Yamadori Hawthorn – my biggest yet (part 3)

Adam — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:12:39 +0000

Today I carved my hawthorn using hand tools including a stanley knife and a large penknife. I tried to tear off as much as I could to give it more of a natural look but it is so thick it took a long time to remove any amount of wood. I am happy with the largest branch on the right hand side but I might go back and carve the one on the left a bit further later on.

It’s been painted with lime sulphur to preserve the deadwood.

Part 2

Accent Plants For Your Bonsai

Adam — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:57:27 +0000

Heres a video I’ve found on youtube showing good accent ‘hosta’ plants to accompany your bonsai.