Laser Beam Bonsai

Barberry bonsai 2012

2012-01-17T13:35:00.001-08:00

Okay this plant is developing nicely I think. Needs a different pot and to be planted at a new angle.

Box elder bonsai

2012-01-15T17:33:00.001-08:00

Leafless. I really like this one.

Winged elm bonsai

2012-01-10T19:40:00.001-08:00

Collected winged elm.

2012 malus bonsai

2012-01-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

okay, here is an image of my apple tree without leaves.. i had tried to post one previously from my phone but the images seem to suffer. idk why. but here is a slightly clearer image. what do you think about it? what would you change? i do want to change the pot.

Winter apple

2011-12-20T10:13:00.001-08:00

Still getting familiar with posting updates from my phone.

This is not a bonsai

2011-12-13T06:57:00.001-08:00

This is a cactus I picked up at home depot. Its been a stressful couple months

box elder bonsai

2011-08-02T10:56:00.000-07:00

bonsai rules?

2011-07-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

Of course it does ;)
Okay, what I mean to say is The Rules of Bonsai
Or more accurately Bonsai Considerations

1.The tree will appear in a formal container, relatively small compared to the tree. Now, I don't disagree that presentation is key, however many of my containers as of today are considerably less-than-formal and with developing trees it can be beneficial to hold off on too small of a container. This is true for me anyway.

2. Except for the tree(s) and optional patches of moss, no other plant should appear in a bonsai container. I don't know why this should be the case except for emphasis. What about harmony and expression of nature. I sometimes allow grass to grow in my bigger pots because I just enjoy it as I also do enjoy moss. Why not?

3. Except for the vegetation, soil, and natural-looking rocks, no other object should appear in a bonsai container. This I agree with to some extant although I did have a little plastic dinosaur that would find its way into one of my pots from time to time. I enjoyed the irony of the dinosaur being plastic and also it was an aquatic plesiosaur which, in life, would have probably never left the ocean. I am delighted by dinosaurs! The dinosaur does not appear in any of my photos because of extinction on its part.

4.The tree will have a distinct "front" from which it is intended to be viewed. Ha! Why not multiple fronts? I know I'm not the only one thinking this. Or even a 360 degree tree, viewable from all sides?

5. The trunk should taper significantly from base to top. I have tried to challenge this notion in my mind. In general it seems to hold true depending on what you consider "significant" in terms of taper.

6. The tree's rootage should be exposed at the base of the trunk and should flare wider than the trunk as it enters the ground. Trees in nature seem to usually do this.

7. No visible roots should cross each other. why not? In nature this happens.

8. Branches should begin about one-third of the way up the trunk, and be continuous from there to the tip of the trunk (this guideline is specifically broken for the literati, or Bunjin-gi, style). I still think the branches can start lower on many trees. Makes them easier to climb.

9. Branch size should diminish from the base to the top of the tree. This is true but one or two branches should go against this rule in my oppinion. This will make the image look more natural and less bonsai.

10. No major tree branch should cross the trunk when viewed from the tree's "front".

11. Branch ramification, particularly in deciduous trees, should increase towards the tip of each branch. I don't know about this one, it seems to make sense but I just don't know.

12. Branch shape should reflect the weight of age, particularly in conifers, and branches may be shaped to tend downwards toward the tip in support of this practice.

13. The trunk may be a straight vertical shape or may be contorted in different directions over its length, but in styles where the tip of the tree is above the container, the tip should tilt slightly forward at the top (toward the viewer). Ok sure, so it looks like you're looking up at the tree?

14. Foliage (leaves or needles) should be small and to scale with the tree and its branches. This is the one I hate the most. Especially in mini-bonsai I believe that out-of-scale leaves are just fine. Even in large ones I feel that if the leaves are out of proportion the essence of a tree can still be conveyed.

15. All trees in a multi-tree bonsai planting should be of the same species. I don't agree. Maybe it will have to be done with some serious grace but most of the world's forrests are mixed.

Here is my take:
Bonsai should be a personal expression and communication with nature or the universe. There should be infinate considerations for expression and communication.

Winged Elm, Ulmus alata

2011-07-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

this tree is occasionally considered a nuisance as it readily invades old fields, forest clearings and rangelands, proving particularly difficult to eradicate with herbicides

Jade, CRASSULA OVATA bonsai, Before and After

2011-06-28T22:11:00.000-07:00

This tree belongs to Trey Hoover. I have had poor luck with indoor bonsai but he seems to have a thriving collection of indoor plants due to his enormous windows. I will post more of this one as it developes.

collected winged elm, ulmus alata bonsai

2011-06-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

I collected a few of these in a field. The bark is unbelievable to me. deeply fissured, corky and multi colored. I have no experience with this species but I've read that they are quite hardy.

crabapple bonsai

2011-06-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

The best angle to view this tree. The front.

box elder, acer negundo bonsai

2011-06-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

Dont tell me it can't be done. Alright the leaves are big and the growth is less than compact... One good thing about this tree is that it is extremely tough. This is my first attempt at collecting one of these and so far I'm impressed with its vigor. This particular one comes from the "thick-n-dangerous" spot, a place you don't know about. I will be posting more about this tree as it developes.

new crabapple pre bonsai

2011-06-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

2011-05-26T09:36:00.001-07:00

this is terrific music to listen while you draw. its important to always draw. draw all things. use a variety of devices, from crayons to sharpies... do it.

my smallest and biggest.. almost

2011-05-25T06:15:00.000-07:00

barberry and juniper virginiana

mini-bonsai red maple (acer rubrum)

2011-04-12T07:24:00.000-07:00

a tiny slice of nature, its leaves are about to open as a blanket of moss forms. .

Slanting Crabapple Bonsai

2011-04-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a crabapple that I collected from the side of a road a couple years ago. I am surprised that it already looks this good. This plant throws out buds in the strangest places! Even a root sprouted buds so I turned it into a seperate plant, a clone of the parent tree. Sadly no blooms this year. I guess the tree needs mature branches. I've been looking around in the wilderness for more of these and I have discovored quite a few. I'll see if I can get some or them, if they aren't too large to dig up ;)

winter barberry

2011-01-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

i love this plant

winter silhouette

2011-01-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a winter image of my crabapple tree, one of my favorite trees. In the spring this baby will be covered in flowers. Right now its forming buds. Stay tuned for more images of this one because it develope quite quickly. I need to remove the rock and find a darker rock. I'd also like to buy a much nicer pot.

Juniper pre-bonsai

2010-11-28T10:39:00.000-08:00

American Apple Bonsai Fall Colors

2010-11-10T07:23:00.000-08:00

This is what happens to some plants when temperatures begin to drop. This time last year the plant looked much different. I never saw any fall color because I had chopped all its branches off. Next year I am hoping for fruit. If it does fruit I am gonna make a tiny apple pie.

There's a rock now in the design. The rock comes from a strange and mysterious creek bed. Here is an older picture of the same tree, before all the chopping and bending that took place in the past two years.

Informal Juniper Bonsai, Early Stage of Developement

2010-10-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

Juniper chinensis 'Sea Green' promo shrub from LOWE'S garden center earlier this year. The plant cost me two dollars after getting it marked down by a very nice employee ;)

The pot comes from China i believe.

The foliage is much more compact with this variety, its hard to tell in the photo because this juniper has a long way to go. I'm not sure which direction to take this one but it will be changing in the future.

venerable bonsai

2010-10-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

i thought it was dead for a few months... its not

cascade bonsai, improved form

2010-10-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

this eastern red has improved greatly since the last image i posted of it. now i just hope i can keep it alive for its first winter in a container! previously it was growing on the side of some railroad tracks. it was actually adam that collected it by ripping it out of the with no tools whatsoever. its not the tactic i would recommend. if you look at the other picture of it from an earlier post you can see a big difference. if it survives, around this time next year it will have filled in considerably. this is a species that is rarely used in bonsai design and is thought to be difficult to train by most experts. my goal is to prove them wrong. so far its looking like i will.

Mini-Bonsai Maple Cascade

2010-08-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

Acer Rurum

Also called Red Maple, this deciduous native is usually not used in bonsai. The pot is about four inches across.

Eastern Red Cedar Cascade Bonsai

2010-08-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

Juniperus virginiana is a species of juniper native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, east of the Great Plains. In its native range, it is commonly called "cedar" or "red cedar," names rejected by the American Joint Committee on Horticultural Nomenclature as it is a juniper, not a true cedar.

This one pictured is from a rocky slope in Northern Kentucky. This type of juniper is rarely seen in bonsai. Next spring this plant will be placed in a smaller pot. For sale.

Crabapple Bonsai

2010-08-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

An apple tree and one of my favorites. For sale.

In the wild, apples grow quite readily from seeds. Apple trees are an example of "extreme heterozygotes", in that rather than inheriting DNA from their parents to create a new apple with those characteristics, they are instead different from their parents, sometimes radically. This is why there are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples.

crape myrtle bonsai

2010-08-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

Lagerstroemia

Crape myrtle makes an excellent bonsai due to its exquisite branch ramification and ability to reduce its leaf size. It gets its common name from its crepe-like, crinkled petals. This can even be successfully grown as an indoor plant.

Barberry Bonsai

2010-08-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

Berberis Thunbergii

This one is very old. I have two of these old barberry bonsai. Both are for sale.

Rarely seen in classical bonsai in the past, the barberry is slowly gaining poppularity as a container plant. This barberry bonsai produces tiny yellow flowers early in the summer followed later by tiny red fruits. The plant is also covered in tiny needle-like thorns.