Recent content by johnegert

Man, does THAT photo bring back memories!!! When your dad found out that "bonsai" was already taken, he came up with "4bonsai", which nobody had thought of yet. He also got a plate "4Saikei" for Melba Tucker to put on her big gray Caddie..... You're working in a rapidly diminishing tradition...

Well, Craig Boy--- I hope you're still checking the site. Tom, you and the twins and I went on many a dig together. When did your Dad pass on?? How about your Mom and Sisters?? I'm still doing bonsai like a maniac in the Albuquerque Bonsai Club--- check our website and facebook. I'm so glad to...

Yeah, that seems reasonable. The seiryu is better for saikei/group planting, unless you want to skillfully put several rocks close together for root-over-rock style. Some of the penjing artists are masters of this, and can muck together several rocks to make, visually, one larger stone. john

This thread is a little old, but what you want is Seiryu stone, which you can buy by the pound on Ebay. Google it up, and you will see the amazing aquarium aquascapes that the tank loonies are doing. The Kawamoto picture is pure seiryu, and you will get pieces just like that from the Calif. Ebay...

Good god!! Adair and I agree on something!! Is the Big Asteroid coming?? He is exactly right about that evil twisting move that wrecks more inexpensive tools than Steel Syphillis. And, to push my oddball analogy a bit farther, my ex, at least once, paid about $40 to fix her $60 vacuum, which did...

There's not much wrong with that group that some refinement of the big cuts and 4 or 6 seedlings wouldn't fix. One of the hardest things to get right when first planting a group is to work the roots so that some trees are very close together. You could kill a lot of that even spacing by working...

Yeah, the "old dog" label probably applies at some level.... Techniques come and go, the art remains. I enjoy using the bonsai wire cutter for the purpose for which it was designed because it works for me. As our friend Naka used to say, "Tonin Toiro"--- 10 different guys, 10 different guts.

Well, Adair, this probably gets down to personal preference, but I'll be glad to stir the pot a little longer. The "leaving wire on the tree" argument sounds hopelessly thin to me. We're supposed to be careful, aren't we?? Don't freaking leave any wire pieces!! One reason I cut is to see where...

AAron, you crazy geek!!! Are you learning anything over here??? I haven't participated in a forum in years, so I'll try not to engage in any bizarre invective like last time..... If you aren't working next Sat., come to Connie's and get some new soil prepared by microbiology guru Mike Melendrez...

Nebari-san---- I fear that unless you are up for some blacksmithing, you're screwed. This whole business of Chinese vs. Japanese tools has been an issue for years, and the truth is that lots of Chinese tools , though attractively cheap, were utterly useless. So, I was thrilled when Tian began...

Adair--- Sure, I've unwound tons of copper--- rarely aluminum--- but , beyond expense (which has become considerable) I don't see the point. Oddly, I have never cut off a twig with a good wire cutter. Also, in my Japan era, wire was routinely cut from established trees and sold to the "wire man"...

I'm a big fan of Bald Cypress, and it's not generally known, but they can stand quite a bit of drought. I live in Socorro, New Mexico-- not known as a swampy area, to say the least. But there is a twenty year old subdivision on a mesa above town where, for unknown reasons, they planted hundreds...

Ah, KG, how I envy you!!! There is no more wonderful feeling than looking at that first forlorn tree, squinting just a bit, and seeing that ancient forest giant, standing alone against the forces of nature, achieving grandeur!! Your task is to keep your beginner's mind, and that sense of wonder...

Since I'm new to this forum, see my brief intro over at the Announcements section, Harry Hirao thread. I suggest to my students that if finances are tight, the first actual bonsai tool to buy is a good Japanese wire cutter. You can cut wire off a roll with any decent tool--- I have a Felco...

This may be a strange place to introduce myself--- and , by extension, the Albuquerque Bonsai Club---- but here goes. I invite you to waste some pleasant time at our website and Facebook page. I'm the teacher for our club, having clear seniority, and a good bonsai education from So Cal and...