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I've had this american horbeam forest for about 9 years and it was put together with some fairly young trees at the time. This is probably my third forest but this one is deciduous, my other two are conifers. It's definitely come a long way and had 2 restyling by moving some trunks around. I...

Visited a local nursery and they had a very long JBP whip I kept walking by a few times. I brought it home and worked on it a few times, left it alone for a day or two, and kept walking around it every time I went downstairs to the basement to grab something. Leaving it alone for a little bit...

This has been a long-term project, and I've settled on a style and planting angle that has stuck for the past 5 years. I knew this was a literati project to begin with when I first purchased this material and that reducing the amount of foliage is probably better overall for the design. I've...

A few years ago I purchased a stick of a Zelkova for training into a shohin broom. I had pruned it down to a bar branch and left it undisturbed to let it thicken. Every now and then I'd pruned it back a few times. The nebari is not good so I used this opportunity to ground layer and further...

I have quite a few small pots break on me through the years. IKEA was the last straw and pushed me off the fence and into action. I got some dinnerware delivered and a good 20% of the plates that came were broken. I got them replaced, they sent me more than what I ordered, but some still broke...

I wanted to share this year-long journey so that I can say to myself that I did it, and also so that others can observe and maybe not attempt this because, in the end, it'll probably be better to just go and buy a pot for an astronomical amount of LESS effort. I've been trying to come up with...

I purchased this black pine in 2016 and took it to a group workshop. It was one of those purchases that you knew would take a lot of time and effort. We decided to chop it down to the left main branch and build with that. The only issue was the very straight trunk emerging from the soil line...

I started this project with my bonsai group and during the heat of the summer when things were slow, we decided to attempt and auxiliary project during the small down time. One of the group members have a fantastic wood workshop and that was where it all started. Here is the beginning stages...

A friend gave me a beautyberry air layer and it was very much growing every which way. I decided to braid it with grafting tape and wired up the entire thing. Making trunk and branches from nothing. Hoping it'll fuse.

I picked up a hinoki cypress because it's a species of tree I just dont have in my collection. I'm currently really enjoying Shohin trees and found a small hinoki to experiment on. It was a considerable pruning, took around 50% off to open up the interior. I've noticed the foliage is pretty...

Wanted to share. A few years back, I acquired this juniper from a friend. He received it from a donor who is in his 90s. The donor had this tree for about 20+ years and it shows. He also has Alzheimer's and that's reflected on the tree as well. I've been told that he remembers fondly of the...

This is my second year overwintering my tropicals indoors with an indoor grow tent and a grow light. The previous year, I've had some lessons learned, for the most part, the trees did very well; however, this year I'm having some brand new issues. Things I've changed from last year, flowering...

I have a Prunus virginiana (bitter berry) and for as long as I have had it, 2 years, I've not seen this flower once. I know it's capable of fruiting because when I got it, it had fruit on it. It grows prolifically every year. What am I doing wrong; also, maybe just thinking intuitively, does it...

The wife and I recently traveled to a country that had a population that was 50k. Interestingly enough, our recent trips have been primarily to these remote places. Something about seeing nature rather than being in cities draw us to these destinations. Iceland was the first place that started...

I bought a San Jose juniper about 3 months ago and worked on the foliage but nothing on the roots. I took it out of the plastic pot and slip potted it into a pond basket and filled it with akadama/pumice. What I am noticing is, after the torrential rain we got in Virginia around April/May the...

The wife and I have been thinking about making the long drive down to TN from VA to attend the grand opening of Bjorn and Nanxi's bonsai garden, Eisei-en. Speculating, what can one typically expect and will there be trees for sale? I'm assuming the answer is going to be yes. Anyone else thinking...

When is a good time to graft white pine scions?

Recently visited Japan, I just got around to reviewing all my pictures and video footage. Made a little video of my visit to the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum in Saitama Japan. Honestly, it was an experience I wanted to relive. It was great to travel out to Saitama and seeing all the amazing sights as...

Its been a long planning process but the NVBS opened up a pavilion to the public at the Meadowlark Bontantical Gardens in Vienna Virginia. Pretty proud moment. Any of the members who want to contribute a tree can have their tree be put on display for a specified season. Took some video footage...

This is how it always starts... two years ago I bought a jade during a random impulse buy. Dead of winter too, that's when I typically make impulsive buys, fidgety fingers. Did an initial wiring and didn't know how I'd feel about the tree in its current state/style. I have never seen a broom...

I'd like to start off by saying, oh how the mighty have fallen... I do apologize for anyone reading this post and saying to themselves, "what a waste..." So here we go, a few years ago, I acquired a dawn redwood at the local bonsai festival. It was sitting on the sale bench and I had told myself...

Has anyone heard of this stuff? The ratio is 20-10-5 and has come strongly recommended.

It wasn't until a few years ago I was made aware of a certain type of growing container that air prunes the roots of the plant. I think it was called air pots, simple and effective concept and execution. I believe @Vance Wood has a patented pot design utilizing the same principles with the sides...

Definitely enjoy this subscription. Having a little buyer's remorse with going tier 1. Who else has subscribed to this? I really appreciate his introduction, how he empathized with all the beginners out there who started and had nothing to go off of. I definitely wish there will be more content...

Went to Iceland last October and I can't put into words how amazing this trip was. We've been to magical places before but never have I felt so intimate with ourselves and the majesty of nature. This place is so desolate and filled with such contrast, but so intensely beautiful. I'll just let...