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Wow, Never seen so much squirrel damage. I have two squirrels on the large oak towering above my bonsai garden, but they don't bother my trees. And they keep away other squirrels from coming to my yard, so I actually hope that they stay longer. I had others in the past that defoliated a few...

Not too late to defoliate some species, such as Trident Maple. By the first week of September, you've got a whole set of fresh foliage. And there is plenty of time left for hardening.

I just found this out yesterday from Peter Macasieb. It was shocking to hear this. I met Dave occasionally throughout the years, we always had the most pleasant conversations. Last time I saw him, was at the Riverside convention a couple of years ago, we went rock hounding in the desert, and...

What I meant, by losing years, is that in bonsai, the faster growing and the more vigorous the tree is, the faster we arrive to our design objectives. So, we want to speed up the growth, and not to slow down. Once the final branch structure is in place, along with the desired girth/taper, THEN...

Don't ever change, Will.

The problem I see is not the design, but the health of the tree. Junipers gain strength/vitality from their foliage (unlike pines, where root mass is the source of strenghth). This juniper is so stipped, that it must teter on the brink of comatose, and it will take a few years to re-gain its...

It's interesting, those large dead branches. They really make the design great, but if it was up to us, I can't imagine that we would kill those branches to create such a design. So, we need those accidents, to create something unique. Hilarious, isn't it?

Yep. That's why I'm expressing only my opinion. BTW, pretty much everything is subjective, when it comes to bonsai design.:) (I should have added IMO, but I thought that this is understood without saying).

Awsome tree. Looking at the angle of the primary branches - it's very easy to see that they don't grow at 90degrees from the trunk. It's important to establish that angle when the branch is still very young, since it becomes harder and harder to correct it as they thicken. But the tree also...

Yes, I always select the tree guides with the pictograms of the trees that you are showing as examples. It gives us a good idea of the natural growth habits. The disclaimer is, of course, that you take a tree from its ideal enviroment, and place it into a harsh habitat, like a mountain cliff...

Very good observation.

There is also a species-specific aspect of deciduous design, but only certain species qualify for this. Prunus mume You would NEVER create nice pads on a Japanese apricot (Prunus mume, or "Ume"). An Ume always has to look natural. Always, there is no exception (see my first series of pictures)...

And finally, if you want to go even more structured with the pads, you can do this. These still look good, you need to create domed pads, with some of the primary branches growing upward first. As a general rule, when you work with deciduous trees, you need some primary (thick) branches to...

On the other hand, if you prefer something more formal and structured, you can do this. The way you achieve this, is that you initially create a flat pad (so that you have a "skeleton" to build on), and then you let the pads over-grow, making sure that the angle of the over-growing branches...

There is no particular rule for deciduous branch structure. Unlike with the conifers, where a more or less tight foliage pad is a must, in order for the tree to look good, deciduous bonsai has a wide latitude of styles to choose from. So, you have to decide what your taste is. It you want...

That takes some guts to do it. But there is a time in the life of the bonsai, when the tree has reached its maximum potential under the current design. At the same time, you know that there is a greater potential, if you do some drastic changes. This is when one's creativity and vision can make...

That's fine, for the first 15 years. But there comes a time, when you HAVE to show some results, or else, you will have to answer a lot of questions. Such as....will I EVER have a decent tree, worth a second look? As long as your answer makes sense, there is no problem. Just make sure you...

Great post, Vance. I can relate to a lot of stuff here. Bonsai teachers (and art schools for that matter), cannot teach you the art of bonsai. But they can do one thing very well: teach proper technique. And that can save you some time, because it will take you much longer to learn the same...

Not disagreeing with you at all, yes, every bit helps. But the biggest help of the conscientious bonsai collector lies somewhere else. This is not often told, so I am going to say it here: Small scale bonsai collecting is beneficial to the environment (and bonsai in America will ALWAYS will...

I only have about 20 yamadori, a very tiny fraction of my total collection. The rest are collected seedlings and nursery material grown in the ground for decades, plus a small number of purchased, semi-finished bonsai. Here in California, yamadori collecting has virtually zero influence on...

Gosh, I haven't looked at it for a long time, but still looks like the best bonsai website ever. Too bad that it had to self-destruct. I remember how excited we were, when we started it. Everybody was supportive. At the end, it became like work, and the whole world coming down on us. This...

Last year when I visited Dan's collection, he told me that the tree (the 2nd one) "is the best hinoki cypress bonsai in the world". He literally said that. I know that Dan is not the most modest man by any standard, but in this case, I believe that he is actually right. ....not sure...

Demos are as boring as the demonstrator himself. I've found the demos held by Ryan Neil very entertaining, because he constantly talks, while doing his demo. And he talks about things that you don't read in books. Educational and entertaining at the same time. Dan Robinson is another one, fun to...

I've heard from several sources that baobab must be treated like a succulent. In that case, the advice you've heard is correct. I've done it many times with Portulacaria and Crassula. You need to let the baobab trunk dry out, so that a dry film covers the open wound. This dry surface acts like a...

It would be a great mistake to train this tree, using Japanese Black Pine (or Red Pine) techniques. Japanese Black pine is a low elevation tree, that has a very long growing season. Because of the long growth season, it has multiple growth flushes. It grows large candles, and if you cut those...