Bonsai Fun
Okay, while I admit to enjoying everything associated with bonsai, the fact is it's not necessarily all hysterical fun. Sometimes it can actually get to be a bit of a drag. Don't get me wrong, the wiring, pruning, pinching, unwiring, rewiring, and so on aren't bad...
Bald Cypress – Next Step
You'll remember this bald cypress I defoliated on July 5th. As I noted at the time, for established cypresses you can defoliate in early July in order to get a fresh new set of foliage for fall. Summer heat often causes stress on these trees, which shows up as...
Bald Cypress Defoliation And Summer Work
This is the bald cypress I've been working on for a couple of years now. If you compare this photo with earlier ones, you'll no doubt conclude the growth has simply exploded this year. This is one reason I just love bald cypress as a bonsai specimen. Nothing much...
Bonsai Odds & Ends
Spring is just about over, and that means certain bonsai chores need doing. It's a pretty sure bet that a lot of wire applied in winter-spring is cutting in about now, so going around removing wire is a task that tends to occupy a part of your time over the course of...
Bald Cypress Initial Styling
It's the time of year to do initial styling on bald cypresses collected this past winter. I had posted this specimen earlier in the season, and mentioned my idea of a style for it that represented something I've never done before. There's nothing like a rainy Sunday...
Spring Is Awesome!
I love when my trees begin to bud in the very early spring, especially the new arrivals, but I'm just awestruck when spring really kicks in. Shoots start extending, and you get a glimpse of the health of each and every one of your bonsai and pre-bonsai. The photo of...
Coming Attractions
Spring isn't quite here officially, but the vast majority of my trees think it is and are popping buds to prove it. Here are a few trees that will be hitting the sale pages in the coming weeks. Bald cypress - Taxodium distichum Check out the buds on this one! And...
Bald Cypress Year Three Work
I collected this bald cypress in January 2013. I couldn't resist a great flaring base, great trunk movement, twisting gray bark, and that interesting "elbow" on the right-hand flaring root. I let the tree grow out unrestrained in 2013. When 2014 came, I selected the...
Bald Cypress Collecting – Part 2
I collected more bald cypress today. As I suspected would happen, many are budding out. This shouldn't present any problem with their surviving, but it certainly will delay their rebudding. Still, how can you say no to really nice bald cypress? Here's one of the...
Do Trees Remember? (A Bald Cypress Story)
You've seen this cypress before. I collected it about a year ago, about 120 miles south of where I am. At the time of collection, it and the other surrounding cypresses had already leafed out in their fresh pre-spring foliage. It got chopped back, along with the...