The Bonsai Files
Your free access to general and how-to articles, The Bonsai Files. Detailed and filled with bonsai pictures, Zach shows you step-by-step how he designs bonsai and provides before, during, and after images.
The Bonsai Files
American Hornbeam #3
I collected this American hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana, in January of 2018. I couldn't resist the nice twin-trunk structure and the trunk character, especially the rugged bark. I only run across rugged bark on a hornbeam occasionally, so I try not to pass...
A Few Trees At Year-End
Chinese elm, Ulmus parvifolia, is commonly called Lacebark elm. This common name was given due to the fact that the species exfoliates its bark annually, revealing a lovely underlayer with a nice orangey-salmonish color. I was cleaning up this specimen today...
American Hornbeam Work
This past September I acquired this American hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana, from a fellow enthusiast. It's a fine specimen, with "muscling" to die for. My goal is to create a great hornbeam bonsai out of it, which I can achieve in just two years. It's well...
A Big BC For 2019
We're getting close to Bald cypress collecting season for 2019, so I thought it would be a good time to take a look at a tree I've had on the bench for a couple of years. This is a big boy. The trunk is 6" across 6" above the soil, and it's 26" to the chop. ...
A Year And A Half In The Making – Cedar Elm Bonsai
8/4/17 This Cedar elm was slip-potted in August of 2017, when I placed it into this nice handmade Byron Myrick rectangle. The tree had thrown enough buds to allow a nice branch set and leader for training. 8/26/17 A few weeks later, and the tree continued its...
Making A Better Composition – Cedar Elm
I showed you this tree last week, specifically to demonstrate how far you can come in just a year's time. The tree was also showing some fall color. Well, a week later and the color has continued to develop. The leaves will be off this tree before long,...
A Portrait Of What We Work Toward
Riverflat Hawthorn #1 Trunk base 3.25" Height 30" Collected in Winter 2012, this tree is now seven years in training. In that time, I've been able to build the tree's structure from a collected bare trunk, create the necessary tapering transition in the apex to...
A Year In The Making – Cedar Elm Bonsai
5/4/18 5/10/18 5/19/18 5/28/18 6/24/18 7/7/18 7/21/18 11/24/18 It's amazing what can be done in a short time. From the ground to nice bonsai in one growing season. This tree may be purchased here. Ships now if you're not in a cold place, in spring...
A Twin-Trunk Sweetgum Gets Styled
I've been working on this Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) in the ground for about five years. I lifted it in July 2018, potted and left it to recover. With fall colors now showing, I decided an initial styling was in order. As with all multi-trunk specimens,...