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
Here’s The Kind Of Progression I Like To See
In the ideal bonsai world we'd collect a tree, watch it bud out and then push nice shoots for us to work with, we'd wire and pot the tree, and it would have developed its complete structure by the end of the first growing season. Ah, if only.... Well, this looks like...
Do You Know The Best Thing About American Hornbeam For Bonsai?
American hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana, is one of my best deciduous species for bonsai. It has many stellar characteristics as a bonsai subject, including relatively small leaves that reduce in size readily, smooth greenish-gray bark, and the easily recognized...
Another Cedar Elm Gets Styled
This Cedar elm, Ulmus crassifolia, is now strong enough for an initial styling. I know this because it has undergone its second round of growth following the initial recovery period. Notice in this photo the growing tips of the shoots. There's roots below ground!...
Bonsai Odds & Ends – Tulip Poplar, Hackberry, And Is This A Catbird Grape?
Everybody knows that you avoid trying to make bonsai out of magnolias. Grandiflora, specifically, with its dinner-plate sized flowers. No, I don't go there, so this isn't going to be about some valiant effort to overcome the species. With that said, this Tulip...
The Initial Styling Of A Very Cool Cedar Elm
I collected this Cedar elm, Ulmus crassifolia, in April of 2017. As you can see from this photo, taken in October of 2017, its post-collecting recovery was weak. You will likely encounter this sort of situation from time to time. The key is to recognize it and treat...
Designing A Bald Cypress Pairing – Next Step
In early March I created this bald cypress pairing. On the 31st here's what it looked like. Not so impressive. But from humble beginnings.... A month later, the trees had responded like bald cypress responds, and I was able to get the initial styling mostly done. ...
What In The World Do I Do With That?
It has to be the most difficult challenge every developing bonsai artist faces: namely, staring at a piece of material that's all full of growth but which has no clear design in sight. When I teach workshops the basic issue with every tree we work on is, "What in the...
Let’s See If I Can Add Video To My Blogs
So last year I slip-potted this Cedar elm, Ulmus crassifolia, in September. It's a nice specimen that looks great with a bit of a slant in its planting angle. As I've noted before, I need to ground-layer some roots in front of the tree. This will be a simple task...
A Fun Friday With Cedar Elms
Here's one of the Cedar elms, Ulmus crassifolia, that I collected in March. It's a smaller specimen, with a trunk base of 1" at the soil level, but it's packed with character. I've been keeping an eye on it now since it first started showing buds a week after...