zach’s personal collection
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progressions
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Read About the Bonsai in Zach’s Collection
bald cypress
Styling A Big Bald Cypress
styling a big bald cypressSneak PeakThe big collected Bald cypresses start out pretty much the same way. They recover pretty much the same way. Then comes that day when you dive in ....Styling A Big Bald CypressI acquired this big Bald cypress last month from...
Rulebreaking 101 – Red Mulberry
rulebreaking 101 - red mulberrySneak PeakRules are made to be broken, right? Yes and no. When you break a rule of art, what you end up with had better be a lot better than if you'd stuck with the rule. In bonsai it's not any different ....Rulebreaking 101 - Red...
BC Forest – Would You?
bc forest - would you?Sneak PeakIt's common to have to redesign bonsai over time. A branch dies; you find a better front; and in the case of established forest plantings you lose trees, which have to be replaced. Here's one of those cases, and what I'm thinking of...
Read About the Bonsai in Zach’s Collection
huckleberry
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...
Huckleberry #5
Vaccinium species Collect date: 12/23/17 Trunk base: 3.5" across Height to top chop: 18" Finished height (est.): 22" Estimated age: 35-50 years Years in training: 0 Video #1 This Huckleberry was collected in December of 2017, and allowed to grow...
Repotting Mr. Van Winkle
It's been a couple of years since I repotted my big Willow oak, Quercus phellos. Last year I named him Rip Van Winkle, because he waited until May to finally bud out. (I was afraid he was R.I.P. Van Winkle.) Anyway, when I did the repotting back in 2016 I tried...
Read About the Bonsai in Zach’s Collection
riverflat hawthorn
Starting Over With A Bonsai – You Will, Sooner Or Later
Last year I was working on this Riverflat hawthorn, Crataegus opaca, for a client who had purchased the tree and was anxiously awaiting delivery. I had collected it in 2015, and began its training that same year. The primary work last year was to pot it into a nice...
Repotting Mr. Van Winkle
It's been a couple of years since I repotted my big Willow oak, Quercus phellos. Last year I named him Rip Van Winkle, because he waited until May to finally bud out. (I was afraid he was R.I.P. Van Winkle.) Anyway, when I did the repotting back in 2016 I tried...
Hawthorn Gets New Home. Nice!
If you've spent any time browsing through our site, you've seen my awesome Riverflat hawthorn (Crataegus opaca). After several years, this tree is really well developed and frankly is one of my all-time favorites. One thing I've come to realize over the past...
Read About the Bonsai in Zach’s Collection
willow oak
Subtle Changes, Big Impact
You may remember this Water Oak, Quercus nigra, from last summer. I slip-potted it at that time, as it had pushed a lot of growth and I knew the tree had plenty of roots to survive on. But the story didn't end there.A couple of months later, I came to...
Bonsai Odds & Ends – Hornbeam, Water Oak
I acquired this American hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana, from another collector last summer. It had been wired, a new leader grown out, then allowed to grow to get strong. Today it was time to make the next move with it.I took the leader way back. It needs...
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...
we love your input
Hi Zach,
When is the next availability of Bald Cypress. I live in Michigan.
I would like to get one booked.
I am retired from the bonsai business, Aby. Sorry.
Is bald cypress Cypressbonsai20 available for sale?
so this is the 1st time in a while I’ve been to the site just showing it off and im super impressed.
Thank you, Josh!
Zach, I see you train bonsai BC in flat top style but am not sure what to picture. Is it supposed to mimic a tree that lost its conical top from wind damage or lightning? Does it look like a bald head with hair/branches growing out from the sides only? Do you have finished ones like this to show as an example?
Thanks, Danny
Danny, the so-called flat-top Bald cypress is simply an older tree that has lost most of its lower branches as it’s grown taller and older, and having reached its genetically limited height the growth in the crown spreads laterally. Check out this post to get an idea of one in training.