A different view from Bill Valavanis‘ garden. The well-developed nebari on these trees is a result of doing the right work, right from the beginning…spread the roots radially, let them develop just under the soil surface, exposing them gradually after they’ve thickened sufficiently underground, then repotting on a sparing timeline. Enjoy!

Next week we’ll take a look at a white pine’s journey back to health over the last year.

I just wanted to share some photos of my attempt to do wabikusa. Most of them are 2 weeks old.

Here are some new photos of my wabikusa set up. From terrarium style (tank covered with cellophane)to acclimating them into an air conditioned atmosphere (open tank). As you can see, they are starting to acclimate well. There are some dried up leaves on some of them but the newer leaves are doing fine.

I have been busy lately but I do have a few photos of other wabikusa displays. Hope you guys enjoy them.

Source: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plant-physiology-emersed-culture/58291-emersed-growth-trial-wabikusa.html

Stuck in Tokyo or a visit to Shunka-en Bonsai Museum In The Rain

Because of a delayed flight I stayed overnight at a hotel near Narita Airport. Got up early, worked on the magazine, wrote a recommendation for a close friend then took off to visit Kunio Kobayashi’s Shunka-en Bonsai Museum. I just got back to the airport and had the pleasure to ride on a bus, four trains, two subways and three taxis in order to visit bonsai in the rain, and well worth the effort.

Bonsai look different in the rain and are difficult to photograph. Yuji Yoshimura taught me that bark texture and color are best when dry to see the details. Well, I did not have a hair dyer to dry off the trees and I have loads of Mr. Kobayashi’s bonsai in the sun, so simply enjoyed the bonsai in the rain and took some…

This morning was spent visiting the Shunka-en Bonsai Museum of Kunio Kobayashi in the Edogawa Ward of Tokyo. Fortunately, Peter Warren from England was at the museum and had time to show our group around explaining interesting details about the museum, containers and display, in proper English too.

This weekend Mr. Kobayashi is holding an exhibition of his client’s bonsai so all of the apprentices were busy cleaning trees and polishing the tables and containers. Trees were actually being placed as we enjoyed their beauty. It was interesting to me to watch three apprentices carefully place a Japanese maple bonsai on a display table as one took charge to perfect the positioning.

As in October, I noticed even more pieces of charcoal on the soil surface of many bonsai. Many of the pieces were quite large as well. Since many of the bonsai were transplanted in spring, it is easier…

This year the autumn viewing season for maples has been excellent. A sign in our hotel indicates the stage of leaf coloring in several of the popular viewing areas. It looks like we visited Kyoto at the best time, too bad I did not have the opportunity to visit any of the gardens.

Last views of the 34^th Nippon Taikan Bonsai Exhibition

Sargent juniper, Juniperus chinensis var. sargentii ‘Shimpaku’

Only three shohin bonsai compositions this year were displayed. In early January there is a huge shohin bonsai exhibition which fills the entire building.

Shishigashira Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘Shishigashia’

Japanese black pine, Pinus thunbergii. This masterpiece bonsai was created by Kenji Oshima and won the Prime Minister Award at last year’s Professional Bonsai Exhibition.

Even the suiseki were carefully watered. Note the cloth placed behind the stone to avoid moistening the valuable display tables.

Winged spindle tree, Euonymus sieboldiana

Red…