Tanuki is a fun technique that can produce interesting and dramatic trees to add to your bonsai collection. A tanuki bonsai is created by joining a living tree to an interesting piece of deadwood, creating a beautiful bonsai that looks natural. Creating a tanuki bonsai can make a young, affordable tree look much older. Follow along step-by-step to create your own trickster bonsai!

Bacteria and Fungus are part of the natural life cycle of plants, providing mechanisms by which dead plant tissue is broken down to components that can then be re-used by other plants to grow. Under certain conditions some fungus may infect actively growing plant tissue rather than just dead tissue, attacking the tissue and causing unsightly spots, weakness, or even death in bonsai trees. Managing fungal pathogens can help bonsai stay healthy and maintain their beautiful appearance.

Decandling is essential to the development of Japanese Black pine (Pinus thunbergii) bonsai. The goal of decandling is to contain the growth of the tree, force more compact growth, and create back-budding. Decandling removes all of the new growth from the pine, which like any tree, is built to react to foliage removal by replacing the foliage, normally with more compact foliage. After any type of pruning, a tree typically reacts prudently to conserve energy and allow itself to re-establish the photosynthetic surfaces (e.g. needles). In deciduous trees, partial or total defoliation allows lots of light into the interior branching....

Exposed-root bonsai can be amazing compositions; we love the wild randomness of the roots and the crazy shapes that they make as our trees age and mature. Exposed root has been well explored in Japanese bonsai and in Chinese bonsai. Do you know why all bonsai should be exposed root?

The confusion surrounding how to care for Japanese Black Pine bonsai likely stems from the reality that these trees require different work to be done at different phases of their life. Eric outlines basic annual care cycles for young and developing trees, semi-mature, and mature Japanese Black Pine bonsai.