Whitebark Pine (P. albicaulis) in California is generally confined to the high Sierra Nevada with scattered populations in parts of the Cascade range. They occur mainly above 8,000 feet elevation. On an eventful backpacking trip to the central Sierra Eric was surprised to find some high ridges covered in exciting examples of twisting Whitebark Pine, or Krummholz (the German name used for the form of trees that is so contorted by wind, snow, and ice that they no longer form an upright tree but rather a matte or bush of foliage.) 

If you want to learn how to design good bonsai trees, selecting the material to work on is your first, and arguably most important, task. The ultimate potential for quality in a bonsai tree is dependent upon your initial material selection. If you're new to bonsai, working with junipers can help you understand an arc of development from start to finish. Producing a juniper bonsai from untrained material is a good example of the bonsai process.

If you take good care of your bonsai during the short, cold months of Winter, it will reward you in the Spring with strong growth. Timing tasks in the Spring to take advantage of this new growth is the key to continuing on the path toward a healthy, happy bonsai all year ’round. There are three key tasks to focus on: pinching, pruning, and wiring.

In practicing bonsai we create a healthy tree, and the tree creates new growth that we can use to create an update to the shape, age or other character of the tree. With each new year or new spurt of growth consider the ways that you can use these in your partnership with the bonsai tree.

This article is focused on weeding bonsai and debris removal. In bonsai, the term for cleaning (either your work surface or the top surface of your bonsai tree’s soil) is soji. Keep this sentiment from Marie Kondo in mind; “The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness living within that environment.” Weeding may typically seem like a mundane task, until you open your mind to change your perception. 

Moments in time; snapshots; fleeting impressions - these had a great influence on me when I was a beginning bonsai student. I find it productive to walk around bonsai shows and appreciate the unexpected; the delights. Which trees are the most interesting; which are the most evocative of the season; which spark your imagination or remind you of a moment in your life you had forgotten? It’s these details and these moments that make bonsai really magical to behold.

Bonsai rock plantings imitate the awe-inspiring state of trees in harsh natural environments struggling to find nutrients and maintain health. I had never created batches of Juniper rock plantings before. I had previously put together a larger Juniper on a slab, and a small Juniper on a stone, but not using the same process; these never had a base, and the roots were growing in a small pocket of the stone, not down into a pot. I liked the idea of creating some compositions that were pushing the boundaries of what might be considered natural, into the "fantasy" realm. So in...

One of the most common questions that people ask about bonsai is "How old is this tree?" Properly cared for bonsai trees can live much longer than an average person. Keep a bonsai healthy and happy and it can be a lifelong companion. 

Three ways you can tell if your bonsai is healthy. We all know when we’re feeling sick, whether it’s a headache, a common cold or the flu - the symptoms are familiar to everyone. Determining if friends or family members are sick may be harder to spot; and when it comes to spotting the health of a plant, it’s a whole new ballgame. As you gain experience caring for your plant, it will get easier for you to determine its health in one glance. Follow these three guidelines to learn what to look for to tell the current health of your plant....