Blog Archives

• Friday, August 31st, 2012

As TS/Hurricane/TS Isaac is still hammering the Mississippi Delta and our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected, it makes us think of the ravaging effect nature can have on people and their environment including trees.  When Hurricane Charley hit our neighborhood in our city in Central Florida, over 400 oak trees were down. It was a strange time having no water or electricity for days and having to chop and move fallen trees to get to the main road. For months and years later, the remaining trees were affected.  Most had their leaves blown right off and at their rebirth the leaves were so close to the huge branches – just like after we do a hard chop on a bonsai. A trip to Georgia and seeing the lush, green leafy trees reminded me of how much our landscape had changed.  But ultimately, secondary and tertiary branching happened and the trees’ leaves filled out and normalized.  Then new trees were planted and we compared their upright branches to the downward, heavier, gnarly branches of the older trees that seemed much more aged after the storm. Bonsai!  That’s the look I had been trying to achieve.  All we have to do is look around and emulate what we see.  Easy, right?

I started paying more attention and was encouraged in a Peter Warren Chinese Elm workshop in May to wire correctly all the time. Then in July at Tropical Bonsai School, I noticed that some of the best-looking trees were older trees that had been gifted or inherited from older club members.  They had substantially more movement in the branches - natural aging.  Wiring, care & time had combined to create trees worthy of exhibit display.  The significance of wiring became very clear, proper wiring, that is.  Also key is to remove the wire at the right time – not too soon, not too long.  Like a clay sculptor, with passion we sculpt our trees with wiring and carving to create our ‘masterpiece’.  Also, like a painter or sculptor, practice, practice, practice paves the way to the finest works of art.  I’m still a fan of ‘clip and grow’ for some tropicals that aren’t conducive to wiring, but when there is opportunity wire will improve the trees faster and better.  Take a look at the Wiring Techniques video on Orlando Bonsai and tomorrow when you’re in the bonsai garden or at the next bonsai exhibit, take a new look at the trees with only wire and branch movement in mind.  Then, as always, take action when the time is right!

Majestic old live oak tree
( at the Enzian Theatre looking out from the Eden Bar)


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• Sunday, August 21st, 2011

It feels like forever since I have posted on Orlando Bonsai. I have been creating instructional bonsai videos and it has pretty much taken all of my free time to do. However I want to get get back to updating my site with still pictures of my trees so that I can capture the progression of their development. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks aI can get my trees cleaned up enough to do some nice shots.

The following video shows the steps I take to redefine my trees and get them better looking every year.


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• Monday, June 13th, 2011


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• Sunday, May 08th, 2011

One of the most basic but intimidating tasks for the beginner bonsai hobbiest is the process of trimming a Bonsai Tree. Many are fearful or removing the wrong branch, or taking off too much of the growth. In this video I go over step by step what to remove from you r tree so that you can keep it healthy, and looking great.