Bonsai Versions of the World’s Tallest Tree

 Bonsai is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated. The Japanese tradition dates back over a thousand years, and has its own aesthetics and terminology.

The purposes of bonsai are primarily contemplation (for the viewer) and the pleasant exercise of effort and ingenuity (for the grower). A bonsai is created beginning with a specimen of source material. This may be a cutting, seedling, or small tree of a species suitable for bonsai development.

While there are many popular species for Bonsai, I am fascinated by the use of Coast Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), as they are the tallest trees currently on Earth.

Common names include coast redwood, California redwood, and giant redwood. They are evergreens and can live 1200–1800 years or more, reaching up to 379 feet (115.5 m) in height (without the roots) and up to 26 feet (7.9 m) in diameter at breast height. An estimated 95% or more of the original old-growth redwood forest has been cut down due to its excellent properties for use as lumber in construction. [Source]

Hyperion is the name of a coast redwood in Northern California that was measured at 115.61 metres (379.3 ft), which ranks it as the world’s tallest known living tree. It was discovered August 25, 2006 by naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor. [Source]

Below you will find a small gallery of beautiful Bonsai Redwoods. There are many more examples online, but a great place to start is at the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society where they feature an extensive collection from countless Bonsai exhibits in the U.S.

1. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) – 50 years old

Photograph by The Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS)

2. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
Jan Hettick/Bonsai Society of Portland

Photograph by Cedric Weins (via Portland Japanese Garden)

3. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

Photograph by The Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS)

4. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) – 40 years old

Photograph by Shelli @ speacock.net

5. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) – 31 years old

Photograph by The Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS)

6. Bonsai Redwood Grove @ The Chicago Botanic Garden

Photograph by djblock99 on Flickr

7.

Photograph by plymouths on Flickr

8. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

Photograph by The Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS)

9. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

Photograph by The Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS)

10. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

Photograph by Mike (OpenEye on Flickr)

11. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) – 50 years old

Photograph by The Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS)

12. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

Photograph by The Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS)

13. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

Photograph by The Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS)

14. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) – 87 years old

Photograph by The Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS)

15.

Photograph by Claire Woods (thehumofbees on Flickr)

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Bonsai World Show’s own ‘Tokonama’

by bonsaiworld2013

We had some great comments over our Show weekend regarding Sussex Bonsai Group’s new stand.

It was based on the Japanese alcove, called Tokonama, which first appeared in the late Muromachi period (14th-16th century).

In Japan they are used for displaying trees, viewing stones (Suiseki), scolls, Ikebana and other objects for their guests to admire.

A few Lessons from the Tokonoma
A few general lessons you can apply to presentation design and other forms of design as well.

• A powerful focal point need not be overbearing or fancy.
• Emptiness creates spaciousness which assists the viewer in discovering the focal point.
• Subtle contrast can more easily create interest when there are fewer elements rather than many.

Tony, from the Sussex Bonsai Group, used a timber frame covered in plywood, with the sides painted white.  The base was varnished, as was the fascia and window.  He was able to complete the project in 5 days, as the weather was kind and he was able to leave the panels outside to dry.

A great job done – I might have a go myself or maybe get Tony to make up another one in his spare time!!

How this miniature Lord of the Rings "Bag End landscape" was made

Chris Guise, the creator of this landscape, explains step-by-step how he created the Bag End.

Tree before and after carving

Not long after I bought this tree I carved a shari down the trunk, covered the edges with cut paste and left it alone. After two years the edges had callused over nicely. Not long after I did it I decided that I would like to hollow out the trunk further but never got round to it.The carving work was done with a dremel, using various small carving bits.

The carving up to this part-finished stage took approximately 3 hours, I had to be very careful not to spoil the rolled callus that had formed at the edges from the previous shari carving session. Fore more information, read about Pruning and Wiring Bonsai.

Window & door

The door construction was quite simple. Miniature planks were made, with the edges beveled and sanded. The planks were laid upside down on the table and more strips were stapled to the back. Then the door was cut to shape and sanded smooth.

For the window I used a disk of black reflective plastic. Being reflective, it looks like glass, and being black it gives the impression of a dark interior. The cross-pieces were cut from the same strips of wood as the fencing, fitted together given a coat of green Cuprinol. The door was also given a coat of cuprinol and the knob was fitted.

Positioning the tree

After fitting the drainage mesh and tie-wires to the slab a mound of akadama was placed on it and the tree gently positioned and secured. I then built a peat/clay 'muck' retaining wall around the outside backfilled it with bonsai soil. Also, read more on repotting Bonsai.

The brickwork front

The frontage was built onto a plastic mesh backing. The mesh binds everything together so that the finished item is able to withstand a lot of handling. The bricks were cut from a roofing tile, tumbled to knock the sharp edges off and cemented around a round plastic former. After the window and door were finished the space in between was bricked up.

Positioning the brickwork

The next step was to position the brick front. To do this I spread a plastic sheet over the slab and mounded up some quick-dry cement mix on it. I pressed some aluminium tie wires into it and then gently eased the brickwork over the top of the wires.

Brickwork foot and making the fence

After carefully settling the brick front into position it was left to dry for a hour or so and then carefully removed. While the cement was still 'green', i.e. firm but not quite dry, I trimmed and tidied up the bottom edges.

For the fence strips of Meranti wood were split with a knife and wound together with anodised aluminium wire. Before assembly the strips were given a coat of diluted dark wood stain to take away the freshly-cut look, and the wire was aged by rubbing it with wire wool.

Building up the hill

After the brick front was secured I started work on the back. I needed to build up a high mound of soil behind the frontage, even higher that the top of the bricks so I decided to try using florist's Oasis as a filler. It is very light, obviously absorbs lots of water and is easy to cut and shape. It was secured to the back of the brickwork with wire and was then covered over with a thin layer of muck and potting soil.

Positioning the fence and more brickwork

The fence was pushed into the muck wall that I had built earlier and firmed into place. The step in the gateway is a small coloured and textured cement slab left over from another project.

After the main components were in place I found I still had a gap between the door frame and the tree. The picture shows the solution, some brickwork and moss in behind the warty lumps on the trunk of the Bonsai to fill the gap.

 

Making the doorknob and drilling the door

The brass doorknob was turned on my small metalworking lathe. After rough turning it was finished off with fine emery paper and then wire wool.

A hole was drilled in the door, also on the lathe, so that I could fix the knob in place with a small screw from the back.

Adding moss

I had built a slate path up from the gate to the front door, with a little paved area extending under the window. The cracks and gaps between the slabs were filled in with little tufts of moss (read more about moss for bonsai purposes)

More moss

I had built a slate path up from the gate to the front door, with a little paved area extending under the window. The cracks and gaps between the slabs were filled in with little tufts of moss. The final touch, a tiny broom bought from a doll's house shop.

Finished

Finally the trayscape was finished. I would estimate that I spent over 80 hours working on this project. Some of the items were made twice, sometimes because of scaling problems and sometimes because I was not happy with the quality first time round. The most important thing all the way through was to end up with a 'lived-in' look.

The very last thing to be fitted was the chimney stack. To fit it I carved a little wooden stake to fit up inside and pushed the other end through the moss and into the soil beneath.

The Bag End Bonsai landscape in winter; notice the little snowman!

A stunning detail shot of the Lord of the Rings Bonsai landscape

Bonsai Winter Silhouette Exhibition

On December 7-8, 2013 the first Bonsai Winter Silhouette Exhibition on the East Coast was held at the David H. Murdock Research Center in Kannapolis, North Carolina, just north of Charlotte. The elegant exhibition was hosted by Steve Zeisel, Director of the Nutrition  Research Institute. The North Carolina Research Campus provided the venue which featured marble from the same quarry in Italy that Michelangelo used to carve his famous “David” in a unique four story rotunda crowned with a beautiful dome. This is the tallest dome south of Washington, D.C. The marble floor inlay with beautiful geometric forms and tall pillars, truly an elegant setting for bonsai featuring deciduous bonsai without foliage. Black curtains were used as backgrounds to highlight the light colored bark. The lighting was excellent, perhaps because of the highly polished light colored marble floors. The four story rotunda added another dimension to this bonsai exhibition which I have never experienced before, and I’ve seen quite a number of shows around the world.

Deciduous bonsai displayed during this season reveal the beauty of the tree with everything showing, so viewers can study and appreciate the beauty of buds, bark, form. There is no hiding of any flaws or wire scars, which is often not the case with evergreen bonsai. This shows how well the trees have been trained and have aged during the years.

It would be very boring to see all deciduous species so a few evergreens were also included. On Saturday I presented a Maple Bonsai program to a standing room only audience. On Sunday Ed Lauer and Harold Johnson will demonstrate on a Sargent juniper.

Boring

This image is quite boring. Nice bokeh on the background maybe. Boring to someone who does not grow pines. But to me this is very interesting at the end of a growing season - I see this change in needle length - also the 1 year old needles are being dropped already. There is also a nice big bud formed for next years growth.


As you can see the old growth is very leggy. Very long thin twigs with small needles at the ends. This is a tree that is really struggling to keep going. Some people like this in a bonsai - the wizened old tree clinging to life - I don't.





Here is one of the growth tips. My Scots pines usually hold their old needles a bit longer than this - but this new tree seems to have decided that all the old ones were rubbish and that the new ones were much more effective. Also important is that there are multiple buds at the junction where this years growth began. In the past the area where the old needles have dropped has been especially good for developing new buds.






There are new buds forming a long way back on these skinny twigs - some even further back than in this image. I estimate some to be on areas which haven't had needles for at least 5 years now. I hope to be able to cut back to these next year sometime. The timing of the cut back is critical with pines - or you can get stuck in an 18 month wait for buds - there is only 1 time of the year that you can cut Scots pine and get good buds in that year - around the time I pinch candles I do any heavier cutting.






I have been paying attention to the feeding and soil care. This year I have tried a new product on the pines - the usual Canna products - but I am using the organic range now. I have also been using the biobizz fishmix to give the pine soil microbes an extra hit - instead of the fish emulsion - as it is easier for me to get. I have also used some Cannazym this year which does help the soil structure - I noticed a difference in drainage on this pine quite quickly - allowing me to deliver nutrients to the roots more effectively.

This was the starting point for the new pine I bought in May this year. So far all I did was remove the dead twigs and get it comfortable and well fed. Almost every needle in this picture is gone and replaced with new needles that are 3 times the length - it is completely different already.

I would also love to get it out of the mud its living in - so I will get a new pot and plenty of soil for February if I feel its ready for the big transition. Past experience tells me that if I do it in February and keep lots of roots that it will barely notice the re-potting. I have seen a local wholesale dealer with the right training pot - so how do I get someone in retail to sell me one? Something to keep me busy over the next few weeks.





Here it is at the end of year 1 from the same angle. If I had bought it a month earlier there would have been twice as much foliage - another lesson learnt - the growing season starts in the beginning of April. Still - it has had a good summer with plenty of food and nutrition so I am hoping that it has enough energy in reserve to do a complete bare root and transplant over the winter.






Can you grow bonsai without being a good gardener ? Boring perhaps - but I believe that the horticulture is vital to successful bonsai.