BONSAI FOCUS 2015-1 EN PREVIEW

132/155
1/2015 Jan./Feb.
English edition
Edición Español
Edizione Italiano
Edition Française
Deutsche Ausgabe
Nederlandse editie

Bonsai Focus
EDITORIAL
3
Who we are
Publisher
Bonsai Europe Publications
Houtrustweg 96,
2566 GJ The Hague
The Netherlands
Europe:
Tel.: +31 (0)85 90 20 900
Office hours: 9am - 5pm (CET)
USA:
Tel.:(+1) 703-738-9965
Office hours: 9am - 5pm (East Coast)
E-mail:
info@bonsaifocus.com
Website:
www.bonsaifocus.com
Chief Editor:
Farrand Bloch
editor@bonsaifocus.com
Editorial staff:
English edition: Ann Scutcher
French edition: Patrick Bosc, Matthieu
Mavridis
German edition: Jörg Derlien
Dutch edition: Hein-Dik Barentsen
Italian edition: Erika Lakin
Spanish edition: Ana Ricart
Advertising & Marketing:
René Rooswinkel
sales@bonsaifocus.com
Subscriptions & Administration:
Marja Heijmink
admin@bonsaifocus.com
Issn UK: 1874 - 6853
Issn US: 1876 - 6137
Price:
€ 11.95 | $ 14.95 | £ 9.95
© Copyright 2015
Bonsai Europe, world rights reserved. No part
of this publication may be reproduced in any
form without the written permission of the
publisher.
Bonsai Focus has a co-operation with
Kinbon magazine, Kyoto, Japan
Translations:
Peter Warren
Here I am with
Taiga after his
demo
Squeeze it in
Our whole studio was covered in
dust when Taiga Urushibata worked
on a huge yew. We invited him for
a demonstration in our studio. The
tree, a huge Japanese yew donated
by Maarten van der Hoeven, hardly
fitted through the door and four men
were needed to lift it on to the mobile
stand. Its size wasn't a problem for
Taiga, used to big projects during his
apprenticeship with Kimura. The yew
which came from a garden did not
have natural shari or jin instead it
had many dead stumps facing in all
directions. Taiga rapidly worked his
way through the maze of stumps and
stalks and soon the floor was covered
with wood chips. See the results in
Taiga's masterclass further on.
Many, many bonsai shows this last
autumn, far too many to cover in this
issue so we had to make a selection.
I went to the bi-annual Sakka-Ten
which was held in a small town with
fantastic views of the famous city of
Florence. Tony Tickle was very lucky
Taxus baccata, by Andrés Alvarez Iglesias
Picea on rock by John Pitt
Pinus parviflora on a kurama ishi, by David
Benavente
to be invited for the Chinese penjing
event held near Shanghai. He found
out that these aren't just 'penjing',
but impressive well-maintained trees
and absolutely not the 'old school'
stuff you normally think of. Then
there was the big show in Saulieu,
last October, which we attended as
well. A great show with amazing
trees from which a few highlights are
squeezed in here.
An almost endless source of ideas
is coming through when it comes to
displaying bonsai: Philipe Leblanc
and David Mailard took some of their
trees to a very off beat place creating
amazing images. Robert Steven did
some really out of the box thinking,
too, during his event in Yogyakarta,
Indonesia.
But as well as all the arty stuff, we
have solid technical information, too;
if you like comics then look and learn
what to do in the article on winter
maintenance.
Juniperus sabina, by Xavier Massanet
Farrand Bloch
Chief editor

4 Bonsai Focus
THIS ISSUE
Our Icons
Video available
bonsaifocus.com
Beginner
Advanced
On the cover
Alder (Alnus) 78 cm / 31"
Sakka-Ten 2010
Photo: Bonsai Focus Studio
Scan the code
with your phone
Expert
22
6 The Sakka-Ten in Fiesole
Bonsai with the Etruscans
8 Bonsai Top 30
François Jeker turns Mulhouse into the capital of
bonsai
12 Blossoming gems
The beauty of Prunus bonsai
12
18 The bonsai passion of...
Nicola Crivelli
22 Guide for short needles
A how-to guide to achieving shorter pine needles
28 Bonsai and street art
Questioning the usual codes of bonsai display. By
Philippe Leblanc and David Mailand
30 Step by step
An almost finished juniper can still be a challenge
6

Bonsai Focus
28
34 Bonsai in Ink
Sonia Stella loves bonsai and sumi-e drawing
36 Air layer techniques
How to air layer various maples and make the most of
your material
44 Masterclass with Taiga
Taiga Urushibata shapes a raw Japanese yew
50 Serious bonsai
Tony Tickle travels to China for the annual penjing
show
56 Embrace the cypress
Marco Giannini and Sandro Segneri style a massive
trunked cypress
62 Like a grand canyon
Austin Heitzman creates special bonsai stands
65 Column
Tony Tickle questions how much deadwood we really
need.
44
56
66 Expert opinion
François Jeker takes a look at a rosemary from Marco
Rinaldi
68 From pale to dark green
Regaining a pine's health and improving its style, too
74 Winter maintenance
How to care for bonsai during winter time
78 News
Magic-E, a new Italian bonsai book and more . . .
79 Garden visits
See how readers exhibit bonsai in their gardens

6 Bonsai Focus
REPORT
Sakka Ten
Bonsai, art and culture with the Etruscans
This year's edition of Sakka-Ten
was held during 7-9 November.
It was organised by the Nippon
Bonsai Sakka Kyookai Europe
and the 'Toscana Amatori Bonsai
E Suiseki' Association, and took
place in the ancient Etruscan
town of Fiesole which overlooks
the famous city of Florence, Italy
Cotinus coggygria
55cm | 21'7"
Photo: Bonsai Focus Studio
Every two years this event is held at
a special place in a special location;
this time it was Fiesole up in the hills
above Florence. It always takes place
in autumn because, according to the
organisation, it's the peak season
for the colours or fruits of deciduous
trees, while conifers are at their most
majestic. Bonsai and suiseki exhibits
are most carefully chosen to create a
harmonious whole. The exhibition is
set up with the utmost care. All the
trees are unaccredited and need to
have a certain maturity. As Edoardi
Rossi, curator of the show explains:
'The Sakka-Ten embodies the desire
to share with others the peace that
we find in cultivating our bonsai.'
pyracantha
60cm | 30'7"
Euonymus
50cm | 19'7"
A bonsai market could be found at the front of
the Palazzo Pretorio where the exhibition was
held
The European branch of the Nippon
Bonsai Sakka Kyookai was founded
in 2000 with the aim of spreading
Juniperus sabina
45cm | 17'7"
interest in the ancient art of bonsai;
though it is not easy to appreciate
bonsai without understanding the
culture from which it comes. So the
association holds events and lectures
on the display of bonsai.
On Friday, the day before the show opened, all
trees were prepared and sorted as to which tree
would best fit next to the other
The special guest for this year was
Isao Fukita, who studied with Kunio
Kobayashi at the famous Shunka-En
in Tokyo. Lorenzo Agnoletti, president
of the Nippon Bonsai Sakka Kyookai,
The bonsai market in front
of the Palazzo Pretorio

Bonsai Focus
Enjoy the plum blossom in the
New Year, ahead lies months of
maintenance
SHOHIN
13
Techniques by: Mr Shuji Shintani
Post flowering procedure
For the majority of flowers, cooler temperatures enable
the tree to retain the blossoms for longer. Prunus mume is
one of the first species of the year to flower and the buds
are much quicker to swell and open than most, especially
when brought indoors. If the trees are placed too close to
a stove or air conditioning the flowers will rapidly drop off
and buds start to swell. Please take note of this point.
If you live in a suitable climate, once the risk of frost has
passed you can place trees outside until the middle of
April. Up until this point it is possible to transplant and
prune.
Prunus 'Hibai' Height 10 cm / 4" Pot: Toufukuji round
Aim for more buds
If the bud at the end of the branch, the terminal bud, is permitted to
remain, it will exert an influence on the adventitious buds forcing them
to stay dormant at the base of the branch. The picture shows the tip of
a branch which has just lost its leaves and the terminal bud has been
pruned back. This work can be repeated the following spring until the
early summer when buds have started to move. The aim of the work is to
create buds and then branches closer to the tree. When the flowers are
brought on early, the movement of the leaf buds will also be quicker and
so care must be taken.
A Prunus in full leaf
Advantages of speeding up growth
Mrs Shintani uses speeding up the activity in the tree to
her advantage. Transplanting is done early in February.
After the work has been carried out, however, the trees
must be protected from any potential frost damage.
Pruning can take place from middle February onwards.
The inviolable rule of pruning Prunus is to check carefully
for presence of a leaf bud before pruning back. If done
early enough, the pruning will stimulate internal buds to
swell and start to grow, allowing you to prune back harder
and hope for adventitious budding.
This is important to consider, especially when dealing
with those garden types of plant that become leggy and
are difficult to compact and create ramification.
Prunus 'Touji'.
Height: 9 cm / 3½"
Pot: Toufukuji
rectangle

Bonsai Focus
MAINTENANCE
23
Basic techniques of transplanting
The root ball of conifers should not be entirely
broken down. First start to break down the soil
on the base of the root ball to approximately
half the depth
Then, little by little, start to work on the sides of
the root ball carefully so that the roots are not
damaged
Finally start to work on the surface around the
nebari. Check the thickness and the activity of
roots before deciding whether or not to prune
Roots growing in a wrong direction should be
pruned. Do not cut right at the root base, but
rather leave a small amount, especially if there
is a small secondary root
If the surface of the soil becomes compacted and
water does not penetrate transplant as soon as
possible. If roots are starting to float above the
surface as shown here, it is a sign that there is
no free room in the pot to allow growth
An example of soil mixture used in the central
part of Japan. On the left is large particle Kiryu
which is used as a single layer in the bottom of
the pot. Pumice is also okay. On the right side
is Akadama, Kiryu and river grit at a ratio of
7:2:1. If you want the roots to grow rapidly use
a ratio of 5:3:2
Candle pinching
Often in the late spring, early summer, we see candles/buds that
have grown far too long. Once into June, these will be entirely cut off
at the base. If, though, the tree is very strong, we see elongated buds.
If they are left to develop, weaker areas of the tree will continue to
weaken. Pinching off the tips of the very strong buds will stop their
development and redistribute energy to other buds on weaker areas
of the tree. This is a great technique for energy balancing.
Do this once the candle is perfectly formed, but has yet to start to
open up during May. The tip is simply just snapped off using your
fingertips. On weaker branches this should be avoided in favour of
allowing it to grow and strengthen.
There are strong, extended candles during the
middle of May. Very vigorous trees will often
have growth like this. It should be snapped off

30 Bonsai Focus
STEP BY STEP
Ready to go!
A juniper that looks almost 'finished' can still be a challenge
Text and photography: Bonsai Focus Studio
This already quite mature juniper has lots of branches
and movement in its trunk, plenty of positive points and
some negative aspects that need some attention. With
minimal amount of branch removal you can make an
attractive bonsai with this material. Martin Bonvie takes
the challenge to bring out the best in this medium sized
juniper.
1
Analysing the tree
This is a typical juniper grown for
the purpose of bonsai and has an
interesting trunk with shari, jin and
spiral flowing live veins. It also has a
good set of well developed branches
with healthy shoots.
Lots of
healthy
branches
Suitable as a cascade?
Maybe not . . .
Live veins run in a
spiral over the trunk
The trunk base has an ugly
narrowing here
Martin is considering making a cascade as an
alternative option. The flexible branches and
interesting jin and shari are good ingredients
for a convincing cascade; however, the trunk
line has an almost 90 degree angle, which does
not make it suitable for this treatment
Live veins twist around
the trunk; it is one of
the charms of this small
juniper. The narrowing
at the base of the trunk
is less disturbing
Seen from this side the trunk base shows
a better tapering at the base
When tilting the tree to the left the movement
of the trunk improves

Bonsai Focus
SUNDRIES
Special offer
for Bonsai Focus subscribers !
10% discount on all Sonia's paintings
The offer runs untill March 2015
Go to: www.sumi-e.fr
When ordering you must enter
the code: inkdiscount.
35
Various brushes next to a scroll painting
A pine at a show with one of Sonia's scroll paintings
Bark and brushes
'Love Bonsai' is the title of my series
devoted to trees, tall and miniature
alike. I realized that without oxygen,
no life would be possible. That was
the trigger for my work on trees. I try
to pay respect to their strength, their
fragility and their ability to adapt
to harsh conditions that nature can
sometimes inflict on them. Bonsai
needs time to get results, unlike
Sumi-e that allows one to capture the
image in an instant. A practitioner
of bonsai must be patient, visionary
to consider a work of art. He uses
his technique to overcome obstacles
while he respecting the tree. But a
painter must catch the essence of the
tree in a single gesture to project his
vision on to the paper. His hand must
become an extention of his heart.
Sublimate nature
The way of the ink is considered to
be noble because it demands a long
difficult apprenticeship, technically
and philosophicaly. It will teach us
humility, patience, dedication, and
a fair vision of nature. Like a bonsai
practitioner, a painter realizes his
way is a lifetime commitment. In his
quest for harmony and perfection,
he'll always remain a student with a
constant evolving potential. A painter
must become familiar with natural
movements of creation whatever his
technical level. He learns to adjust
to unexpected situations and learn
from his mistakes. Even though our
tools are different, it is nevertheless
easy to see an analogy between
bonsai and Sumi-e. It is when you
realize that both disciplines try to
catch the essence of nature that you
can see their resemblence as obvious.
To get results, painters like lovers of
bonsai should abandon themselves
to comtemplation and let their sensitivity
come out. All arts flourish with
encounters and sharing of ideas.
That's how I see my work, and I
couldn't practice it without sharing,
because that's the only way to grow
and to improve oneself. There is no
alternative! I like to say: The Way of
the Ink can't be explained. It just has
to be experienced. It allows us to
leave our footprint on the sand
of time. Here and
now.
Sonia with her painting
tools
A impressive literati
(above) and Sonia's
steady hand working on
another bonsai painting

Bonsai Focus
GARDEN VISIT
79
Bonsai and display
show us your bonsai at home
We were curious to see how you display your bonsai at home. So we asked you,
our readers, to show us how you enjoy your bonsai when returning back home
from a long day's work. Bonsai can serve as a moment of relaxation. These images
below show some of your garden displays. We would love to see more so
keep them coming. Just send your photographs to editor@bonsaifocus.com
Add an explanation of your rationale in about 150 words
Per Frandsen
Bram de Visser, Netherlands
The picture from the living room to the terrace is actually my favourite place where I sit
down for a quiet drink in the afternoon and enjoy my trees while looking out into the
garden. Here are my most beautiful bonsai on various stands. I am especially fond of
flowering native varieties, such as the apple tree which is a Bramley’s seedling, an old
apple variety. I also like to place my best trees in my living room as do the Japanese.
Bernd Lech, Germany
I have been into bonsai since 2002. Each
year I take part in the spring and autumn
workshops at Ralf Beckers in Krefeld,
Germany. I have only self collected trees
which, thanks to Ralf Beckers, can be
good bonsai. In the garden I try to create
the components: bonsai, garden pond a
harmonious overall picture.

Bonsai Focus
NEXT ISSUE
81
Issue 133 March / April
TECHNIQUE
In Japan they're not afraid of taking dramatic measures to
reach their goal. Grafting techniques are used to the max.
MAINTENANCE
Watering your bonsai is probably the hardest thing to do.
We show you how to do it properly.
MASTERCLASS
Much world travel makes Salvatore Liporace hard to catch
up with. We finally managed to track him down and got
him to do another demo for us. See the result of his work
on this huge pine.
STYLING
Valentin Brose creates a fine shohin from a yew. He shows
us the correct wiring and bending techniques to get the
best results.

For the complete
Subscribe now!!
You are just
one click away!!