AllShapes Bonsai Blog

I had a juniper among a  collection of trees that for what ever the reason really didn’t do anything for me. It had been growing inside a bonsai pot till one winter day it broke and ever since I never bothered to repot it. Some of you may be able to figure out that it was root bound and that’s what kept the root ball from falling apart in the mean time. Styled as a cascade originally I think at best I would rate the tree as “poor”. I needed to get the tree into a container of a sort before I lost it over the winter and it was this action which prompted me to take a second look. After grabbing the plant I set it on the table and took another look to see if there was another way to restyle it.  The trunk had grown to the size of a quarter over the years making me believe the tree was at least ten years of age and I felt then it was worth spending time on.

Before taking the picture I wired up a back branch with 3.5 mm aluminum wire so I’d be able to use it potentially as a new top for the future. Looked like to would work so I cut-off the cascade tail and the branch I’m holding on the left.

Here’s an attempt to show you what remains after cutting the tree back and dressing up the wound sites. In the third and last photo you can see the final results of the pruning and potting.  I like the tree much more now and hope you enjoyed my story .

Here are some before and after pictures of the Nursery during recent snow storm which came up the east coast  during the week of December 22. After the event was over a total of 12 inches of snow fell laying down a clean powdery finish to the landscape. I lived in this area all my life and from my past I can always remember having snow on the ground by the first or second week in December.   I’m not saying  a lot of snow, just snow. During the last 30 years the snow  we once had in December now appear to come in January. Really a nice surprise this time.

We’re very excited to announce a new version of the AllShapes Bonsai website.  This marks version 3 over the years and we keep adding new features as we go.  We’ll also be starting up with the newsletter again soon so be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already (we do not spam but anyone who wishes to unsubscribe can do so anytime by sending an email).  So what’s next for the site?  We’re currently working on an ecommerce feature that we hope to release in the next few weeks so stay tuned!  In the meantime please report any bugs you find with the site or just let us know what you think.

Bonsai is a blend of imagination, horticulture, and technique.  The imagination factor should not be underestimated as it is necessary to create a convincing bonsai.  We all need a little inspiration sometimes.  Here’s some that you can find in New Jersey.  Some of these trees you can visit, others are no-longer growing but live on through memories and photos.  Enjoy!

The Mercer Oak

This tree was standing in Princeton when we were at war with the British, and there it remained for 300 some years.  It was blown over in a windstorm in 2000 but the photos capture its essence.  According to Wikipedia:

“The Mercer Oak was a large white oak tree that stood in Princeton Battlefield State Park in Princeton Township, New Jersey. The tree was about 300 years old when it was torn by strong winds in March 2000. It is the emblem of Princeton Township and appears on the seal of the township. The tree is also the key element of the seal of Mercer County, New Jersey.

The Mercer Oak was named after Hugh Mercer, a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. During the Battle of Princeton, Mercer was stabbed by an English soldier’s bayonet. According to legend, he was unwilling to abandon his troops, and rested on the tree’s trunk while they stood their ground. After the battle, Mercer was taken to the Clarke House where he died from his injuries nine days later.

On March 3, 2000, a wind storm felled the oak’s last four branches. For public safety reasons, arborists cut off the remnants of the trunk the day after the tree fell. Following the tree’s death, several scions from the tree were planted around the battlefield. In May 2000, an 8-foot sapling grown from a Mercer Oak acorn was planted inside the stump of the former tree.”

The Clement Oak

This White Oak of over 400 years has been a site of Indian tribal rituals, signing of treaties, and the landing spot of the first manned flight in America.

The Council Oak

Treaties purchasing land (Bound Brook) from the Indians were signed under this tree in 1681.

The Indian King Tree

This Sycamore serves as the final resting place to an Indian Chief.  It is located in Burlington County.

The Keeler Oak

This White Oak was so loved that one man asked to have his grave lined with its leaves upon his death.

The Washington Walnut

George Washington used to hitch his horse to an iron ring in the trunk of this tree.

Some more in New Jersey that we couldn’t find pictures for…

Although looking to other bonsai is a great way to learn how techniques are carried out, old trees are a better source of artistic inspiration.  So where do you get yours?  If anyone has seen any of these trees or you know of others that we’re missing please leave a comment.

Many people like to use redwoods as bonsai.  We thought they might appreciate the perspective this video offers on ecological diversity and potential design considerations.  From the “trunks springing from trunks springing from trunks” to the “thickets of huckleberry” that grow in the canopy, to the limbs that fuse between trunks.  These are all characteristics that you can potentially integrate when working on the design for your redwoods.  Others may find aspects interesting, though not related to bonsai, such as an organism found in the oceans that lives in the canopy or species of insects that are thought to only exist on a single tree. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s always fun to have people work on their own trees.  We had a good mix for this workshop, some nearly finished bonsai, some pre-bonsai, some collected native plants to New Jersey.  Read the rest of this entry »

Some of the fall colors around the nursery, both in tropical trees and deciduous, bonsai and pre-bonsai. Read the rest of this entry »

Seeing this new tree at the nursery got me thinking.

Elm Bonsai with One-Sided Roots

According to the “rules” this is not an ideal bonsai because it does not have roots flaring out from the base 360 degrees around the tree. The tree looks rather 2-dimensional in the photo (tough to take pictures late in the afternoon on a stormy day) but it does have a good degree of depth to it, as well as excellent bark texture. So the question becomes: can this happen in nature? Do the direction of the roots in-fact influence the top growth of the tree? Read the rest of this entry »

Although the name is similar, this is not controversial like the Secret Life of Plants.  In fact, this video series that the citizens of Britain enjoy goes a long way in demonstrating many of the attributes of plants that make for good bonsai.  The videos do not give examples of the trees/shrubs/vines/etc. that we work with as bonsai artists, but rather open the doors of the imagination.  So, I hope you can form your own conclusions, do research (or just ask the questions in the comments, we’ll do our best to answer them) as to WHY certain plants make good bonsai.  What environmental adaptations caused the attributes of your bonsai?  How are those adaptations translated into the care of a plant?  How can those adaptations be used to style a convincing tree?  The more we learn about the plants we work with, the higher the quality our art can become, and we probably won’t see plants the same way again!

Without further ado, the episodes: Read the rest of this entry »

This is an older movie (there’s also a book with the same content by the same name).  Lots of things are suggested and there are many arguments over it; we’ll leave it up to you to form your own conclusions, but it’s a fun movie regardless.  Read the rest of this entry »