Using Birds In Bonsai Display: Part II After the post about birds in bonsai display I received a note from a friend. She reminded me that there’s more to display than location and season, and that birds (and animals) have personalities and presences that spark an emotional response. And she’s right. So here’s Birds Part II, how we might subtly tweak a […]
https://crataegus.com/2025/10/....24/using-birds-in-bo

A Quick Guide to Black Pine Fall Work A bonsai truism is that in fall we get to clean up the mess we initiated in the spring. And for pines, this mess is most apparent for the multiple flush species, like Japanese Black Pine. Black Pine will regrow from a technique known as decandling, when we cut off the spring shoots. The pine […]
https://crataegus.com/2025/10/....31/a-quick-guide-to-

October Bonsai Projects Here’s a handful of October projects and what we did with them.  A Vine Maple that has variously been called “The Boot” and “The Moose”. The current puzzle with this collected tree is that from the side, it has grown too much to the front. Where to cut it? One chunky branch to remove. And […]
https://crataegus.com/2025/11/....07/october-bonsai-pr

Formal Upright White-out Exercise: Part I A white-out exercise is a fun way to explore design options. It helps see a new design without needing to cut off a branch.  This Ezo Spruce was designed in 2016 and has since filled out. It’s a skinny-trunked tree, and now there’s enough foliage mass that the design might be improved by cutting off […]
https://crataegus.com/2025/11/....14/formal-upright-wh

Formal Upright White-out Exercise: Part II Part I was a white-out exercise with an Ezo Spruce, asking, which branches would you cut off, if any? Thanks to all of you who offered your favorite options. It’s a complicated tree with a lot of possibility and many good options. My students in a recent Seasonal class gave the 10 options on that […]
https://crataegus.com/2025/11/....21/formal-upright-wh