Here is my little Shohin Sierra that I brought to the BIB workshop today. I collected this in fall of 2011. We removed some old needles, thinned it out a bit and moved a branch out of the way-not too much work yet. A couple different options for the front, I am leaning towards option A.
Here's some quick pictures from the last few weekends:
This is a Sierra Juniper that I brought to a recent BIB workshop. This tree was originally collected by and purchased from Ned of Deadwood Bonsai.
One of the more challenging aspects for this tree is the fact that the majority of the foliage is too far from the base of the tree and the design I envision. I think it would look best as a short and powerful tree which leaves me with two option-either big heavy bends or grafting new foliage. Much of the large branch on the left hand side will be removed.
I've heard varying opinions on whether you should graft foliage onto native Junipers or keep the foliage natural. Currently I believe I stand somewhere in the middle of this debate.
Here are the Itowigawa 2-3 year old cuttings which we used for grafting.
I think it would be really cool to find examples of our natives juniper varieties with foliage that has good characteristics like being naturally smaller and tighter. It would be great If we could find these trees which grew as chance seedlings and propagate them for grafting. If my tree had coarse, large or weeping Sierra Juniper foliage, i'd love to replace it with smaller tighter Sierra Juniper foliage. Hopefully this is something we will see as time goes on.
In total, Boon helped me place 8 grafts on the tree. The Itowigawa foliage and roots are kept, until the two plants fuse then the roots will be removed.
I made a big batch of fertilizer cakes with the ingredients below. I used about 70% Whitney Farms and 30% cotton seed meal for the dry mixture. Then 50/50 water and fish emulsion with a small amount of Cal Mag and sea kelp.
I still form the cakes with my hands, but would like to try using a melon ball scooper with a ratchet arm. This time around I stopped making the holes in the top of the cakes. I found that this was more time consuming and I did not see much difference in the cakes without a indentation at the top.
Next time, I might try covering the mixture with plastic wrap for a few days to allow the bacteria to grow, which strengthens the fertilizer and the smell. Here's a picture of some of the first cakes I ever made after being covered for a couple weeks. You can see them starting to turn white from stuff growing on them. I let them dry in my garage, which I will not do again. It smelled absolutely amazing;)
Lastly, a pic from a short trip collecting California Junipers on private land. While in a lot of situations it would not work, we rode in style in this off road vehicle called a Rhino. It was my first time taking something like this and felt much different than usual. I think it felt like cheating, because my legs weren't even sore the next day.
For many, the benefits of watering with reverse osmosis or rain water may not be worth the time, energy or money it costs to set up. However for others with really poor quality water like me, it could also be a very good idea for the health of your trees.
In a few months I will be returning my old Reverse Osmosis system to the original owner. This person was very kind in letting me borrow his for the past year or so, but it's time to get my own. Because of this I bought a new one and updated my watering set up. I've posted the results below with a little write up about what I did in hopes that it may give you some ideas if you have poor water quality like me. I'm now using a combo of collected rain water and reverse osmosis water for my trees.
Here's what my new overall set up looks like:
My new RO system is housed inside this small rubber made shed. I drilled holes in the side of the container to put the lines through, so I can completely shut the door and keep the RO fully covered. Both the RO system and the rain barrels empty into the trash can on the right.
The water is pumped out of the trash can using this electric submersible pump, through my hose and finally out of my watering wand.
After doing some research online and reading some good reviews, I decided to go with this Stealth RO 200 made by Hydro Logic. The system costs about $220 on Amazon and is made by the same company who produced the old RO I was using called The Merlin. This new system costs only a fraction of the price compared with the Merlin, but also only produces good water at the rate of about 20% compared with the Merlin. The Stealth also produces slightly better quality water, by filtering a greater amount of particles compared with The Merlin. 
Here's a picture which shows a comparison of the good(blue line) and bad water(black water) being produced from the new Stealth. I have the black line connected to a much larger line running to my lawn in the front yard.
The Merlin RO produced about 1000 gallons per day and was considered a "Tankless" system. The Merlin produced water fast enought so I could just turn the RO system on until the trash can was full. This would usually take anywhere from 10 minutes to about 1.5 hours depending. Because the Stealth is 80% slower, this time around I drilled a hole in the can so I could install this float pump.
Here's a pic of the RO water filling the can with the float pump installed.
Once the water level forces the white plastic piece to a set level, both the water from the blue and black lines shut off. This makes things much more convenient, because now I don't have to worry about forgetting to turn the RO off or guessing when the can is full. I'd highly recommend using a float pump if your going to use an RO system. 
In addition to the RO water filling the trash can, I set up these three 55 gallon food grade barrels to collect rain water. I found them on Craigslist for $20/each from an olive oil farm. If I could do it over, I'd suggest finding barrels with removable tops. I ended up having to cut large holes in the tops to clean them out and insert the fittings. You'd be surprised at how much water comes off your roof and at how fast these guys fill up. I got a bit more than what's shown from one short drizzle.
There are several ways you could link your barrels together. Just Youtube rain barrel construction for other options. Personally I used these fittings below which you should be able to find in the PVC section of any hardware store. To help get a better seal, I used PVC cement around all the threads. No leaks so far.
To drill the correct size holes, I used a bit like this.
I also used PVC cement on the insides of the fittings which the flexible PVC tube inserts into.
To add the facet head, I just drilled a hole using the bit shown above and threaded the head into the barrel adding PVC cement around the threads.
Here's a picture showing the pressure coming out of the first barrel.
I cut an old hose and connected the threaded side to the faucet tap and the other end through a hole in the trash can.
Here's what the inside of the can looks like when both the RO and Rain Barrels are filling my can. The light gray hose shows the water pressure from the rain barrels.
To help filter the rain water, I used two-dollar store colanders, with two sheets of aluminum window screen in between them. There are pre made screen filters you can buy, but this was a lot less expensive. I also wanted something that was east to take apart and clean.
For now, i'm using trash can lids to cover the barrels. The colander filter is right below where the gutter drains into. I also fitted another plastic pot with window screen and fitted it around the gutter opening.
I also plan to install an overflow line near the top of the last barrel and run the line to the lawn in my front yard. But, that's about it for now-So there you have it, my new watering system. Thanks for looking, really appriciate it!
I'd like to share a couple project trees in my collection, both were started from seed here in CA. The first is an Ume, which I originally dug at Muranaka Bonsai I believe in 2008. I'm a bit bummed because I had a picture just after I dug it, but sadly have somehow lost it. After digging the tree from the field, I chopped it back, so it was just a stump with no branches. I tagged this tree in Muranaks's fields in 2007 and paid $60 for it when we finally dug it out of the ground.
Here's the tree today:
The tree still needs a lot of development before it could be shown, but I've really enjoyed working on it so far. Future plans for this tree include thickening the main apex, creating a better transition of taper towards the top of the tree, either hollowing or making shari on the middle right hand section of the trunk with scars and continuing to develop the branch structure.
I got about 5 white flowers on the tree this year. There is still one in bloom near the very top of the apex, but it's facing the back.
Here's a close up of the last flower on my tree. These flowers have an amazing smell, which is difficult for me to describe other than it kind of smells like sweet Cinnamon. Because this tree is relatively young and grown from seed instead of cutting, I believe it will get more and more flowers as the tree ages.
Here's a recent pictures of the mother tree which produced the fruit and seed where my tree came from.
Here's me with my Ume at a Peter Tea workshop in 09 or 10 after wiring out the branches.
This second tree I only recently acquired just a week ago. It was grown from seedling cutting and started in 2000, making it 13 years old. The BIB member who grew it explained to me that he used large size sharp rocks and a milk carton as the container. I'm wondering, which side do you like more?
Side #1
Side #2
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the annual Bay Island Bonsai Exhibit. Overall I believe the show was a great success and I really enjoyed seeing all the wonderful trees on display. Below are some pictures I took which represent only a small portion of the show.
Above is an incredible Western Juniper with nice deadwood, movement and ramified foliage. This was originally collected from Idaho and differs slightly from Sierra Juniper. This tree won Members Choice-Large Conifer.
One of the better Chinese Quince I've seen in the U.S.
I love this exposed root, cascade style White Pine. I feel the tree, pot and stand compliment each other very well. I'm a huge sucker for root stands and I like this one alot. This tree won Members Choice-Med Conifer.
Exposed Root Black Pine
A short and stocky Black Pine with nice taper and a strong base.
Awesome Hornbeam owned by Jonas of Bonsaitonight.com.
Beautiful Black Pine in an informal upright style with great bark. This pot is made of a red colored clay which looked awesome with the patina on it. Sorry for not getting better/closer shot of the pot.
Unique and interesting Japanese Maple over rock. I'm not sure what variety of maple this is, but have enjoyed seeing it's progress from the last time it was shown.
Sierra Juniper with some of the most dense foliage I've ever seen on a Sierra.
Japanese Maple with terrific taper, nebari and base. This tree won Members Choice-Shohin deciduous/broad leaf evergreen.
A beautiful shohin cascading Black Pine.
I believe this is called Squirrel Foot Fern. Similar to rabbit foot, but not as common at least in the U.S. Great Specimen.
Boon's field grown Taiwanese Juniper. Growing material this size must take an insane amount of time to create. However, that insane amount is nothing compared to what mother nature is use to. The twist and movement on this tree are fantastic.
Lot's of fruit on this Princess Persimmon. I was blown away when I recently discovered just how many varieties of Princess Persimmon there actually are. The fruit come in many different colors, shapes and sizes.
Companion plant on a Japanese roof tile.
Originally a collected Sierra Juniper, the top half was separated and has not been shown yet. This foliage was grafted, I believe with Kishu.
A cool White Pine rock planting.
This year I helped move most of the trees from their show room display to the photography display and back. I really enjoyed being able to examine each tree so close up. It was also fascinating to see the process that Eric uses to photograph the trees. I was able to get a sneak peak at his pictures and they turned out super nice!
In order to remember where each tree was positioned I took pictures of all the displays. It would have been especially difficult to remember exactly how this shohin display was set up.
The BIB show included displays, an auction, vendors and demo from Boon and Daisaku Nomoto. Overall it was a fantastic Bonsai weekend, hope to see you there next year!
We decided yesterday to take a last minute trip to Sequoia National Park to spend the day hiking among the Giant Sequoia's. We stayed at a $50/night motel in Three Rivers, CA which is about a 30 min to an hour drive depending on road conditions. It was my first experience driving with tire chains on icy and snow covered roads, but everything went smoothly and I drove really slow. It was nice going on New Years day because there weren't many people up there and we enjoyed seeing and playing in the snow.
Once inside the park it's fairly easy to find the General Sherman Tree by simply following the signs. You have to park about 10 minutes from the trail head and a free shuttle will drop you off and pick you up. General Sherman is the largest tree by volume in the world. It also does not have the thickest trunk and it not the tallest. It's about 0.2 miles away from the trail head and there were several people there to see it.
We hiked maybe another 2 miles or so on an incredibly beautiful trail to see The President. This trail had a few small frozen waterfalls, a fallen Sequioa which was carved so you could walk through it, lots of beautiful fir's and giant Sequioas all around.
Above-a tree that is still hanging on to life after being badly damaged by fire.
Courtney by an unnamed tree in the Giant Forest
Courtney... hugging a tree 
The President was just featured in National Geographic and had a poster inside the magazine which captured the entire tree. I liked this picture so much that I framed it and put it on my wall. It also gave me the itch to go out and see it for myself.
The President is the third largest tree by volume and has more foliage than General Sherman. It was hit by lightning at some point, which killed off the apex and Jin'ed the top. Four new branches grew out near the top becoming massive and making up much of the new apex and crown. This gives the tree a unique appearance.
Here's me looking up at the trees foliage
This is the view looking up, hard to see everything from down below. How cool would it be to climb up there?! But also really scary...
Courtney and I got to meet the President with no one else in sight. There's a sign in front of the tree, but no fence or other marking. I really enjoyed that fact that we got to see the tree without lots of people around. If you end up making this trek, I'd highly recommend bringing a lunch and having a picnic near the tree.
Anyways, it's time to get back to those little trees I have in pots. I'm looking forward to a two day BIB workshop this weekend and then the BIB Exhibit later this month on the19th & 20th. If you get a chance you should definitely come check it out, there will be some fantastic trees on display- http://bayislandbonsai.com/bib-annual-exhibit/
Wishing you a Very Happy New Year!!!
I'm going to be updating the gallery section with pictures of trees in nature as I take them. One of the pics from my last collecting trip:
Finally getting some solid rain here in Nipomo - I haven't had to water in a few days. During a break in the rain, I worked on cleaning up my backyard and took a quick pic of some of my trees enjoying the weather.
My wife and I took a quick trip up to Yosemite in the beginning of Oct. As a California native, I've wanted to spend time in Yosemite for a long while, however this was my first trip there. We did some really nice hiking and saw some beautiful sights.
We were told that because there was almost no snow the winter before, the water flow was pretty minimal and not as impressive. However, I was still very excited to see the waterfalls!
The area below reminds me of a trail out of some JR Tolkens book.
About an hour drive away from the valley of Yosemite we were able to hike around the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. It's pretty awesome to think that California is home to the oldest, tallest, and largest trees on the planet. I can now kind of check off seeing the oldest and largest by volume, but I still need to see the tallest. I say kind of because the largest by volume was not actually in this grove and not many know which Bristle cone Pine is actually the oldest.
Below-Courtney next to the underside of a downed Sequoia root spread.
Speaking of these humongous trees, I'd recommend picking up the latest issue of National Geographic. Which has an awesome 4 page fold out picture and article on the world second largest tree. You can check out a cool short video on You Tube Below:
Newest Nat Geo Video on Sequoias
Just for fun and to see if anyone actually reads this blog, I'm going to give away a Dramm 1000 hole Water Breaker Nozzle. I used it once and it worked really well. It has a very gentle spray, which puts out a lot of water in a short amount of time. The reason I don't really need it is because I use an RO system and don't have a huge collection. I'd rather save a little more water and stick with my Masakuni watering wand which works really nicely too. What do you use to water and how do you like it?
Here's some great discussion on watering nozzle's for Bonsai:
http://bonsaistudygroup.com/general-discussion/watering-head-for-bonsai/
So if you want this Dramm nozzle, just comment below letting my know your name and address along with the answers to the quiz below. If you don't want the nozzle and still want to do the quiz just let me know. You could email me your address also if you feel more comfortable.
Quiz
1. What were the given names of the two largest Sequoias in the world?
2. What's the name of a Bristlecone pine Grove in California?
3. What's the given name of the Largest Sierra Juniper in the world?
It's inspiring to see the amount of quality information that keeps popping up online about Bonsai and interesting to note the amount which has been shared only recently. In the last few years alone we've gained several blogs and videos from Bonsai folk who have apprenticed or are currently apprenticing under professionals in Japan.
I have really enjoyed reading the blogs of those who are currently apprenticing in Japan. While I sometimes wish I would have studied in Japan, these blogs have allowed me to somewhat live vicariously and learn through the authors without all the extreme difficulties that come along with the education. One of my favorite types of these blogs is from Peter Tea who is currently in his second year at Aichi-en Bonsai Nursery. Peter has shared a treasure trove of knowledge and several of his stories about his experiences so far.
I recently caught up with Peter and was able to ask him several more questions I had and he was kind enough to answer. I thought I would share these, so here are the 28 questions and answers below. Thank you Mr. Tea!
Above-Peter working on Black Pine at Aichi-en
1. What do you think you will learn or focus on in 2013 as opposed to what you’ve learned and focused on in 2012?
A. 2012 was a overload of new Bonsai information for me. It reinforced what I’ve learned in the past, yet also got me to rethink my approach and philosophy in Bonsai. For 2013, I plan to continue honing the skills I’ve learned in the past, and be more focused on more varieties and better recognizing the little things that make each species used in Bonsai interesting and unique.
2. What do you think Bonsai in the US will be like 20 years from now?
A. The US is such a large country and Bonsai levels vary greatly. I see a huge leap in quality and enthusiasm as I’m continuing my apprenticeship today. There are young and talented bonsai professionals hitting the bonsai scene and I can only see a up swing in Bonsai and a new higher standard in American Bonsai.
3. Name 1 or 2 non bonsai related lessons Mr. Tanaka has taught you during your apprenticeship?
A. It’s okay to have fun too.
4. After your apprenticeship, will you run a program similar to that of Boon’s Intensives or Michael Hagedorn’s Seasonals?
A. I’ve thought about doing something similar but not 100 percent sure yet. These types of programs seem to produce the best results in getting good Bonsai technique to highly enthused people. Personally attending Boon’s Intensives is the main reason why my transition to apprenticeship in Japan was so smooth.
5. Being a graduate of a program like this, what advice can you give on how to get the most out of these programs?
A. Keep an open mind to allow new information in. You are there to learn. Also practicing what you learn really does help!
6. What are some of your short term Bonsai related goals?
A. Finish my apprenticeship, build a nursery and continue to work with good people.
7. What are some of your long term Bonsai related goals?
A. Continue the spread of Bonsai and having my students grow and develop Bonsai better than I ever could.
8. If Akadama ran out in the US. What mixes would you start experimenting with?
A. Akadama is an interesting soil because it evolves with the root system. At first, it holds only so much water, then as the tree grows more roots and the akadama starts to break down, it holds even more water for all the new roots. I’m not sure what other types of material I can find that will do similar things other then firing some clay myself. If I couldn’t come up with a substitute, I would probably use porous type stones in the mix only such as lava, pumice, etc.
9. What brand of tools do you use at Aichien and how do you like them?
A. We use a wide variety of tools at the nursery and it’s only a matter of what works well for us. I use scissors, pliers and wire cutters from Masakuni, and many of the rest of tools are from Kaneshin.
10. What do you think of the Portland Cup Bonsai Show which is starting in October 2013?
A. I commend Ryan Neil and Michael Hagedorn for putting on a high caliber show together. That is what the US needs more of. It’s not just about putting a tree in a show for the potential to win, but the experience of bonsai enthusiasts coming together and supporting a show that is intended to build the Bonsai community. I know it’s going to be a lot of work for them and I hope that its successful and meets their goals. I should be in California during that time and would like to attend myself!
11. When you start your own Bonsai business up, what types of trees will you specialize in?
A. I always tell people that my favorite trees are Black Pines, Junipers and Trident Maples, but in honesty I have yet to not like a species used in Bonsai when they meet their true potential. I’ll definitely specialize in the common species used in Bonsai but would like to be experienced with as many different species as possible.
12. If any, what types of US natives would you like to work with or experiment with?
A. We are fortunate in the United States with all the great native species to choose from. I like the native junipers and pines, but what I would really love to experiment with are Coast live Oaks and Valley Oaks. Done well, they have such a good feeling to them.
13. What’s the hardest part for you about your apprenticeship?
A. Everybody always talks about the long hours of labor involved in an apprenticeship, but that’s actually the easiest part. The most difficult part is the mental aspects of an apprenticeship. Not only do I have to deal with the mental stress of the day to day work, the different personalities/moods of my boss, other professionals/apprentices/ customers, but my own mental state adjusting to a new home, customs, language and lifestyle. With all that on my shoulders, a little mindless labor is actually relaxing. ;o)
14. What will happen to your blog once you finish your apprenticeship?
A. I plan on continuing my blog after my apprenticeship and share with the folks my life and work being a professional. I’ll be sure to head back to Aichien for many years into the future so there will always be posts of the nursery and things I do there.
15. Give us one tip about working with Black Pine?
A. Black Pines are the most difficult tree to make into great bonsai. We have to learn so much just to develop and style them well. My one tip would be for each of us to step up to the challenge of making a great Black Pine Bonsai because it will teach us so much about Bonsai in general that no other tree can do alone. Trunk development, branch structure, foliage balance, tree balance and uniformity, fertilizing, work timetable, wiring, age are some of the things that Black Pines can teach us.
16. What’s the best way for people in the US to obtain top notch material?
A. I believe that learning from a skilled and qualified professional will help us all in first recognizing what good material is. Then at that point, it’s a matter of growing, collecting or importing trees. Personally I think growing and collecting are the best way to get nice material. Importing works for me as well but is much more limited with all the restrictions.
17. Tell us one way in which a thought or idea about Bonsai has changed since starting your apprenticeship?
A. My beliefs on soil has changed dramatically because it heavily affects how the tree will grow.
18. What is your favorite type of foliage on our Native Junipers?
A. I actually like California Juniper the most. My second favorite is western junipers though they are a bit sticky.
19. When would you graft a native juniper and with what?
A. I would graft native junipers in the early Spring or early Fall. If I ever wanted to change the foliage of a native juniper, it would most likely be to tighten up the foliage. Either the same foliage but higher quality or Shimpaku foliages such as Kishu or Itoigawa.
20. With $6,000 dollars can you buy a better conifer in Japan or the US?
A. It would be cheaper in Japan purely because there is so much more material there causing the price to go down.
21. How often will you spray your own trees for pest?
A. In California, I rarely had to spray my trees. Usually when I notice a problem is when I spray them with insecticidal soap, oils or a type of systemic.
22. How should you prevent fungal issues on your trees?
A. If I was in an area where fungus is prevalent, I would spray my trees every month with daconil.
23. Will you use systemic insecticide on your trees?
A. Yes and have.
24. Do any Japanese professionals you know of use an RO system and why or why not?
A. I don’t know of any professionals in Japan that uses RO water. The reason why is because water is Japan is very clean so they don’t really have issues with that. They get so much rain every year that there’s never really a drought to lower the water quality. The US is such a large country with so many different climates, so we have issues with varying water qualities. Personally I had to use RO water in my area of California and my trees responded very well to it.
25. After your apprenticeship do you plan to offer any imports through your business?
A. I plan on importing bonsai supplies and such but not sure about trees. Lots of obstacles and I’m not sure if it’s viable because of all the restrictions we have now. Plus, I’ll be in California where plant restrictions are even more strict, but I plan to look into it.
26. What type of liquid fertilizer if any is used at Aichien and how often is it applied?
A. We don’t use liquid fertilizer at Aichien. We use ground up rapeseed and put them in tea bags. We apply them to different trees during different times of the year.
27. On a live juniper vein, what do you use to remove the outer bark?
A. I have a thin and slightly dull blade tool that I use to remove the bark. The tool was actually made for that type of work. The dullness of the tool is nice because its sharp enough to remove the bark, but not quite sharp enough to constantly cut into the vein.
28. What type of lime sulfur does Mr. Tanaka use on juniper deadwood?
A. I’m not sure of different types of lime sulfur, but the lime sulfur concentrate that we use is 29 percent. When apply on juniper deadwood, we use 100 percent at first application. After that, it’s about 50-50 water and lime sulfur.
I decided to take a quick hiking trip to get some fresh air and try out the camera on my new Iphone. I really like the new panoramic feature on the phone's camera-but i'm not sure how to make them larger. Here's a few pictures I took yesterday up in the mountains. I'm very happy with the phone so far, brace yourself for people everywhere taking panoramic pics with their new iphone!
In early spring of this year I re-potted my little Sierra I collected Spring of last year. Here's a link to a previous post about this tree. http://www.yenlingbonsai.com/2012/02/01/little-sierra/
Above is the tree after I removed it from it's box at a BIB workshop. You can see some of the new roots on the left hand side, which grew into the pumice.
Here's a closer shot.
I washed the training pot and put on the screen and wire. Here's a close up of a Z clip to hold the screen in place.
I used Clay King, but mixed in some additional pumice and lava. Forgot to get a picture of the tree all potted up during this workshop.
Fast forward to 9/1/12 and the tree was growing great-here's a picture below.
We were not able to get the tree into the correct planting angle, but we were able to secure it so it didn't move in the pot(notice the aluminum wire near the base). There were tons of small new shoots coming out of two main locations on the upper part of the trunk. Boon explained to me that you should only keep a few of these. Otherwise if you leave them they will not elongate correctly to become the replacement branches you need in order to become replacement branches.
We removed several of these new shoots and some of the branches on the tree. Here is the final outcome for the day after the first wiring and adjusting the branches on this little Sierra. I'm excited to see the tree become more refined with time and repositioned into it's new planting angle.
