I thank my family, supporters, and my customers in bonsai who help enable my pursuit and passion of this art. In 2018 I made the decision to pursue an apprenticeship at Fujikawa Kouka-en, in Osaka Japan. Regrettably, after 2 years from unforeseen conflicts and my own maturity at that time I chose to return to the US. I returned to the corporate work force, employed as an engineer for a medical device start up while I continued my bonsai pursuits semi-professionally for a small clientele base in central and southern California. I thank professionals, Peter Tea and John Wang, who were resources to provide some mentorship as well as to continuously further my knowledge/skills during this time.

After much contention and indecision, as well as the pathological obsession that bonsai is to me I’ve once again taken the plunge and chose to pursue bonsai as my full time career. Coincidingly with this decision, I had prior a week of work booked with the Iowa Bonsai Association. It was my first gig outside of California so I was quite nervous as to whether I could deliver to expectations, but it could not have went any better. I thank the hospitality of my host, Scott Allen and his wife Jenn, and the IBA club which was great to work with. I did a few private days, a workshop, 3 demos/talks at the Des Moines Botanical Gardens, followed by judging of the annual show held at the Iowa state fair.

Following my week work I received so much positive feedback from all the members as well as plans for repeat booking and piggybacking adjacent states that I have at least some sense of confidence that I’m headed in the right direction. Thank you Susan Daufeldt for providing some of the workshop and demo photos. One member sent me a testimonial to share which I will include at the end of this post.

It has been my emphasis in my teaching style to be very explicit on why we do things, what we expect out of the work, and the long term implication of the techniques/work applied. Both in my private days, demos, workshops, and judging the overarching basis of my work can be broken into 2 criteria:

1. Will the work applied improve the tree can can it be continued and built upon in the future?
2. Will the work capture and show a history of “age in cultivation”

From my time in Japan I’ve noticed a distinction when professionals say a tree is old. Age is not only implying the age of the tree, although this may be part of the case especially intrinsic to collected yamadori, but often age is referring to age in cultivation. For example, consider a deciduous tree which over 10, 20, 50 years has had branches meticulously maintained and a dense silhouette create from thin (and old!) branches.

At immediate glance we can not only tell that the trees are old, but that it’s time cultivated as a bonsai is long too! The branches carry a sense of time giving more presence and impact to the tree. This is also why we show deciduous trees in winter silhouette–to show off the branches that were so meticulously developed over many years.

Of course this applies to coniferous material as well, but will have some species specific characteristic in terms of the branch density, coarseness, as well as stylistic intentions of the professional.

I say this to imply that when we work on our trees, we want to most efficiently use our time so our trees and can continuously progress and improve. In this era of exciting collected yamadori it is quite achievable to rapidly set an aesthetic and full silhouette, but if the work done needs to be reset every 2-5 years, then even if we worked on that tree for 25 years its age as a bonsai, or age in cultivation will forever be stuck at that 2-5 year mark! Of course this is not an attempt to claim superiority, as I am very much continuously learning and improving my skills, but is something we all can consider and keep in the back of our minds as we work on our trees.

That said, now into the work. Iowa is a temperate climate with very cold winters and hot humid summers. The season is comparatively short say to Southern California so in doing work we should consider the current season as well as remaining time left the tree can respond to a given technique. When we enter the peak temperatures of summers, roots will enter a “summer dormancy” which counter-intuitively means the tree is taking in less water with rising temperatures. With reduced transpiration and sap flow, trees are less rapidly able to move water and heal damage. Meaning at this time (mid August) for Iowa is not ideal for heavy bending and hard work.

As for deciduous there is about 1-1.5 months of warm weather left for trees to grow–cutting it very close say for deciduous defoliation or heavy cut backs which will encourage a soft successive flush. Ideally this work would of had been done in July to start of August at latest, so deciduous work was restricted to general cut backs, partial defoliation to prevent further weakening of interior shoots (not enough removal of foliage to generate a secondary flush), and only more significant work on very strong trees that seemed apt to rapidly produce another flush before the end of the season.

For the most part work was on conifers–junipers which are completely lignified at this time, some yews, and ponderosa which were the notable species. I was not able to get photos of everything done but here is a collection of some over the week.

Shohin kishu, back turned into front (sorry I do not have original front)

Here is an interesting windswept, penjing-esk juniper. We contemplated lifting the angle up and making a more bunjin, informal upright style but ended up going with a more unconventional look. The tree previously had spider mites last year but the current growth otherwise seemed healthy enough to be worked on.

Here is an old Korean hornbeam planted in a very nice Horst pot. A few things to note. The tree suffered some leaf burn–many IBA members mentioned that this year was an uncharacteristically hot and low precipitation season. The inner canopy has been neglected resulting in some dieback. If the tree was vigorous enough and it was a month earlier in the season, I would completely defoliate the outer canopy, only leaving interior branches and some weak branches alone. We ended up cutting back extensions on stronger regions, and partial defoliating (removing 1 leaf of each alternating outer pair) to enable more light on interior foliage.

Refinement work on another telperion juniper that Bjorn did the initial styling on several years back. It has since become overgrown with many branches that are too thick. I did a significant cut back, some thinning, and wired out the tree. It should be allowed to grow and fill in. We can do more detail wiring next season to get better pad definition.

Some workshop shots:

A big yew brought and worked on by Dan Morton

I did 3 demos and talks to both bonsai enthusiasts and the general public at the Des Moines Botanical Gardens. I talked a lot about my bonsai philosophy, some stories from my apprenticeship in Japan, and of course the trees on hand. Club members brought several trees I could select from and pick for the demonstrations. I looked for trees that were 1) healthy and 2) would tolerate demonstration type work that would not infringe on my previous criteria mentioned earlier.

Common juniper, wiring out branches and setting some pad structure. I wanted a steeper angle for the tree but just worked with the available blocks.

Telperion farms field grown kishu. Discussed approach and methodology for establishing a style or design. Ended up making a multi-trunked clump type composition.

Another taxus brought by Dan Morton. I believe he mentioned these were collected from the old Ford factory in the 80s.

Some of the results:

Lastly was the Iowa Bonsai Show held at the state fair. Coming from California, I had no idea that state fairs were a huge deal in the midwest. Hundreds of thousands of people present at a given time and a lot going on. The quality of the show was mixed, and I judged the trees and did a critique. Main criteria was trees showing age in cultivation, then considerations to style, pot/stand combination, and display. I did not take very many pictures of the show. It was hard to judge in that I would say there were not any singular outstanding trees from the rest but in comparable quality brackets. Definitely some nice conifers but felt “young” as bonsai and trees which if they were worked on more or had a bit more refinement/development I would have allocated awards differently.

Butter cow…

All in all it was a great week of work and I enjoyed the friendliness and hospitality of those I met.

For those that made it to the end of my post, I am booking my 2023 calendar and I still have some openings left for this year. I am eager to work, so if you are interested in any of my services, please contact me at [email protected] or through my website: here.

Here is the testimonial sent to me by Dan Morton about my work in Iowa:

I recently attended a workshop sponsored by our local club , a young man I’d never heard of , so I checked out a few of his videos and thought I’d give him a challenge , a rough collected Yew I had dug up in the late 80s and just put it in a grow pot this year , many have seen it and made suggestions on it’s style , but there was something missing so I rented a cargo van and loaded it up , after 6 hours of work I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome , the lines that was created by showing the trunk , the Shari that was carved , so impressed with his style and knowledge that I took another to a demo hoping to get it worked on (the smaller one) and he choose the small one . As he was working with me he explained the reasons why he was doing what he was doing , but he explain that this this is what to expect in 3 to 5 years , what to do and how to achieve it . I was so impressed with his knowledge of this species that I had him sign and date the metal tags to stay with them forever , I hope our club can get him back again next year to continue his work . I speak for all the students that were at the workshop ,the demos had a total of 84 visitors for the 3 trees , this was open to the public , I don’t recall anyone leaving once he started styling a tree , those that had there tree chosen for the demo was quite pleased .

Dan 

I wanted to share my thoughts, having had been a bonsai hobbyist turned professional, practicing bonsai in LA through my experience of engaging with hundreds of people through workshops and private work  as well as having worked on thousands of trees. This can apply to Southern California at broad, but may contain commonality towards the practice of bonsai as a whole. It is not my intention to paint all hobbyist of a region within a common brushstroke–rather to share my experience of locality based hurdles through observed experience.

Post Topic Index:
Climate Considerations
Disease Considerations
Chemical Product Recommendations
Water Quality
Addressing Water Quality
The Practice of Bonsai and “Maturing a tree”
Early Development 
Intermediate Development
Advanced Development/Refinement

I will break this down into 2 categories of critique:

First through the horticulture of bonsai as it pertains to the local climate, water quality, hardiness of species, and how we can evaluate all of the prior. Second is application of bonsai as a craft and an art–what can we enable in our practice to increase our long term success and enjoyment of bonsai?

As how all bonsai work should be derived from, we always consider the health of the tree first. With many Japanese and domestic trained professionals, as well as abundant information from the internet, we are inundated with the latest techniques, aesthetics, and bonsai trends. I think people are very eager to apply and show off their knowledge of techniques, but it is important to remember a technique is only a tool and it is rather the application of the tool that is more important than it’s use. Just as a chef with superb knife skills, but a terrible palate makes awful tasting food the practice of bonsai without understanding of motivation, purpose, and principal results in inferior trees. The most fundamental of this principal is the health of trees!

To start lets consider the climate of Southern California. We have quite a few microclimates (I will exclude the mountains and high desert which are the most deviant and have the smallest bonsai practitioner populace) which include coastal regions, low elevation hills, the valleys that lie in-between, and mountain foothills. In general Southern California is a mild, slightly temperate climate–deemed Mediterranean with low annual precipitation (mostly around winter) and arid weather. During the late spring to early summer months we experience significant marine layer as result of cool, moisture laden air coming off the ocean being trapped by hot air off the land. Your proximity to the coast then determines the amount of offshore humidity and subsequent reduction in temperature received. In general coastal climates will have greater overcast weather, higher humidity, and smaller range in temperature from the annual absolute low to high. Moving inland to low elevation foothills (500-1000 ft appx) such as the West LA hills or similarly low topography mountains, are less afflicted by deep marine layer with more sun, a wider temperature range but overall still mild. In between these 2 regions we have the valleys which are significantly hotter, with abundant sunshine and colder winter temperatures. Humidity is further decreased. Lastly we have the mountain foothills which exist on the fringe of the valleys against our large mountain ranges in the 800-2000 ft range. Climate in those regions are quite similar to the valleys but have lower winter temperatures.

The following pictures are from a free PDF provided by: https://landdesignpublishing.com/lpcg/

Climate Considerations:

Okay well that was a lot of information just on climate zones. How does this apply then to bonsai? Well we can first separate these by regions which are more or less temperate. The coastal regions and low elevation hills tend to be much more mild and winter temperatures seldom dropping below the high 40s. Trees that prefer some semblance of dormancy such as maples, prunus species, native mountain junipers, and others tend not to be as hearty. The valleys and mountain foothills are much colder in the winter, to the low 40s (occasionally high 30s). In general, short of tropical varieties most species benefit from some chill period and will grow heartier in the spring as a result. Even so temperatures are not truly cold enough for high mountain species like white and ponderosa pine.

Humidity levels also vary relative to your proximity to the coast which sometimes enable trees like black pines and high surface area junipers, like chinensis varieties (kishu, itoigawa) to grow faster, but some potential concerns with fungus. A big influence in growth characteristics and hardiness will be the amount of sun or our local marine layer which changes seasonally but generally is more dominant on the coast. Areas like the low elevation foothill or transition regions to the valleys tend to benefit from the humidity of the coast but are not burdened by marine layer and get great sun. These are great microclimates for many species, but tend to be mild overall in the absolute temperature range. More inland during intense summer heat shade cloth is absolutely necessary. But on the coast you might be able to get away not using it at all! This of course is relative to your sun exposure. Are you getting the full day of sun or windows cut off by buildings and surrounding land?

Disease Considerations:

There is another factor that relates to health I like to call disease pressure. Are you located in areas with minimal airflow or without daily breezes? Close proximity to industrial/dense residential areas? Cool humidity with not enough sunlight? It is important to note that there are pathogens everywhere, some harmful to plants and others not. There are introduced diseases from plant/food import and conversely, high elevation species or non native ornamental varieties may not have natural resilience to fungus/insects in our local areas. The best approach to deal with all these potential issues is just to grow your tree strong! Just as a strong immune system resists the abundant bacteria that surrounds us daily, a healthier tree will be more robust against disease. In short, a preventative approach is best! Although there are systemic fungicides and insecticides, in general application of these are more akin to treating symptoms as opposed to addressing the root cause. It’s like seeking dopamine hits for my depression instead of addressing the sources and working with my therapist, only that I don’t have a therapist.

BUT…inevitably it is impossible to grow trees in 100% perfection and health all the time, so here is a list of products I use and recommend. I just would advise that if your trees are constantly getting sick, maybe more chemicals is not the answer and you need to think about why its happening!

Chemical Product Recommendations:

Fungicides: Thiomyl based systemics (cleary’s 3336, bonide infuse-granular), mancozeb (great for blights, needle issues), immunox (powdery mildew, leaf spot), daconil (leaf curl/blights), zerotol (soil drenches, foliar spray), lime sulfur (dormant spray), copper (good general fungicide, but causes phytotoxicity and leaf deformation on soft/new deciduous growth)

Insecticides: Imidacloprid (systemic – bonide granular is the one I use), Malathion (aphids, leaf sucking bugs, also can use for root drenches), *Floramite (miticide – I strongly recommend a real dedicated miticide to deal with spider mites in Southern California)

*Often people are hesitant to buy dedicated miticides (this is NOT Bayer 3 in 1) because they are more pricey. Floramite for example is $120 for an 8 oz bottle, but the dilution rate is 1/4 tsp per gallon. For the average hobbyist that container of miticide will last you many years–if you have a lot of time and money invested in junipers it is a no brainer purchase instead of allowing your trees to get set back or destroyed by mites!

Water quality:

Water quality is a major issue in Southern California! Because we spend significant years in drought, water sources will shift between local ground water/reservoirs to “imported” or Colorado River water. If you’re lucky you get mountain run off/ground water which is the cleanest or in Carlsbad for example one of their sources is a desalination plant which is just a giant RO facility! But for the majority of socal residents, we have hard and akaline water! This makes deciduous trees such as Japanese maples notoriously hard to grow healthy in some areas with constant leaf deformation and fringe burning.

There are 3 general considerations to water quality. TDS, pH, and lastly mystery city ingredients.

TDS (Total Dissolved Salts):
This is the most impactful measure of water quality. TDS represents the all inclusive number of salts–not the stuff you put on your shitty mashed potatoes, but soluble ionic compounds, which may include calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, etc

While our trees do need some degree of trace elements and “salts” in the water, a TDS value that is too high can have a negative effect. Looking back on our grade school science lessons, we learned about something called osmosis. Simply put, it is the diffusion of water across a semi-permeable membrane from a region of lower to higher concentration of solutes.

In theory if the water surrounding the roots have a high enough solute concentration, think sea water, the roots can actually desiccate and water will be removed. What this implies for high TDS city water however, is that the mobility or efficiency of the tree to uptake and move water is reduced. Additionally high TDS may contain salts/micronutrients in too great of an excess resulting in phytotoxicity.

Here are some TDS ranges:

Distilled Water: 0 ppm
RO Water: 5-30 ppm
Bottled Drinking Water: 15 ppm
Local Groundwater (natural source): 180-300 ppm
Imported Reservoir Water: 300-550 ppm (water that travels great distances have more dissolved minerals/salts in it)

Generally about 50-150 ppm is a good range to be in that contains enough dissolved salts to provide the tree micronutrients, but not so much in excess. Roughly 200 ppm is my observed max that Japanese maples still are okay in (not great). Over 300 ppm your deciduous trees will struggle and not grow as hearty.

pH:

A lot of people misunderstand pH what it means for the plant. We know that the acidic range of pH is 1-6.9 while the alkaline or basic range is 7.1-14. What pH is doing is determining the solubility of different micronutrients in the water and thus the plants ability to access it. A way to imagine this is pouring salt in a cup of water. After stirring it a lot it dissolves into the water and thus we say it is soluble. For discussion sake imagine that after stirring that cup that the salt your poured in still remained. That would be insoluble, in its precipitated crystal mashed potato additive form. Plants can access nutrients that are soluble, but not as mashed potato dressing.

This graph shows the different solubilities of common micronutrients across the full pH range. Thinner is less, thicker is more. Hint hint. Notice in the pH 8-9 range, commonly what city water is at there is a very high amount of soluble calcium and magnesium. Hmm makes sense with those white stains on our pots. Looking at iron the bar, it is very thin in this range. It is no mistake that when you buy soil acidifier products, they contain large amounts of iron! It is to make up for the deficit in these alkaline pH ranges.

A lot of literature, plant people, and professionals recommend a pH range around 6.5. Looking at the graph we can see that there is a little bit of everything available in that range. The sweet spot!

Mystery City Ingredients:

This is 100% anecdotal and speculation, so I don’t have clear quantifiable explanations here. But generally speaking, many counties will disinfect their water with algicides, bactericides, chlorine, and other chemicals that are deemed safe for humans in low enough ppm ranges but potentially can be phytotoxic or harmful for plants. This is not so measurable, but I believe it is another factor at play in water quality.

Addressing Water Quality:

So if we do not have access to good water quality, what are ways we can mitigate these issues? Solutions and trades offs listed below.

RO Water:

Pros – The brute force method of water filtration, will remove 95% of all salts in tap water. Filters can last years in bonsai use. Creates very pure water and clean slate to modify with micronutrients or fertilizers. When solute level of water is very low, not necessary to pH water either. Soil environment will dictate pH for clean, non salt buffered water.
Cons – Wastes water, RO systems use a back line to flush the filters. Initial cost can be expensive
Verdict – Recommended, but if you have a large number of trees the wasted water can be a concern

Dosatron Injection Systems or Siphon Systems:

Pros – Can introduce varying degrees of controlled injection of a fertilizer or acid into water line. Can correct for pH issues.
Cons – Does not address TDS, which is main pressing factor for water quality
Verdict – Recommended if your city water TDS is not too high and you just need to correct for pH. If RO is not practical or too expensive pH-ing your water to a slightly acidic range is still better than if you did nothing

Polyphosphate Water Softeners:

Pros – Cheap, polyphosphate beads form complexes with solutes in water that flush out without binding to surface. No hard water stains!
Cons – Changes water chemistry, not only binds to calcium and magnesium but other micronutrients as well. Tree may have growth deformities.
Verdict – Not recommended (I tested this for 1.5 years on my own trees). Maybe for a drip or soaker hose irrigation that you use when you are busy or traveling to prevent calcium clogging, but not good as a primary water treatment

Carbon Filters:

Pros – Cheap, removes chlorine, heavy metals, perhaps the mystery ninja turtle creating compounds in the water.
Cons – No effect on TDS or pH
Verdict – Recommended, but not as a primary treatment of poor water quality. Can be used in conjunction to previous methods.

Hardiness Tier List of Common Species for SoCal (recommended varieties)

Junipers: Very hardy, cold temperatures preferred but not necessary. Tolerates wider TDS range. Spider mites can be problematic. Native California junipers quite strong except on coastal regions. Procumbens, San Jose, and prostrata very strong also and acceptable in most micro climates. Chinensis varieties like kishu resists fungus more but can get heavy spider mites. Itoigawa resists spider mites but more susceptible to blight. Necessary to experiment to determine which one is better in your local area.
Oaks and Olives: Hardy, semi tolerant of high TDS . Likes heat and sun, not idea in coastal marine layer belt. Best in valley and transition zones.
Elms: Hearty, semi tolerant of high TDS. Will grow in most microclimates. (includes chinese elm, winged/texas elm)
Black Pines: Tolerant of high TDS and pH, but highly influenced by local microclimate. Low elevation foothill/transition region is best micro climate, valleys and coastal produce comparable growth, they like sun and heat. Can be fungus susceptible. Mycorrhizae does not develop in city water in socal, but can show up with RO. Clean water makes things easier but I have found through customers black pines thriving on otherwise very poor water. Tricky overall but if it does grow well in your area, it can be a very hearty choice.
Pomegranates: Hardy, semi tolerant of high TDS like oaks. Likes heat and sun, bad choice for coastal belt
Tropicals (Ficus, bougainvillea, etc): Not happy below high 40s, but tolerant of wide TDS range and will grow in most socal micro climates. Trees can get leggy and slow to develop in high marine layer climates however.

(I will add to this in the future and also include a list of trees which can be grown well with treated water)

Topic 2, The Practice of Bonsai

Now onto the second consideration, how do we practice bonsai as a craft turned art? I believe often that we are very much in an instant gratification society. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as the pursuit of efficacy, efficiency, and the production and subsequent packaging of information, technology, and food have often lead to great societal advances. It is easy to take for granted, as an end user consumer, the innumerous years of engineering, ingenuity, and hard work it takes to develop products and information we use everyday. I believe this also applies to bonsai. We see so many great photos of bonsai online and naturally, are inspired to make creations of our own. In absence of seeing great trees in person, as well as the ability to see or ask how it was made, we have nothing to go off of other than the apparent aesthetic–this is especially true for self practicing hobbyists. Bonsai however is an iterative and emergent art whereby application of the craft in stages, the final aesthetic is realized (this process can range from a few years to several decades). Taking a “front-end” approach or aesthetic motivated design practices bonsai as a pure art, such as a painting or sculpture that can be realized and maintained in “one iteration.”

My observation is that frequently trees that lack maturity, the necessary branching, the necessary health, are prematurely styled or forced into a finish aesthetic. We can wire, manipulate, and style branches to fit into a desired silhouette and aesthetic. This is fine if the tree could be maintained in perpetuity, however the reality is that all trees will continuously change and grow! A discuss this concept in my previous blog articles as well.

Maturing a bonsai + what stage is it at?

It is important to assess what stage your tree is at. Am I building the core features that may minimally change over the long term? Think trunk line, roots, and primary branching that can build the foundation of a design. Do I need to thicken the trunk? Create taper? Develop deadwood/lifelines (for junipers)? Thicken main branches (showing thick primary branch lines carry visual weight and can help convey age)? Do I need physically more compact growth? Smaller internodes? Earlier foliage origin point? It is important to invest time to develop these features that will result in a higher quality, more sustainable, and older looking tree. I call this maturing the tree. Would you drink the first decant of a freshly distilled hard liquor?! Maybe!!! But you also might go blind, destroy your liver…or die! Haha just kidding doing instant bonsai is not gonna kill ya. There is value in maturing a tree as opposed to rushing for a finished aesthetic. In bonsai there are not that many true shortcuts–they all entail some form of a trade off.

I have observed many practitioners so eager for the finished image, that the future is sacrificed as a result and the tree constantly cycles through stages of intermediate refinement and getting “restarted” every few years. Essentially a tree that no matter how many years you work on it, will never mature or improve. I say this not as a discouragement to bonsai, but rather that we should enjoy the process of creating trees and having nice bonsai will be a natural result.

Examples of early development

Growing trunk:
This may entail management of chops and thinning to direct growth, but more or less a tree is being grown strongly and less restricted.

Cork Oak trunk, 2015 or 2016 pre apprenticeship

Developing roots:
Nebari can actually be continuously matured overtime, but the initial stages may involve developing the some degree of lateral root mass. Another consideration is the transition of trees from field grown/container situations to eventually bonsai pots, as well as the ability to get a tree in the smallest pot possible. Do you have a well ramified dense feeder root system immediate to your trunk? Is space being wasted by large tap roots? Building a compact and healthy root system means in the confined space of a bonsai pot, the tree has greater ability to thrive.

Trident maple nebari, circa Kouka-en 2018 apprenticeship

Developing branches:
Perhaps the most susceptible area for mistakes, branch development is influenced by species and can be tricky. For deciduous do the initial primary segments have sufficient thickness? Depends on the size of a tree but often a primary branch may need to grow for years before the first cut! Branch thickness for the primary line has some relevance in conifers as well as the degree of lignified mass also determines whether a branch flops in the absence of wire.

Cork Oak, potted version of this one year later is in my work portfolio. Still necessary to thicken some primary branches. Those branches I ended up growing close to 4 years before I finally decided to cut it from the first photo.

Examples of Intermediate Development:

Trunk lines, directionality, and/or taper should be established. We can start considering branch placement and design–also where is the origin point of foliage? Is necessarily compact or needlessly long? Perhaps through cut back, a good state of health, or structural wire we can produce foliage where desired. In general wiring of primary branch lines can involve a lot of creative bending (conifers) but once you get to the foliage bearing lines, the structure must be clean for sustainable design.

Secondary branch placement is being set, which is perhaps the future foliage pad bearing branch or in deciduous work we may be creating taper, cut derived movement in branches, and/or the starting bifurcations.

Branch building on trident maple:

Structural work, repotting, and setting up branches on redwood (work carried out over 6 months). Some regions left long to thicken.

Examples of Advanced Development or Refinement:

At this stage all the elements or building blocks of our design are present. Even major restylings are dependent upon available branching for cleanliness of the desired design. Deciduous may start focusing on density, the outer silhouette, as well as the softness or fineness of the branch tips. We can really start to showcase age at this step, rather then just a shell of foliage it is important to show off interesting branch lines (that we built in the previous steps) as well as fine branching that supports the foliage.

You must assess which stage of development your tree is at and the necessary work involved, or buy a tree which has adequate maturity from the point which you’d like to continue development.

Some black pine wire work, circa Kouka-en apprenticeship 2019

One of my favorite trees, a bunjin procumbens juniper styled post apprenticeship 2022:

Well that was another long one. I don’t write too often these days, but when I do it will always be a high quality substantial article. I hope this was of interest and provided some good food for thought. Blessed may you be in your bonsai journey.

I wrote this article for a newsletter with the GSBF Clark Bonsai collection last summer. I had meant to share it on my blog, but my professional life has been very hectic and intense (fortunately mostly good) and the article escaped me. I’ve been thinking a lot recently that there is a significant percentage of the American bonsai demographic in their 70s. Many of these individuals are understated backbones of local bonsai communities who have done a lot to promote and support bonsai. The reality is many of these individuals will slowly begin aging out of the hobby–it’s neither a bad nor good thing, but just to be expected with life. Although I have my own qualms and disagreements with old school style clubs and orgs, I can appreciate dedication some of these members have invested to grow our local communities. One part of that is our public bonsai collections. Public collections can create a space for collaborative effort between hobbyists and professionals, but even greater they probably are the best outlet for direct exposure to the general public. Everyone starts from nothing, and seeing that first bonsai could be the catalyst for creating a future supporter of our community. As much passion people have, life is short for all and as older members age out public resources we took for granted can disappear! This article is a plea to consider supporting your local collection–whether by volunteering, donating, or even just visiting. Older members are always ecstatic to see younger faces interested and helping out, and there is always work to be done. That said I hope this biopic and narrative is enjoyable!

*I was not able to perfectly match photos to the narrative, some photos are from the winter although this narrative is based in the summer. I did not have pictures from when I wrote this article, incase you’re wondering about the bare trees and roots!

It’s midday in the central valley. Following a record and uncharacteristic California winter, temperatures are beginning to rise. The air feels dense, and seeking respite from the heat an older gentleman sits beneath a deep pavilion. His name is Bob Hilvers, who curates the Clark Bonsai Collection located in the Shinzen Gardens.

His hands and body, having weathered a long career prior to and within bonsai, bears signs of age. His expression is stern, but even so there is a great eagerness and passion emanating from Hilvers, who has dedicated over 20 years cultivating and curating these trees. Surrounding Bob is a team of volunteers, of varying backgrounds and ages, but all bearing wide smiles sharing a common passion for the art of bonsai.

The atmosphere is energetic and lively, quite the juxtaposition against these seemingly timeless and unchanging trees. I asked long-time volunteer Linda Jacobsen about her feelings about working at this collection. She replied, “Having been a docent for the Clark Collections of both art and bonsai since 2010, for me personally, I feel proud of continuing the legacy of the Clarks whose mission was to   preserve and promote the art and culture of Japan. Every day in the bonsai garden it is a great pleasure to witness the admiration and delight of our visitors experiencing the beauty of the garden and the art of bonsai in this great variety and quality, most for the first time.”

All the volunteers seem to share similar thoughts to one extent or another and are compelled by these small trees. From this one layer of value we can infer from a public bonsai collection is engagement with the community–professionals, volunteers, and visitors. It is a very human aspect to share passion for common goals and interests. But I think the value goes a bit deeper than this, because community engagement is obtainable in all manners of interests, and perhaps more easily done with other mediums. After talking with visitors, who may have little to no knowledge about bonsai, a common observed sentiment to bonsai is some sense of awe and even bewilderment. I believe there are two layers to this. First from not being knowledgeable about the art of bonsai and curious as to where the trees came from and how they were made.

The second aspect, especially for the very attuned or “present” visitor, is this inexplicable attraction and beauty. On the surface, one can easily agree that the bonsai are beautiful. But is there more than meets the eye? It may be presumptuous of me but let me infer the second aspect. Bonsai is a unique art form with no equal–that is, as a living art. We are contending with nature, to borrow her beauty, but also subject to her whims. A tree is forever growing, forever changing, despite what intentions we have planned. While one may visit a gallery to witness an artist’s work in its immutable greatness, a bonsai is quite literally alive and will change for better and worse.

There is this concept called “wabi-sabi” in Japan which in simple terms describes imperfections and qualities brought about by age. Think of a weathered stone pathway, whose once sharp edges are now soft and further covered by lichen and moss. Or perhaps the patina on an antique watch or set of tools. Wabi-sabi finds beauty in impermanence, in acceptance of the natural flaws and passage of time in this world. Bonsai embodies the values of wabi-sabi and gives us a unique opportunity to appreciate age. We value the weathered trunks, fine branches, and fissured bark in a life that is often as old if not older than ourselves. There is an expression of seasonality throughout the year (think fall colors, bare branches in winter, and the green vigor of spring and summer), but also a broader story of how the tree developed and changed overtime. As we celebrate bonsai, more than just an art, we are celebrating life. No different than in a person who similarly ages and changes over time. I’d like to imagine that unknowingly, as a visitor gazes upon and appreciates a bonsai they in turn appreciate themselves. Or maybe that is just my hope. In an increasingly fast paced world with all manners of media and medium, bonsai offers a unique opportunity to slow down, to engage with art, nature, time, and ourselves. A public collection such as the Clark Bonsai Collection creates a space for this engagement where not only trees, but people can be cultivated.

These thoughts have been cooking in my brain the past year and I haven’t really had time to put it in text. This is purely a discussion and model on paper, not reaffirmed through live, multiple sample, multi-variable experiments. Bonsai is largely anecdotal which there is nothing wrong with. Something is to be said about the multi-generation, accrued experience that refine techniques and allow bonsai to be practiced at the highest levels where it is today. But anecdotal knowledge is just that. A personal account or observed response to a set of conditions experienced by that individual. While it can bear truths and contain value, we should be hesitant to extrapolate such knowledge quickly without a BIG contextual and considered asterisk that says BUT. 

In the midst of a state wide, maybe historic, heat wave I wanted to talk about watering the foliage in hot weather. It’s a contested statement of whether you should water foliage or not, with observations of the foliage getting burned. The commonly attributed reason for such is that water droplets create magnifying glasses. This is unlikely to be the case as bound droplets to leaf surface are unable to create a centered and concentrated beam of light. Exceptions would be plants with very extended stem/leaf hairs or very waxy or hydrophobic leaf surfaces that result in suspended or more spherical water droplets.

Both in my discussions with other professionals, even my Oyakata in Japan, had told me not to water foliage when the temperature is very high. Personally I’ve observed some small amounts of burning post foliar watering on a hot day, but not consistently and not on everything. Also the tree may have just been normally sunburned, it’s hard for me to conclude it was from the water. And I probably won’t run an experiment to see what conditions will burn my bonsai. This really made me think about under what conditions this may be held true and if it has any relevance or warranting concern for bonsai practitioners.

My thought for a long time was that the most efficient mechanism for a plant or foliage to cool itself is via transpiration of water via the stomata into the air. Water within a leaf typically maintains at or near saturation (think 100% humidity), which is typically higher than ambient conditions. Because of the difference in vapor pressure, water is then transpired out of the leaf and through that process pulling heat out of the plant. When we coat foliage with water, we’re not just cooling the foliage but changing the mechanism by which heat is transferred. 

Let’s consider all the major mechanisms for heat transfer in the model of a leaf. Firstly, there is radiation which is generated from the sun hitting the leaf surface, some of which is reflected. Heat can then be transferred via conduction or migration between other solid/liquid interfaces. There is convection occurring with the air and water. And lastly evaporation or transpiration from the stomata. 

We can say for a steady state system where energy in = energy out

Thermal Energy gained = Thermal Energy loss

Absorbed radiation = reflected radiation + convection + conduction + evaporation

When foliage is covered with water, for the covered stomata bearing surface area we are effectively halting transpiration which relies on a vapor pressure difference of water in the leaf vs outside of the leaf. With “ 100% ” water on both sides nothing is then transpired. Heat then must rely on existing methods of convection (heat transfer via the air) as well as conduction+convection through the leaf water-droplet interface. 

What we must discern is whether the heat transferred by means of conduction and convection through water is greater than that of the transpiration through the now covered stomata. Does the plant cool faster with water droplets coating the leaf or are existing mechanisms of transpiration and convection more efficient? If the latter is true it means your plant cools faster with wet foliage. If not it means by watering your foliage you actually decrease the rate of cooling in the leaf, which conditionally could be detrimental to its health. Exceeding temperatures of 42C or 107F many temperate species may experience degradation of metabolic processes, denaturing of proteins, and other irreversible damage.

I’ll be completely honest in that I only took one course in thermodynamics in college and I forgot almost everything. Fortunately for me, the energy model of a leaf has already been modeled and we can vet this idea with hypothetical numbers and existing literature. This article consists of my thoughts after affirming a concept with existing literature. 

I will skip defining all the variables and just review the relevant concepts and factors. As previously discussed, a leaf absorbs thermal radiation from the sun. While some is reflected, this absorbed heat exits the leaf through 2 primary mechanisms. Convection via the leaf air interface and transpiration through the stomata. 

An assumption I will make here is that the difference from cooling by air is negligible from cooling by water. This is not necessarily true, as convection by water is significantly more efficient than air. However there is more to factor such as wind speed and temperature of ambient air and water. This starts to complicate this discussion, so we’ll simplify this case study and purely evaluate how impactful transpiration is. 

Firstly to restate, Heat in = Heat out

So the thermal energy or radiation from the sun causes the leaf temperature to increase. This accrued heat can be released by means of transpiration, convection, and minimally reflected off the leaf. I will reference literature where the leaf temperature is evaluated with and without the presence of transpiration, at different values of total absorbed radiation defined by Q in W/m^2. Just think of the last part as different sun intensities. Here is the defined model for reference:

Anyways we’ll just review the relevant parts. 

First let’s define how hot the leaf gets if the leaf was in a vacuum and could not cooled by convection or transpiration. 

For Q = 800 W/m2 the leaf temperature is 75.2 C

For Q = 600 W/m2 the leaf temperature is 51.1 C

For Q = 400 W/m2 the leaft temperature is 19.8 C

Now let’s add in convection, while omitting the effects of transpiration. By using the following formula we can see how only convection, or transfer of heat via the leaf to air interface, influences leaf temperature. As a brief note at higher wind velocities (V) and smaller leaf diameters (D) both transpiration and convection rates are increased. This is not relevant to what we are vetting, but the successive charts map the leaf temperature influence at varying V/D ratios.

Anyways we can observe that convection definitely plays a role in cooling leaf temperature. This effect is increased for small leaf diameters or high wind velocities. We can also make another inference. When sunlight is very low such as in the evenings (Q = 400), the ambient air temperature is higher than the leaf temp. This results in the leaf temperature increasing.

And finally we can incorporate the effects of transpiration. We have to draw some additional assumptions about the relative humidity or humidity outside of the leaf, as well as resistance to water leaving the leaf. In this model rH was defined as 50% and r = 100 s/m

This is too many numbers for some people so just just focus on the relevant columns. The temperature difference with and without transpiration for V/D = 1

Notice there is an observed 40% additional reduction in leaf temperature for the highest observed Q value. The relative difference between transpiration and convection is diminished as Q decreases. Another pertinent note from the original chart, that when V/D is high or conditions are very windy or leaf diameter is very thin/small the relative difference between transpiration and convection is also diminished.  

So what does this mean? At higher temperatures, transpiration plays a significant role in cooling of the leaf compared to solely convection by air. This suggests that at extreme weather conditions, let’s say in excess of 100+ F if we water our foliage with water, conditionally this may result in heat being trapped LONGER in the foliage. Assuming the non transpired heat is significant enough, this can attribute to damage in the foliage or burning! So maybe, just maybe as the reality of climate change/instability is readily observable and more hobbyists experience extreme heat watering the foliage may not be a good idea. Perhaps utilizing things like shade cloth to protect foliage or insulating pots with towels/cloth to prevent them from heating in the sun is a more reliable method. And if you are going to water the foliage of your plants anyways, DRENCH them so you can utilize the cooling effects of convection by water to the fullest and immediately cool the foliage. Misting plants in 100 degree weather is probably the worst option, as micronized droplets will quickly adjust to ambient air temperature so you get less cooling benefit and you also prevent transpiration. ***Additional notes in the end

Additionally I noted that for thinner leaf types or in windy conditions the effect of transpiration is diminished. The referenced article discusses this in regards to boundary layer resistance of air around the foliage, I won’t discuss this in my post but you can read it yourself if interested. There is a secondary implication I wanted to state that as the plant loses water/turgidity and the internal vapor pressure of water is reduced, convection plays a more significant role compared to transpiration. Trees also have an internal mechanism to close the stomata if the water deficit is too high. This is problematic as the tree loses 1 mechanism to cool itself. 

But in average temperate climates, especially if you are not experiencing extreme heat this concern is less relevant. I will still water the foliage of my plants in low 90 degree weather with no observable detriment. Anyways, just food for thought. Think critically, and clearly. In reality, we are all just dabbling and making inferences from our observations.

For people who just only read the conclusion here is my synopsis:

In 100+ temperatures on temperate species do not mist the foliage of your trees. If you do water the foliage, drench the foliage and ensure the water coming out of your hose is not warm or hot. Sub 100 temps it is highly unlikely that watering your foliage will burn the leaves. In hot weather it is likely more effective to keep trees well watered and roots cool as well as utilize shade cloth, so that the plant can continue to transpire and cool itself.  

Up next I’m going to feed my bonsai an infusion of HB-101, decomposed cat food, while whispering to my trees everyday and tell you how healthy it will make my trees. 

Reference: See chapter 11

University of Washington Center for Quantitative Science, Updated by the TrEnCh Project. (2020b, November 23). Physical Processes in ecosystems https://bookdown.org/huckley/Physical_Processes_In_Ecosystems/

***Regarding some of my comments, I hypothesized that in misting the foliage in high temperatures there could be an ill effect where small water droplets (quickly adjusting to ambient temperature conditions) landing on the leaf prevent transpiration while not providing significant enough cooling benefit. This would result in a net decrease rate in loss of heat which could cause the foliage to burn.

I posted this article on my social media and received some great comments from Addison Galambos to point out some holes in my statements. First is that there is still evaporative heat loss from the water on the foliage. Evaporation is a similar mechanism to transpiration however as a physical process its not subject to the resistance of water moving through the plant tissue and is more efficient. Water would evaporate, drawing heat from the leaf, perhaps minimally by natural convection from the air, as well as direct radiation from the sun. It would be interesting to compare the rate of heat loss compared to transpiration (which is primarily transferring heat from out of the leaf) vs evaporation which is more efficient, involving higher local amounts of water, but also is transferring heat from 2 additional sources not just the leaf.

There are many things that have been weighing heavily on my mind over the past few months. My thoughts culminated after these devastating fires in LA that resulted in the destruction of many homes, including those of friends and clients. I am thankfully safe, as are my family and loved ones.

We live in a highly modern world. Of course, not everyone does, but relative to past generations, there is more abundant food, amenities, and a general semblance of material wealth and accessibility. Those of us, including myself, who lead these great privileged lives often take for granted where such abundance comes from and the consequent impact from procuration and consumption of such. I am a firm believer that in every facet of life, the quote, “there is no free lunch,” holds true.

Last year I was introduced to this substack which is a compilation of considered, critical analysis on the progression of modern human society which is also correlated to discovery and consumption of different fuel sources. I haven’t even delved past the initial writings, but it is perhaps the best modern take on our world I have found that is non politicized with a critical big picture view.

https://postdoomprimer.substack.com/

It delves deeply into describing our labor model, where most modern societies have an inverted labor pool—that is, primary and secondary needs such as farming, food distribution, and construction represent a small percentage of the total labor force, while tertiary work such as HR, IT, and accounting constitutes the majority. The inherent instability is pseudo supported by post-industrial revolution innovations and the high and efficient use of fossil fuels, including manufacturing, plastics, resource extraction, and direct fuel consumption, that leverage our production ability multi-fold. This system looks great on paper and has given us many modern-day conveniences and luxuries. Those who aligned themselves with such innovations or invested in the markets during such times experienced unparalleled economic gain. However, there is no such thing as infinite growth. The modern-day gains we enjoy are built upon the destruction of the natural world, resulting in measurable and notable effects.

I believe that overall, people today are more educated, with greater wisdom available to us. However, in modern society, we are increasingly itemized and individualized. We are so self-centered, contending with issues of identity (and I mean no disrespect), and discourse is conducted with a lack of respect for one another. I try not to be jaded. I believe people are fundamentally well-intentioned, so I lend the benefit of the doubt. People carry beliefs shaped by their life experiences and from which conduct themselves accordingly to the standards they believe are good. Overall, my life experience has shown me this to be true. I work with an incredibly diverse cross-section of people spanning ages 20s to 80s, from various ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and with differing political biases. Yet, reality feels more combative. The world is increasingly chaotic, and an abundance of information does not correlate with an increased ability to process it all. Amid this chaos, we tend to dig in our heels and take a “me versus you” stance. A great quote I recently heard is that while society as a whole is materially wealthy, we are both spiritually and emotionally poorer than ever.

Usually, when some major or tragic weather event is on the news, I think about it briefly, but I soon forget and go on with my life. I tell myself that there isn’t much I can do, and the more immediate and pressing needs in my life get addressed. Last night, we were hit with the double whammy of incredibly strong Santa Ana winds, comparable to those of 2011, and fires. There could not have been worse timing or combination.

Southern California has not received any notable rain since February 2024. In what should be our rainy season, in this very brief window of the entire year, there is no rain. It is beyond dry. I have asked myself, and discussed with others, after witnessing this complete destruction, how we should feel about it. Common sentiments are as follows: “Nature is indiscriminate”—this is true. “There is no reason; it is just senseless.” But I have come to realize that there are some reasons for this. Weather is inherently more unstable these days, and it is closer to the norm, not the outlier, to have years of record rain followed by years of drought.

Practicing bonsai, to some level, requires good awareness of seasonality and the weather. I’ve discussed this topic with all my bonsai friends in every state I’ve worked in (California [throughout the state], Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Texas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Illinois). Bonsai people, as well as old timers who’ve worked in the nursery trade, tend to follow weather religiously and mentally note annual trends. Everyone I’ve talked to, including those significantly older than me, unanimously agree that there are observable and notable weather shifts. It’s difficult to predict seasonal changes like the onset of spring, temperature ranges are unstable, and the frequency of extreme weather events are increasing.

Unfortunately, the reality of fires in highly urbanized areas is that most are human-related—intentional or not. It is not a random act of God nor a random senseless act that brought about this destruction. It is a culmination of our actions, malignant neglect, and lack of awareness. But I am not here to just criticize others, nor claim any semblance of moral superiority. Perhaps this is more of a critique of myself and an evaluation of how I conduct myself in day-to-day life.

When I was driving home Tuesday night from a job, I saw distant fires in the foothills to the northwest. It crossed my mind that I worked with and know several people living there, but I didn’t investigate further. The winds were intense, and I needed to secure my trees and prep the yard for the night. In the morning, it came to my mind as an afterthought to ask a friend/client who lived in the afflicted area how he was doing or if he needed help. He had already evacuated and told me there was “utter destruction.” I did not probe further.

I ended up driving to Altadena to do a last-ditch rescue of bonsai on his driveway. I was shocked by what I saw. Complete neighborhoods reduced to just foundation and dirt, and homes on fire. There was nothing left of his house. A beautiful garden that was loved and nurtured over decades was gone. I really thought deeply about this because I aspire one day to have my own garden—a place to create beautiful bonsai, perhaps a family, but ultimately culminating together to what is a home. I have worked diligently and extremely hard over the past several years, knowing that this goal for me is difficult, but perhaps one day attainable. It’s a dream that drives and gives me hope. What I witnessed were not just structures of wood, metal, and concrete burning. They were homes. Sanctuaries. Someone’s dream. When I realized that, I felt great sadness, like a heartbreak. Enough to bring tears to my eyes.

I more than love bonsai. Bonsai is not just a livelihood, but it is also a way of life. I appreciate deep philosophies like wabi-sabi, which embrace impermanence, transience, and appreciation for age and imperfection. The intentionality of your work and the actions you take to embody wabi-sabi in a tree can be easily paralleled to lessons on how to live and conduct your life. I try to conduct myself with greater calmness, awareness of these values, and gratitude for the blessings I have in my life.

But really, I feel overwhelmed by it all. There are some things I can do, and some things I can’t. My bandwidth is small, and the amount of work and responsibilities in my life continues to grow. But I know in my gut that something is wrong. It was a saddening but, in some sense, good experience for me to witness the fires to have this realization.

How can we live more compassionate lives? Just like in bonsai, where the best work is imbued with time, can we, too, conduct life where we fulfill not just our immediate gratifications but also for the health and success of future generations to come?