I have posted this tree before in How To Bend a Western Juniper. Now, several months later I was tasked to finish the job.

On October 31st I completed my 9th and final Bonsai Intensive with Boon Manakitivipart. For this Western Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) we had initially bent the tree in May 2009. I finished styling and wiring the tree during my last Intensive.

Here's the tree before work started in May 2009, and again after work was completed at that time.

Another great part of Boon's Bonsai Intensive is doing major work that you might not otherwise have the opportunity to do. This Western Juniper Juniperus occidentalis was the subject of a major bending lesson this time.

This great tree had a number of possibilities. The first exercise was for the students to pick a front. There were two good fronts on the tree, but one in particular that Boon wanted to use.

With the front chosen and an end goal in mind it was time to get to work. It's important to start with a healthy well fed tree.  A channel was carved out of the trunk so that bending would be easier. Large gauge aluminum wire was then placed inside the new opening and raffia was applied. Then, large annealed copper wire was applied to the trunk, twice. This will be enough the support the major bending that was about to occur.

In Japan, the master does the bending while the apprentice(s) tighten the guy wires. Knowing how far to bend is something that is learned with years of experience. The apprentices learn by example here.

The final picture is a little off center from the new front. Maybe I can convince Jeremiah to share some of the photos he took during the bending session.

Read more at Bay Island Bonsai.

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See part 2, The First Styling of a Western Juniper.

The last weekend in May was still a bit early for most azalea work, but for some of the larger trees or those still in development it was just perfect.

Here's a large Satsuki Azalea that I worked on.  The spent flowers were removed and shoots paired down to two.  Azaleas are basal dominant so three leaves were left on each shoot near the top of the tree and only two left nearer the bottom.  Some of the branches are still being grown out, so more leaves were left on these as well.  After the work was done the topsoil was replaced with fresh soil.  The tree was well watered.  Then milled New Zealand Sphagnum moss was applied to help keep in moisture.

Well, it's June and that means my favorite time of year for bonsai work. It's time to decandle Japanese Black Pine Pinus thunbergii (黒松 kuromatsu), flower prune and trim Satsuki Azaleas, and lots of other work on junipers, maples, tropicals, etc.

This year I started a little early on a trip to California. This was my 8th Bonsai Intensive with Boon Manakitivipart. We spent the 3 full days working on some of the best trees in the country. Students were from Kentucky, California, Oregon, Florida, North Carolina, and Canada. Boon is such a talent that people are quite literally traveling across North America to study with him.

Here, Henry and Boon study a Japanese Black Pine in development.

This week I'll be returning to Alameda for another Bonsai Intensive with Boon Manakitivipart.  This will be my 8th Intensive, 3rd such in Spring.  I'll be sure to post plenty of pictures and updates once I return.

This is the time of year where we perform a lot of work on Satsuki Azaleas and Japanese Black Pines.  Three days of trees, friends, and food.  I must admit that I'm a little sad to think that I'll be finishing the Intensive series soon.  I've already started plans to return for some independent study next year. 

What is involved in preparing for a world class bonsai exhibit?  A lot of mossing, a lot of repotting, a lot of cleaning, and a lot of work.  Late winter is usually a very busy time with repotting.  Throw in a winter bonsai exhibit and all the preparation that is involved with putting such a show together makes for an incredibly busy week.  

Here, Boon and Sue are setting the correct position of this very large Corkbark Japanese Black Pine into this antique Japanese bonsai pot.  Preparing a tree of this caliber for a bonsai exhibit doesn't just happen.  This tree has been scheduled for this show for more than a year.  That meant that decandling was timed to ensure the needle length was even and appropriate for a tree of this size.  The branches were wired and rewired to ensure proper layering and shape.  An appropriate pot was selected and the tree set into position a few days before the start of the show.

I returned home last night from a week in California.  Three days were spent in the Bonsai Boon Winter III Intensive learning how to prepare show trees and accent plants for the exhibit.  I'll post more information and photos of the intensive later this week.

The second half of the week was spent at the Bay Island Bonsai (BIB) 10th Anniversary Exhibit.  The show was absolutely amazing.  The quality of the trees was oustanding.  The club members were very knowledgeable and friendly.  The show setup and breakdown went very smoothly.  This club is like a well oiled machine.

While I'm still unpacking and sorting through photos I wanted to share a few pictures of some of my favorite trees and displays from the exhibit.  I'll expand in a future post with stories from the exhibit.