Maple bonsai are known for their elegant winter silhouettes, created by a fine network of twigs and branches. Learn how spring pinching, selective defoliation, and thoughtful bu...

What is forest bathing? Explore the origins of shinrin-yoku, the research behind forest therapy, and why spending time among trees has such a quiet, restorative effect on mind a...

Running a very small business gives us a front-row seat to how much your support truly matters. In this article, we share the story behind Small Business Saturday and why every ...

Below is a list of the products that are used or recommended by Eric.  Please consider using the links below to make your purchase. Thank you! Fertilizer Fertilizer For Bon...

It can be challenging to create a bonsai that faithfully replicates the windswept features found naturally in the Monterey Cypress along the central coast of California. It's wo...

A bonsai nestled upon a moss bed can complete the look of a miniature landscape, adding depth and texture. Live moss is a wonderful addition to a bonsai, but it's not merely aes...

If you've recently been inspired to try bonsai, perhaps by an image on Pinterest or Instagram, a trip to the mountains, or seeing a bonsai exhibition, it's easy to get started a...

Carefully placing an artfully-shaped bonsai tree on your desk might make you the envy of your coworkers who see it on your video calls, but to keep it there long term you’ll nee...

What do you get for the friend, colleague, or family member who has everything? Bonsai can be a most wonderful gift if given to the right person, but how can you know if your pe...

Have you ever wondered "How big do bonsai trees get? There is no one answer to that question. Bonsai sizes range from trees that take 4 adults to hold, all the way down to poppy...

Yaupon Holly is typically used as ornamental shrubs in landscaping, and bonsai enthusiasts appreciate them for their small shiny evergreen leaves, numerous red berries (on femal...

The art of bonsai allows for personal expression in the development and styling of trees, and the selection of bonsai pots. Like many art forms, it takes time and deliberate pra...

Is Bonsai a Good Hobby for Children? “The best hobbies for kids are ones that help them to learn about the world…kids' hobbies and interests are born from a spark of passion.” R...

Visiting the (Grand Champion Sierra Juniper) Bennett Juniper is an unforgettable experience In this article, Eric describes some of its more unique features (with photos) and in...

Follow the journey of one Monterey Cypress from seed to show-ready bonsai tree. Grown from a seed (from a tree in the Presidio of San Francisco) in 2007, this tree grew quickly,...

After years of talking about it, my husband Eric and I finally started a business in late 2019. We’ve made plenty of mistakes, had quite a few happy accidents, and ultimately ha...

For a generation of Americans and Europeans, the 1984 movie "The Karate Kid" was an unexpected introduction to bonsai as a hobby and a mindfulness activity. We think the movie g...

The first time Eric ever saw a bonsai tree was when he watched "The Karate Kid" in 1984. While he still holds this as a beloved introduction to bonsai, there are two bonsai-re...

Mealy bugs are soft-bodied insects that suck on plant sap like aphids. Read this article to learn how you can tell if your bonsai tree is suffering from these bugs, or from mold...

Inspired by some amazing stories of Maples in Japan, Eric has tried his hand at developing more than a few deciduous trees from scratch over the last ten years. What he has to s...

Starting trees from seed is one of our favorite things, and we want to encourage you to give it a try, too! You can pick seeds from a red-leaf Japanese Maple and sow them, and ...

Show prep starts with the decision to show a tree. From there, the focus is on styling the tree - wiring, fine branch setting, and trimming. The next major hurdle is finding an ...

Eric's desire to design his own bonsai stands for his show trees lead him to a woodworking epiphany - some woodworking projects can only be created with hand tools. Learn what i...

Here's a sneak peek into the first Pacific Bonsai Expo, "An Exhibition of Extraordinary Bonsai". We are proud and excited to be co-creators and sponsors of this event with Jonas...

A step-by-step walk through of Eric's design and build of his own bonsai stands, using typical mortise and tenon joints as well as the more intricate and complex joints that hav...

While not a traditional bonsai species, Blue Atlas Cedar seem to be good subjects for bonsai. They have short needles naturally; grow quickly under good conditions; and seem to ...

Among American native pine species, Ponderosa is perhaps the most popular species to collect and train as bonsai. This species grows quickly in the wild but very slowly in bonsa...

In the San Francisco Bay Area, Fall is the ideal time to work on Japanese Black Pines. This article examines three small black pines before and after Eric worked on them, focuse...

Eric uses a little pine as a case study to address his internal debate between "bonsai by subtraction" and growing trees into bonsai via seeds and cuttings. There is a school of...

It’s an emotional blow to lose a bonsai. Even seasoned growers will experience tree death. It's reality; everyone loses bonsai trees. I've had rough experiences, and the thing t...

If you live in an urban environment, maintaining a connection to the natural world may not be as simple as walking out your front door. While city apartments and lofts are a gre...

Tap water is commonly used for drinking, cooking, and bathing. It's generally provided for and regulated by a governmental agency for the purpose of keeping people - not bonsai ...

“The power of imagination makes us infinite” - John Muir. A few weeks ago we published an article, "Finding Bonsai Inspiration in the Central Sierra Nevada Mountains of Californ...

For bonsai enthusiasts and practitioners, the central Sierra Nevada Mountains offer picturesque, interesting, and inspiring tree specimens. This article offers a bit of backgrou...

Just like any bonsai, shohin are created in different styles, with differing trunk sizes and to differing degrees of ramification. What is the standard of quality and/or most de...

Have you ever attended a yamadori-style juniper workshop, where the teacher takes young trees and wires them into crazy shapes? The concept of the workshop is great fun, with on...

Where did the rule that Juniper bonsai must be twisty and contorted come from? What makes one tree better than another in bonsai? Is it a convention or is it a fact? Bonsai come...

To create a well-designed bonsai requires finding a balance between two competing factors – human perception and the natural form of a mature tree. While a tree in nature exists...

Whitebark Pine (P. albicaulis) in California is generally confined to the high Sierra Nevada with scattered populations in parts of the Cascade range. They occur mainly above 8,...

If you want to learn how to design good bonsai trees, selecting the material to work on is your first, and arguably most important, task. The ultimate potential for quality in a...

Proper proportion can make the difference between an exceptional bonsai tree and one that is merely mediocre. Bonsai is more than the idea of creating a perfect miniature tree; ...

While most bonsai are more easily grown outdoors, some species of bonsai trees can grow and thrive indoors. If you'd like to keep a bonsai tree indoors, you just need to be sure...

Eric goes stone collecting to find rocks that will work work specifically for creating root over rock bonsai. Includes sketches of possible designs for a bonsai tree on top of a...

Eric steps through the process of making a slant style Japanese Black Pine bonsai tree that is roughly 20″ tall, starting from seeds and growing and styling the tree from scratc...

In practicing bonsai we create a healthy tree, and the tree creates new growth that we can use to create an update to the shape, age or other character of the tree. With each ne...

If old bonsai trees could talk, I'm sure they'd have amazing stories to share of places they're been and the people who've cared for them. They can live for decades, if not hund...

This article presents six steps to mindfully work toward optimized light for your bonsai trees. Light is the driving force in plant growth. Each plant or tree has an ideal set o...

Is growing in colanders/pond baskets superior for Japanese Black Pine destined to be bonsai? Common bonsai knowledge says that the answer is yes, but I’ve seen growers get reall...

The highest quality bonsai in the world are either adapted from yamadori or propagated from seed or cutting. Very rarely can great bonsai be created from nursery stock. And whil...

Decisions, Decisions! Eric decides on a new container for a beautiful Mame Maple Bonsai tree. Getting the tree out of the old pot proved challenging, and Eric found a non-tradit...