From School Teacher to Bald Cypress Guru: John Geanangel's Story - Bonsai Time Podcast Ep52

 In Vivo Bonsai Announcements/Upcoming Events in Columbus

• NEXT WORKSHOP 01/17/2025 - Bonsai on Tap - Intro to Indoor Bonsai at Nocterra Brewing in Powell (all are welcome!). More details and sign up here. (More space was added due to popular demand, now nearly sold out again!)
• Over winter break, I started updating my Trees for sale page. You'll notice the tropical trees now have care guides by species, and I am adding more pictures of my outdoor trees for sale in the coming weeks. Outdoor trees are shippable immediately and tropical trees are too if requested, but it's a bit riskier and more costly to ensure they don't come damaged in winter. Otherwise, pick up locally in Columbus, or at my upcoming trips to Cincinnati and Ann Arbor bonsai clubs in February and April, respectively.
• NEXT Columbus Bonsai Society meeting: Bonsai Deadwood Styles, Mechanisms, and Methods - 01/18/2026. More info here. Presentation, discussion of member trees, and potential demonstration by yours truly.

I. Episode Summary & Links

            In today's episode, you’ll find Ryan and Kevin catching up on life and then jumping into the interview with a multi-talented former school teacher, master of rock slabs, forest plantings, and South Carolina yamadori collector - John Geanangel. John shared with us his bonsai origin story, how it led to becoming a headliner artist for the Bonsai in the Blue Ridge convention in 2026, and what you can expect when attending his 3(!) Bald cypress workshops there. We also discussed his methods for bald cypress yamadori collecting and growing from seed.

YouTube version of Episode 52 is here

 The podcast version of Episode 52 is here!⁠

Guest Info:

            John Geanangel is a bonsai enthusiast passionate about his local scenery and the natives in the South Carolina area. Find more of his work on his Facebook page and YouTube channel, which have lots of great content from previous years of educational efforts and recent tree projects.

• John Geanangel's Facebook
• John's YouTube
• John's Bald Cypress Workshops for Bonsai in the Blue Ridge 2026
• Storm-damaged flat top bald cypress
• Bald cypress care and refinement
• American Bonsai Society's Bonsai in the Blue Ridge 2026 Convention Info

Sponsor Info:

            This episode is sponsored by our co-host via the Kevin Faris moving sale of bonsai pottery, tools, and trees. View these items at In Vivo Bonsai of Columbus, Ohio, USA in-person, or online (shipping available) at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠invivobonsai.etsy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠, or go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.InVivoBonsai.com⁠ and navigate to the consignment ⁠pottery⁠ and ⁠tree⁠ pages.

Mailbag submissions/Community:

• NEW BT DISCORD Chat
• BT Facebook Group

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See the relevant images and links from this episode below.

A Rocky Obsession

Source material: 2017, March-April

          To hardcore bonsai enthusiasts, our hobby really does become an obsession. I find myself constantly analyzing trees in my neighborhood considering their potential as a bonsai or looking at what patterns are in a full-sized tree to inspire my styling. However, that is not the obsession I am referring to in this post. My teacher - known to my friends as Bonsai Man Dan, known to the bonsai world as Dan Robinson - has a recent obsession with rock plantings. Over his 50+ years in bonsai, he has been a collector of great trees and rocks. Normally Dan values a powerful trunk above all else in bonsai design, and many of his bonsai are therefore liable to visually overpower a rock that on its own does have merit. Lately, though, Dan has expanded his usual "focal point bonsai" philosophy beyond visually impressive trunks and towards smaller, gnarly trees that might be okay on their own in a small pot, but which can become as powerful as his large-trunked trees when combined with a stunning rock. Below is one example we placed onto a rock this past spring that excited Dan the most. It should be striking to beginners in particular that the slender-trunked trees in this post (the sort of bonsai beginners have) are dramatically more captivating once transplanted into a worthy rock to create a scene as dramatic as a unique deadwood feature can be on a larger wild bonsai tree.

Sections:

1. The Juniper Forest
2. Tiny Chinese Elms
3. The Others

Dan's new favorite rock planting. The rock is a rhyolite specimen from Utah.

Pacific Bonsai Museum "Natives" Preparation: Bald Cypress

Source material: 2017, April 1

          The third of Dan's five trees being entered into the Pacific Bonsai Museum's "Natives" exhibit is an old bald cypress (Taxodium distichum). As my previous posts have mentioned, the exhibit includes an opening celebration on April 8th with a panel of the artists displaying trees Scott Elser, Michael Hagedorn, Randy Knight, Ryan Neil, and Dan Robinson.

As indicated by the gnarly, crooked branching, flat top, and trunk deadwood, this bonsai imitates the truly ancient bald cypresses of the Southern swamps.