Bonsai Stories and Other BS with Dennis Makashima! Bonsai Time Podcast Ep 18-20

           In the latest episode of the Bonsai Time Podcast, Kevin and Ryan welcome Dennis Makashima. Dennis has been a witness and active participant in bonsai history as he learned from many of the greats of California Bonsai and even inherited many of their trees. Although Dennis is a second-generation Japanese American, he found himself drawn into the same line of work as many Japanese were at that time - gardening and aesthetic tree pruning. This is what ultimately drew him into bonsai and eventually a bonsai apprenticeship in Japan. Ultimately Dennis' own contributions to the art stand proud as he taught aesthetic tree pruning at Merritt College and served as president for the Golden State Bonsai Federation. Dennis also went into great detail regarding how he worked to improve GBSF during his tenure for the clubs and local scene. We hope you enjoy his many BS stories as much as we did!

Dennis Makashima is a long-time pillar of the Bay Area and the greater California bonsai scene. We are grateful for his time and for sharing his experiences! You can learn more about Dennis' life story in his upcoming autobiographical book "Mr. Omoshiori: Journal of a Sansei Baby Boomer and Bonsai Sensei". The book will come out in early 2024 and is being published by the Zentoku Foundation.

PART 1 - The video version is available here*:

*Check out our new YouTube channel! ⁠⁠⁠

PART 1 - Podcast version available here:

The Unsung Merits of Phoenix Graft/Tanuki Bonsai - A Japanese Larch Example.

             Tanuki, also known as Phoenix Graft, gets a bad wrap in bonsai. Although this technique to make a young tree appear older by planting it alongside the deadwood of another tree is commonly considered "cheating" and looked down upon in some bonsai circles, it can produce beautiful and convincing bonsai. The accusation of cheating comes about as this process accelerates the appearance of age, however, even so, Tanuki is not instant bonsai. As I'll discuss next week in greater depth on the principles behind the successful execution of this technique, there is no substitute for the compelling quality of "age as bonsai" even in the case of phoenix grafted trees. So if we accept that tanuki still requires sound bonsai practice over a period of years and an artistic eye to make them well, what other merits are there to this style? One unsung merit is that tanuki hinges on respect for the deadwood. Bonsai artists are often enamored with beautiful pieces of deadwood which are often included within our living trees or within our bonsai displays as slab/"jita" or in our bonsai stands/formal displays. The act of selecting a piece of deadwood that is attractive enough to be worth preserving alongside a living tree for a phoenix graft is an extension of our innate deadwood appreciation. Additional beneficial qualities of tanuki/phoenix graft bonsai when using a dead tree which we used to work on is it can teach humility and remind us of the lessons we have learned in our bonsai journey. In my case, this Japanese Larch is one of the few trees I got from my teacher Dan Robinson which I brought with me to Ohio when I moved across the country. I worked on this tree for about 5 years before it passed away due to my own underestimation of Ohio winters. Even experienced bonsai artists lose trees - there's always more to learn. So out of respect for the tree, I resurrected it. Also out of humility, it will be a living reminder for me to prepare rigorous winter protection in Ohio even for cold-hardy trees. Read on to see the progression this tree has taken with me from raw stock to its most recent tanuki styling.

Sections:

1. The Unsung Merits of Phoenix Graft/Tanuki Bonsai - A Japanese Larch Example. (this time)
1. RIP Larch - Progression Over the Years (2018-2022)
2. Rising from the Ashes - Phoenix Graft/Tanuki Time (2023)
2. Essential Principles for Convincing Tanuki/Phoenix Graft Bonsai (next time)
3. Announcements
1. I officially applied with the state of Ohio to start a nursery. Contact me to enroll in my first workshop on Tanuki! See details here. The dates planned are 4/1/23 and 4/23/23 from 12pm-3pm. Contact me if you would like to request an additional date.
2. 4/15/23 - 2nd Annual Invasive Honeysuckle Wild Bonsai Dig with CBS and Columbus Recreation & Parks @ Castro Park. This is a free event. Sign up here.
3. 4/16/223 - Columbus Bonsai Society Meeting - I will be presenting on the ins and outs of digging Yardadori/Yamadori/Wild Bonsai. All are welcome. See event details at www.columbusbonsai.org.
4. Seeds are available here.

Tanuki Japanese larch, 1st year in training. 2023.

Bonsai From Seed: Essential Steps for Success - Full Lecture

 Source material: Nov 20, 2022

        Have you ever tried one of those bonsai-from-seed kits and nothing grew? Or maybe you had a few seeds grow but had no idea what the next steps were to transform your seedling into a bonsai! Growing a bonsai from scratch is an intoxicating idea for beginners, but it is also one of the hardest feats to accomplish. In this lecture, I explain the basics of seed collection, storage, and germination to help you optimize your success at waking seeds up. I also explained the steps necessary to shape seedlings over the years following germination which will help you build sizable trunks and tapering branches to create a convincing and stunning bonsai. You can also participate in the active learning questions from home by commenting below and listening in on the discussions and questions from the Columbus Bonsai Society (CBS) members who attended. I gave this lecture in November 2022 for the Columbus Bonsai Society. Join us at www.ColumbusBonsai.org

Find the full lecture here:

Read on for more resources on growing bonsai from seed....

The Story of Chase Rosade: The Humble American Bonsai Pioneer - Bonsai Time Podcast Ep 05

             The Bonsai Time Podcast is back! For our fifth episode, Kevin traveled to Rosade Bonsai Studios to interview a man by the name of Chase Rosade. This interview covers many seasons of Chase's life over his 50 years in the bonsai scene including the 8-month and 10,000 km journey he took to reach Japan; his initial training at a bonsai nursery in Japan; stories from collecting yamadori with John Naka, Ben Oki, Dan Robinson, and Larry Jackal; and Chase also shares details about the contributions of his late wife, Solita Rosade, to the world bonsai scene. Chase and Kevin covered a lot of ground in this interview; we hope it will inform and entertain you and invite you into the world of Chase Rosade!

                Note: Chase is one of several prominent bonsai artists who will be in attendance at the upcoming Columbus Bonsai Society 50th Annual Show taking place in September. See here or www.columbusbonsai.org for more information.

Video interview available here:

Podcast format available here:

Reflections from Working with Dan Robinson - Bonsai Time Podcast Ep 03

         Dear readers (and listeners)! Today marks the release of the third episode of the Bonsai Time Podcast hosted by myself and a fellow Columbus-based bonsai friend, Kevin Faris. This episode focuses on reflections Kevin and I had after working with Dan Robinson at his world famous Elandan Gardens. We specifically discussed more detail behind where you can look for inspiration for Dan's naturalistic styling ethos of ancient trees, as well as some technical tips to make gnarly trees in Dan's style.

Find our episodes on YouTube!

Or, find us on your preferred podcast app through the link below.

A Conversation with Dan Robinson - Bonsai Time Podcast Episode 01

        Hello readers! Some years ago I started this blog with the intent to share my journey and pass on wisdom from one of the biggest public bonsai gardens in the US. I especially hoped to share more stories from my teacher, Dan Robinson, as I had not heard of him in my online-only experience with the bonsai community. Today, Dan remains focused on his mission of maintaining his garden and his trees without distractions from the online world (he really does still use a flip phone), but luckily Dan now has a multitude of technology-minded volunteers at the garden who are carrying on sharing his bonsai with the online audience such as through the @elandangardensbonsai Instagram page and other upcoming projects. That said, today marks the release of the first episode of the @bonsaitimepodcast hosted by myself and a fellow Columbus-based bonsai friend, Kevin Faris. With time, Kevin and I envision this podcast serving as a source of edutainment to assist bonsai-growers with a variety of topics and tell the stories of more bonsai artists and trees. The focus of the first episode however circles back to the original purpose of this blog. Dan recently hosted Kevin and me at his garden for a few days of work and collaboration styling trees. During that time, Dan was kind enough to sit down with us for a lengthy retrospective interview on his life in the bonsai. If you are familiar with Dan's evocative style and want to know more about the man behind a uniquely ancient & naturalistic style of bonsai, see the links below.

Find our episodes on YouTube!

Roberta Walters' Azaleas 101 - A Guide to Seasonal Azalea Care

            Few species of bonsai can compete with the visual intrigue produced by an azalea in full bloom. For that reason, today I have to resist the flowery temptation to write a full on history of their use in bonsai and review manual for Azalea techniques (maybe someday...). Instead, I'll whet your appetite with a more manageable intro to azalea-specific information through long-lost excerpts from one of California's premier azalea expert, Roberta Walters. While the full playlist of Roberta's demonstration is available on the Puget Sound Bonsai Association's Youtube Channel, this article is intended to serve as a guide to how each clip of Roberta's discussions fits into seasonal work that can be done on your azalea bonsai.

 Sections

1. Roberta Walters in Bonsai History

2. Roberta's Azalea Advice

    2A. Skip the Mallsai, Save Time, & Learn Bonsai Faster!

    2B. How to Safely Remove Large Branches on Azalea Bonsai

    2C. Nuances in Bonsai Fertilizer - Organic vs Inorganics & Seasonal Use

    2D. Repotting Basics & Why Grow Moss for Your Azalea Bonsai

    2E. Azalea Flower Management: Space & Timing

    2F. Full Demonstration

3. Blog Announcements

This old azalea by Dan Robinson (collected decades ago by his first student. Frank) is a prime example of their potential spring beauty. Although it is already covered with pink flowers, this tree is still a few days away from peak bloom. At that time it would be so covered in pink that you can't even see the leaves! It's no wonder this tree won the People's Choice Award at the 2017 PSBA Spring Show.

Where's Bernie?? Bonsai Edition

Contents:

1. Bernie in Elandan Gardens
2. Bernie as a Mudman
3. Blog Announcements

          No doubt most of you have seen the meme going around this week based on Senator Bernie Sanders braving the inauguration day cold bearing his now-iconic mittens and practical Vermontian fashion sense. Political leanings aside, Bernie's inauguration sighting has quickly exploded on the internet as netizens place the Senator in their own photos around the world. The senator is even selling T-shirts and sweatshirts featuring his inaugural meme and is donating 100% of the proceeds to Vermont charities like Meals-on-Wheels which helps feed low-income seniors. Naturally, I had to join in on the fun! Not only is this meme a good opportunity for some Bernie bonsai sightings, but I'm also glad to have the excuse to go through my old Elandan Gardens photos and to play around in Photoshop again. Without further ado, enjoy my Bernie-fied walk down memory lane at Elandan Gardens including some experimental ideas with Bernie standing in for traditional Chinese mudman figurines.

          So sit back and enjoy the refreshing taste of this fresh can of memes I've cracked open for you. If you need to spice up that work-from-home life, feel free to use these as ZOOM backgrounds or you can put Bernie in your own photos through this free photoshop-esque template. 

Bernie at Elandan Gardens

Bernie admiring one of the many old ponderosa pines by collected and styled by Dan Robinson.

Farewell, My Beloved Puget Sound Bonsai Community

Dear Puget Sound Bonsai Community,

          Many of you know me as the guy who nags you to put a tree in our annual Spring Show, others may know me from working together at Elandan Gardens, and few of you even took me on my first yamadori collecting trips before I even had a car. My deep gratitude to the friendly and knowledgeable bonsai community here in Seattle makes my leaving all the more difficult, but unfortunately, my next step has arrived. I am excited to share that month I'll be starting a microbiology Ph.D. at The Ohio State University!

The Gnarly Bonsai Crew from Elandan Gardens at the 2017 NW Flower and Garden Show. From left to right: Kyle, myself, Dan Robinson, and Hansy.

Bonsai Seed Myths

          For people new to the art of bonsai, the idea of growing your own bonsai tree from seed is often irresistible. In theory, growing a bonsai from seed can be a rewarding journey that allows you to give birth to your own ideal image of what a bonsai should be, but unfortunately, in practice, seed-growing is a journey which is fraught with frustration for the vast majority of beginners. It has been said that it takes 10 years of experience in bonsai before you understand how to grow from seed well. I share this not to discourage you, but to brace you for the challenge ahead. If you're a new reader, I would encourage you to check out the first post in this growing from seed series, "The Root of All Bonsai." In that previous post, we talked about the various alternative ways to start your bonsai and the advantages and disadvantages of each method. However, if you are dead-set on growing from seed, you're in luck! Drawing on my own 15 years of bonsai experience and the 60+ years of experience of my bonsai teacher Dan Robinson, today we're going to cut through the BS and dispel common myths about growing bonsai from seed before we proceed to analyze the essential concepts that will help you realize your bonsai-from-seed dreams in the subsequent weeks. 

         If you're looking to buy seeds for bonsai - full disclosure - I am writing this series with the intent to sell my own seeds for growing bonsai (see here). At the risk of sounding too sales-pitchy, I am sending an exclusive hard-copy version of this blog series to all my customers. The hard-copy guide will simply guide you through the complicated 10+year challenge of growing bonsai from seed. If you can't wait for our weekly release of future blog articles in this series, you will receive the full guide right away with your purchase of seeds. Thank you in advance for supporting my bonsai work!

Sections

1. Last Week: The Root of All Bonsai
2. This Week: Bonsai Seed Myths
      2A. "Bonsai seed kits are a great gift!"
      2B. "Bonsai seeds are rare."
      2C. "All bonsai are grown from seed."
      2D."Growing from seed is the best way to learn about bonsai."
      2E. "Bonsai should be pruned often and pruned hard to build their trunk."
      2F. "Growing from seed is a waste of time!"
3. Next Week...

Stay tuned to this series to learn how to transform these...

Left a Japanese black pine, and right a European beech. Both 2-3 years old. 

When to Repot

Source Material: March 2020

          It is crucial to prune roots in their optimal window because if roots are pruned at the wrong time, this is one of the easiest ways to kill your bonsai (aside from simple watering neglect). The repotting season also is a vague window that changes from year to year based on the weather, adding to the risk of confusion for beginners and tree death. For the bonsai beginners out there, after today you'll be able to repot with much more confidence that your tree will make a healthy recovery. If you're already a bonsai expert, I put some pretty bonsai pictures in that I think you'll find worth scrolling for either way.

Sections:

1. Optimal Temperatures for Root Repair
2. Swelling Buds
3. Advanced Exceptions, Caveats, & Disclaimers
4. Bonsai Bud Gallery

Japanese Maple/Acer palmatum waking up at Elandan Gardens.

Repotting the Melted Hemlock

Source material: April 2017

          Melted wood?? Yes, melted wood. How else do you describe this hunk of mountain hemlock below? As the Covid-19 virus spreads around me here in Seattle, I have some extra time to also call the melted mountain hemlock below the subject for this week's Throwback Thursday. Today's post is short, so if you're curious about how a tree can become as mangled as this one, read on. 

From this view, we can appreciate some of Dan's deadwood carving, which starts to look more natural as it  naturally weathers over time.

"Asian Sensibilities, Northwest Style"

Source material: Feb 2019

          Hello my bonsai fam, today I'm here to remind you that TOMORROW, SUNDAY MARCH 1st is the last day of the 2020 Northwest Flower and Garden Show at the Seattle convention center! Returning readers might be tired of hearing about this show every year, but too bad! Today we have just one more NWFGS-themed blog as we review the display garden that I helped the Elandan Gardens team create for last year's show. Your semi-irregularly scheduled bonsai content will be back after this week, I promise.

As in every year, would it really be a Robinson garden without beautiful niwaki landscape trees, natural boulders, and other one-of-a-kind artifacts?

Haunted Hollows - Halloween Bonsai!

Source material: 2019, October-November

          This week, I am especially happy to share that I have finished applying to my Ph.D. programs! Now I can finally return to my more creative pursuits and share them with you all again. Luckily, I have recently been inspired to create some new, unique, and seasonal ways to display bonsai. My first-attempts at Halloween-themed bonsai displays are cataloged here.

Sections:

1. A Pumpkin Painting
2. A Pumpkin Accent
3. A Pumpkin Pot

My mountain hemlock with a mountain jack-o'-lantern backdrop and my spooky flashlight face as the accent.

The Cost of Sex

Source material: 2017, April-July

          In the course of my biology education, the cost of sex and reproduction to an organism has repeatedly come up across specialties—and plant sex is certainly no different. For mammals, females usually carry most of the energetic burden due to long gestation and lactation periods relative to other animals. However, sometimes males in the animal kingdom also pay a cost to pass on their genes. For example, a male walrus in "rut" undergoes a reproductively active period of a few months, where the walrus directs massive amounts of energy to its sole focus of reproducing and vocalizing for potential mates. During this period, male walruses can lose their coat of brown fur, have increased disease susceptibility, and their eyes start to turn red and bulge out as an odd indicator of systemic bodily neglect. There is also the famous example of a praying mantis male literally sacrificing itself to offer nutrients to the mom and in turn, increases the fitness of his offspring. The aptly named black widow spider undergoes a similar ritual.

          With such examples in mind, it should come at no surprise that all those flowers in last month's blog post, Spring at Elandan Gardens, have a cost to those trees too. The trees' hard-earned sugars and nutrients were spent in exchange for beauty, pollen generation, pollinator attraction, wind pollination (for less showy trees with cones, most maples, etc.), and seed maturation. For a healthy tree, these expenses are not a problem, but we may still have reason to intervene and choose whether to allow our bonsai to reproduce or not. I will demonstrate some examples of how one might acknowledge the energetic cost of plant reproduction and control it as a tool to speed development, increase health, or maintain the balance of vigor of your bonsai.

Sections:

1. For Trunk Development
2. For Recovery
3. For Disease Resistance
4. Final Thoughts and Tips

One of Dan's Azaleas covered with flowers and reproductive energy.

Spring at Elandan Gardens

Source material: 2017, April-May

          As you may guess by looking at my recent posts (or lack thereof), May and June were busy months for me. Unfortunately, due to weekends packed with multiple field trips for classes, the Puget Sound Spring Show (which I was on the committee for), a little collecting exploration in the Cascades, and a camping trip to Nevada to collect plants for my university's Herbarium, I was not able to make it out to the bonsai garden on the weekends as often as I would have liked and I did not take the time to put to paper the blog post ideas I have been accumulating. Fortunately, I have finished my exams for the school year and it's time to catch up on all things bonsai.
          I wanted to begin by sharing my photos of Elandan Gardens in spring so that anyone attracted by these floral views still has time to catch some of the late-bloomers around the garden (Bougainvilleas will flower periodically throughout the year, for example). Dan loves ancient and gnarly trees above all else - this is apparent even how he styled his Azaleas which in full bloom are almost offensively replete with flowers. Dan's passion made the garden into a unique setting to enjoy the changing seasons. Even trees that have gone through the cycle of the seasons a hundred or a thousand times still are willing to expend massive amounts of energy to reproduce - luckily for the sake of our enjoyment.

Dan brought in this giant cedar stump with a crane meant to handle multi-ton rocks. The stump is at least 10 feet in diameter.

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.

"Natives" Exhibit Opening

Source material: 2017, April 1

           The Pacific Bonsai Museum's new "Natives" exhibit is now open! In recent posts, I have been discussing the preparation of five Dan Robinson trees that are now on loan for the show. This exhibit excited me not only because it gave me the opportunity to help prepare prominent bonsai for a major show, but also because of the show's unique focus.

I had seen this mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) grove by Michael Hagedorn online and it has always been one of my favorite trees - in part due to the pot-less container. It was far larger in person than I had imagined! The mountain in the background is Mt. Rainier.

Pacific Bonsai Museum "Natives" Preparation - Yellow Cedar

Source material: 2017, March 18

          The final tree of the five Dan Robinson trees he and I prepared for the Pacific Bonsai Museum "Natives" Exhibit was an Alaska Yellow Cedar (Xanthocyparis nootkatensis - although there is some phylogenetic controversy around this name). This tree was estimated to be 700+ years old and it looks even older with the help of Dan's training. The appearance of naturalism, gnarliness, and a story that depicts a difficult and storied life history are the highest artistic aspirations for Dan Robinson's trees. The detail on the carving of this trunk is particularly stunning. and hard to believe it was man-made. Which deadwood features were man-made and which were already there when the tree was collected the tree is a mystery only Dan can tell you - I certainly could not make a guess.

The tree back in April of 2016. It caught my eye on my very first visit to the garden.

Pacific Bonsai Museum "Natives" Preparation: Monterey Cypress

Source material: 2017, March & 2016, August

          We are now near the end of the series of five Dan Robinson trees that will be in the Pacific Bonsai Museum's "Natives" exhibit (which starts this Saturday, April 8). Today in the realm of unusual and underappreciated species in American bonsai - the Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa). However, unlike the pitch pine (Pinus rigida), the Monterey cypress is not known for its ability to backbud, and some have even suggested it is incapable of backbudding onto old wood. A variety of species have reports of similar constraints, which make them a little more challenging or limited as subjects of bonsai. However, here I will offer for discussion the approach Dan and I have experimented with for the past two seasons to attempt to induce backbuds. It may well be that not enough experimentation has been attempted due to the species being an uncommon subject.

Dan's Monterey Cypress tree after light pruning in March 2017.