Broadleaf trees include many deciduous varieties which drop their leaves and leave bare branches through part of the year. This gives the bonsai artist time to study the underlying structure of the tree and plan for its pruning and shaping. An artfully designed deciduous tree will be pleasing to the eye at any time of the year.
Tree name: Bougainvillea ‘Rosenka’
Display height: 12” (24” long)
Display height: 12” (24” long)
Tree Name: Indian Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica)
Display Height: 8”
Age: 25 years (yamadori), 2 years as a bonsai
Display Height: 8”
Age: 25 years (yamadori), 2 years as a bonsai
Tree name: Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia)
Tree height: 10”
Age: 36 years
Tree height: 10”
Age: 36 years
Tree name: Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia)
Tree Height: 6”
Age: 11 years
Tree Height: 6”
Age: 11 years
Tree Name: Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia)
Display Height: 24”
Age: 39 years from seedling
A bonsai is living art, its design always evolving! In 1983, I began a journey with a 2-3 year old Chinese elm seedling. Its open branches gave it great potential to be trained as a “broom” or "umbrella" style bonsai. In nature, Chinese elms grow in a broom style - a factor contributing to the design. Over the years, San Diego Bonsai Club members often said, “your bonsai looks like the umbrella trees in Africa”. So, I decided to create a scene that would mimic an African landscape. I changed the overall composition of my tree by moving it out of the original bonsai pot on to a large slate, adding more undulating ground around the tree for more depth and covering the ground with moss. As a final touch, I added a statuette of a giraffe drinking water. The result, a Chinese Elm, trained in umbrella style, depicting an African acacia tree that takes the viewer into the heart of Africa.
Display Height: 24”
Age: 39 years from seedling
A bonsai is living art, its design always evolving! In 1983, I began a journey with a 2-3 year old Chinese elm seedling. Its open branches gave it great potential to be trained as a “broom” or "umbrella" style bonsai. In nature, Chinese elms grow in a broom style - a factor contributing to the design. Over the years, San Diego Bonsai Club members often said, “your bonsai looks like the umbrella trees in Africa”. So, I decided to create a scene that would mimic an African landscape. I changed the overall composition of my tree by moving it out of the original bonsai pot on to a large slate, adding more undulating ground around the tree for more depth and covering the ground with moss. As a final touch, I added a statuette of a giraffe drinking water. The result, a Chinese Elm, trained in umbrella style, depicting an African acacia tree that takes the viewer into the heart of Africa.