SBBK: Yamaji-san

Guest speaker and stylist from Japan, Yamaji san styled a Japanese black pine.

A second generation bonsai grower, two hours outside of Tokyo. Grows many variety of pines, ground grown. Japanese, black pines and white pines.

Starting from whips and groan in the ground, will wire movement in the first few years, then let’s ground growing bulk up the trunk. He grows mostly in crushed granite for good drainage.

Thicker bases in the past were developed by leaving the wire to bite into the trunk as well as the tree growing over the wire. That technique is no longer used, and the wire is removed after it has bitten into the bark.

Every few years, needles and smaller branches are removed to allow sunlight to the interior.

After a major restyling, wait a year for it to recover before repotting. Possibly even two years. Again, lowering the branches by wire represents age, and after two years back budding into the interior branches will develop into a fuller canopy.

White pines are roughly $600 from his nursery, but best to select in person—he will bare root, sphagnum moss pack and you take home as luggage. In the end costing $900/tree.