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My name is Eric. I’m a dork who loves bonsai…
by Eric SchraderFor the Conifer lover, fall is a time of much work.
Sep 28th: This simple phrase means so many things. Fall is a time when those who grow pines, junipers and other conifers reap the rewards of a long spring and summer of fertilization and growth. Other than candle cutting and fertilization there is not much to be done to a pine tree during the summer. In contrast, maples, birch, and so many other trees are worked on throughout the growing season, whenever the growth becomes too long or escapes the design of the tree... read more »
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by Eric SchraderAn afternoon of work with John Boyce
Sep 9th: I have the pleasure of attending a monthly workshop given by John Boyce and hosted by various members of the club. Since the departure of Ben Petrasanta, who generously provided space at DDCC for our meetings we have spent the spring and summer going from one house to another each month. This month our meeting happened in the back yard of Joe Dellea.
John, Ron Weaver, Joe and I started by examining the recently completed firing of pinch pots from our July meeting... read more »
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by Eric SchraderIt can be so frustrating
Aug 7th: I have been at this little hobby of ours for a few years now, six I believe. When I first started I got a little Japanese Maple from my father and began the process of turning it into a bonsai. It was in a five-gallon can and it was four or five feet high. I took it to the 3rd thursday workshop and proceeded to cut the top 90 percent off, leaving it only about 8 inches high. There were branches, but those all had to go because they were as large as the trunk and wouldn't be good for the final design... read more »
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by Eric SchraderI went hiking so you don’t have to
Jul 24th: I love hiking, and I love being out in the wild; the time that I manage to spend putting one foot in front of another is almost as good as the time I spend wiring my trees :-)
Over the fourth of July I went hiking in the Sonora Pass area. My main goal when I am hiking is to find trees that will inspire my bonsai designs. These can be anything from the blue oaks that I saw on the drive up there to those gnarled windswept bushes that are white pines at tree line... read more »
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by Eric SchraderStyling Live Oaks
Jun 17th: A few years ago I bought a large live oak tree from super-collector Tim Kong. It has a nice root base and two trunks, one of which splits a little above the base into two smaller trunks. The architecture of an oak is so far removed from that of a traditional bonsai shape that I cannot even begin to comprehend styling one with a first branch, second branch, back branch structure as is taught in many books... read more »
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Tags: inspiration, nature, oak, Wiring | 2 Comments »
by Eric SchraderThe future is looking sketchy…
Jun 7th: Possibly one of the most important things that I try to do with my trees is to plan what they will look like in a few years. Whether I do this mentally or on paper or in the computer, this is an important part of the bonsai process. When I first acquire a tree it is usually because I have seen it and found some potential in it that the current owner did not see, or did not care to take the time to execute... read more »
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by Eric SchraderKeeping up with the work…?
Jun 6th: I have as many trees as I really need. So does nearly every person reading this article. But are each of my trees the best that they can be? Are my trees improving with each passing month and year? Bonsai is an art that definitely takes a long time to learn, and each tree takes many years to bring into top form; but am I making the most of the time that is passing? Am I moving each of my trees along the road to becoming a refined bonsai as quickly as I can... read more »
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by Eric SchraderOak Flowers
Apr 13th: Who needs "fruiting and flowering" trees when you have an oak I say! A few times in the past I have seen Tim Kong's large Valley Oak flowering at the Cow Palace show, but I had never seen one of my own oaks flower until this spring. I am torn between taking off the flowers to keep the tree focused on producing a nice canopy and just sitting back to watch the pretty little things bloom.
Oaks are not renowned for their flowers, but, as is well known, all trees flower in some manner or another... read more »
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by Eric SchraderWabi-Sabi
Mar 30th: I have been trying to get a grip on the concept of Wabi-Sabi for a while. I was standing in front of a pine tree this January at the Bay Island Bonsai show in hayward with Morten Welhaven, a former president of BSSF, when he pointed at a small dangling piece of bark on the trunk and said "this tree has had that one piece of bark hanging off like that for more than ten years. I keep expecting it to fall off, but it never does... read more »
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by Eric SchraderSpring makes everything look so good.
Mar 27th: I was wandering around my garden today and was so pleased to see the way everything looks. For San Francisco, where you are lucky if you don't have just dried paper for leaves by the time fall rolls around, spring is the most beautiful season for foliage. It's not only on the deciduous trees, but also on a lot of evergreens. In the spring the junipers put out a beautiful flush of new growth and so do evergreen oaks, maples have more color in the spring, and the new leaves opening look like a fan unfolding... read more »
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