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emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
emerald lake bonsai
@emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
14 followers 3 following 38 posts
puget sound bonsai journeyman
will@emeraldlakebonsai.com

https://linktr.ee/emeraldlakebonsai

read alt text on my posts for tutorials; dm me if i’m slacking on these!
beat BSOP
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emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
A comparison of a few cuts from this summer. The first photos cuts were not sealed and have healed very little. The other cuts that were sealed with Top Jin M and Top Jin M + paste respectively show substantially more healing.
September 30, 2025 at 1:00 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
i went out to Bruning Pottery in Snohomish yesterday and picked up some nice pots and a beautiful vase. Very nice to see local suppliers getting into the bonsai market!
a brown textured clay bonsai pot, from the side a brown textured clay bonsai pot, from the bottom. a chop says Bruning Pottery, Snohomish, WA an unusual textured vase with two mouths. the smaller mouth is offset and elevated with a splash of blue glaze a set of three bonsai pots sitting on a shelf outdoor
August 21, 2025 at 3:02 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
we’re gonna need a bigger table…
August 5, 2025 at 5:48 PM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
some photos of a a hawthorn bonsai in development that I just unwired. the growth habit of this tree tends to be very angular, so I’m leaning into that with my wiring and pruning.

I haven’t picked a front yet, as it’s still being grown out, but some of the branches are starting to come along.
a hawthorn bonsai tree sits on a table in front of an exterior wall. night time lighting. the structure of the tree is being set, and there are several pieces of guy wire pulling down branches a branch of the hawthorn bonsai showing the angular shapes of the branches. some of this is wire, some of it is the natural growth habit. for this tree, I plan to pursue a penjing inspired style a close up of a branch with wire on it. the wire has been set fairly angularly
July 20, 2025 at 12:31 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
I repotted this azalea bonsai yesterday. I recently acquired it from an auction, where it was in an inappropriate pot, both in size and design. I had planned to repot in spring, but a tumble off the bench resulted in the tree becoming quite loose in the pot, prompting an out of season repot.
a satsuki azalea bonsai in a white pot sitting on a table against the wall of a green house. azalea bonsai prefer deeper pots than you might see in other bonsai species
July 7, 2025 at 9:02 PM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
some backyard wildlife photography while watering in my garden

#snail #gardening
a close photo of a snail in the grass a close photo of a snail's back in the grass a close photo of a snail in the grass. the snail is looking to the right a close photo of a snail in the grass. the snail is looking to the left
July 5, 2025 at 6:36 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
when you reduce the foliage on any apically dominant tree, it’s best to start from the top and work down. the natural weakness of low branches puts them at risk of being over grown by the stronger top. if (when) your work is interrupted, going top down will prevent dieback of the twice turned bottom
a mountain hemlock bonsai on a turntable. the tree has 3 prominent sub-trunks, two of which cross near the center under a dead branch
June 25, 2025 at 5:33 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
Kokufu Bonsai exhibition book study! This is a key part of the way my teachers instruct on design and critique. Check the alt text for more.

This astounding Japanese red pine bonsai is the first one in the catalog of the 74th Kokufu (2000). The broad, multi part crown counterbalances the trunk
a photo ofJapanese red pine bonsai displayed in the 74th Kokufu-ten bonsai exhibition in Ueno, Tokyo, 2000. this red pine is a semi-cascade with a striking trunk that moves dramatically to the left before twisting. the crown of the tree is composed of several smaller clouds. an unusual characteristic of this tree is it’s depiction of a spreading growth habit. often, pine bonsai are styled with their clouds getting smaller as they go up the trunk, but this has a broad chalice silhouette rather than the classical inverted triangle.
June 24, 2025 at 4:30 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
I suppose a useful understanding of the future pluperfect tense

There are few moments of “it’s about time” and many of “it will have been about time”
June 21, 2025 at 3:42 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
If asked to provide an artist’s statement, I could simply provide “fighting back” by Rory Ferreira

genius.com/Rap-ferreira...
​R.A.P. Ferreira – ​fighting back
[Intro] / Uh / Ok, ok, I can go like that / Or I can go like this / I set it off like this / Alright / [Verse] / I take car insurance price, flick my wrist / Now that's a poetic
genius.com
June 21, 2025 at 2:50 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
a few photos of bonsai looking their best at the Pacific Bonsai Museum. these first two are ones that have grown on me, especially the shore pine after being wired this spring, giving a great coastal feel

#pbm
a shore pine bonsai at the Pacific Bonsai Museum, originally by Masa Furukawa. the tree is planted on a wooden slab and leans out over it, as if over a coast line a vine maple bonsai at the Pacific Bonsai Museum. on loan from the collection of Michael Hagedorn. the tree appears to have a toppled trunk as it’s base a satsuki azalea bonsai on display at the Pacific Bonsai Museum. the tree is covered in pink and white flowers, with a long descending branch reaching below its base. the pot is typical of a cascade azalea, being deep and hexagonal
June 13, 2025 at 3:32 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
earlier this season, I got a chance to repot a very nice old red pine that is in the collection of my mentor. uncharacteristically, I took nice photos of the process

this tree has not been styled or repotted in some time—at least five years since a repot, and its outgrown its design
a japanese red pine bonsai on a stool. the oval pot of the tree is propped up at an angle inside a round pot. this shot is to mock-up the repot angle alongside the new pot. a japanese red pine bonsai on a stool. the oval pot of the tree is propped up at an angle inside a round pot. this shot is to mock-up the repot angle alongside the new pot. a japanese red pine bonsai on a stool. the oval pot of the tree is propped up at an angle inside a round pot. this shot is to mock-up the repot angle alongside the new pot.
June 4, 2025 at 5:30 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
yesterday, i cleaned the soil surface (soji) of a Japanese maple pre bonsai that had lost soil percolation.

because this tree had lost a good bit of leaves, I also cut it back to healthy buds, and because it’s a learning tree for me i added these root grafts.
a small potted Japanese maple pre bonsai, showing the roots, which have had their soil and crust removed to allow water penetration. a hand is holding a separate plant, a Japanese maple seedling, into a slot on the lower portion of the tree. this is a root graft, as the seedling will fuse with the parent a closeup of a small potted Japanese maple pre bonsai, showing the roots, which have had their soil and crust removed to allow water penetration. a hand is holding a separate plant, a Japanese maple seedling, on the edge of the framez
June 4, 2025 at 5:18 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
today i set three air layers on my Japanese maple mother plant to propagate for bonsai. in the fall or maybe next spring, i’ll be able to cut these pots off the tree and have three new plants for bonsai!

check out the alt text for more details
a large Japanese maple in a nursery pot, with three air layers in smaller pots attached to some branches a branch of a japanese maple with a line marked. this line is where I want to create new roots. the angle is set intentionally to add low movement to the future trunk line, which will most likely make use of the left branch the same branch of a Japanese maple with a ring of bark cut away. this ring was then treated with rooting hormone along the top edge to promote callus formation and new roots an interior branch of a Japanese maple with a ball of sphagnum moss tied to the branch with twine. this ball of sphagnum moss is placed over the treated ring bark. over this sphagnum moss, I placed a cut pot which was filled with bonsai soil
May 22, 2025 at 2:00 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
this red alder pre bonsai was collected locally by a friend. right now, it mostly looks like a busy, but bot the long extensions on the left side, which are being left to thicken the upper trunk
a red alder tree in a wooden box against a green background. the long branch extending outside of the silhouette is a sacrifice branch to encourage thickening
May 20, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by emerald lake bonsai
nigels1.bsky.social
A tree that is estimated to be at least 450 years old, its transition to a bonsai form began in 2014. It’s a Limber Pine
#nature #bonsai #LongwoodGardens
May 16, 2025 at 1:56 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
a young mountain hemlock bonsai. this tree was collected from the mountains, with all the sinuous curves in the trunk courtesy of mother nature
May 20, 2025 at 7:05 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
this boxwood bonsai was top dressed with some minor root work prior to the start of summer. it’s important to encourage fine roots near the surface, especially on boxwood which have a habit of pushing out of their pots

this tree has not been handled this way, which is a reason for these large roots
a small boxwood bonsai in a cream pot. fresh shredded sphagnum is placed across the surface of the soil a closeup of a root that was cut back another root that was cut back. note the fine feeder roots hanging in the air
May 20, 2025 at 7:01 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
checking up on a layer on a satsuki azalea. this layer is showing signs of starting to root, so I placed a pot of kanuma and pumice around the original ball of sphagnum
an air layer on a satsuki azalea bonsai sphagnum moss supporting an air layer on a satsuki azalea limb. this layer was made in the spring, and was resecured with azalea substrate a top down image of a pot used for affixing an air layer. the simple nursery pot has been cut with wires affixed to attach the layer to a fixed point
May 19, 2025 at 8:15 PM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
another layer, this on a ground layer on an old Sandrobe beech hand selected by Rakuyo Bonsai as nursery stock

the graft is low and passable, but if i want to take this tree towards exhibition level, we need much better
beech tree in a pot with another pot stacked on top the root base of the plant, showing the root graft and a few heavy roots the same view of the roots with a ring of bark cut away. this cut was then treated with rooting hormone prior to affixing the substrate a tree in a pot with a ground layer pot stacked on top. New Zealand sphagnum moss is built up around the ring barked section of the roots to encourage new growth
May 19, 2025 at 8:11 PM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
like horses, greenhouses sometimes wear chain mail
May 19, 2025 at 12:43 AM
emeraldlakebonsai.bsky.social
a recent repot I did as a demo at the Pacific Bonsai Museum. species is a Puerto Rico native escambron in a Bunzan pot
a shohin sized bonsai tree—an escambron in a yellow crackle pot, held in hand with a greenhouse as a backdrop
May 18, 2025 at 10:50 PM