Here are a few of my bonsai. I have many trees that are in progress but seemingly very few "finished" trees. I think that is because as I gain experience my tastes changes and thus I demand that my trees keep getting better. The only problem with that is it seems my taste improves faster than the bonsai grow.

This is a Kurume Azalea that I got as collected stock  from a another gentleman. I styled it  into semi-cascade. But, I have no idea of variety yet.

This is a Grape Ivy (Cissus rhombifolia) that is one of my oldest personal bonsai. I started training it in 1979. It was a house plant belonging to my wife's grandmother until she passed away in 1979. I took the plant and started training it as a bonsai. My wife and mother-in-law remember the plant in the house as far back as they can remember.It is about 50 yrs old. The  complete story of this tree was in the Journal of the American Bonsai Society, Spring 1999, entitled "Generations"

The stone was collected by Art Skolnik of Toronto, Canada and he also carved the dai.

This is a collected American Larch from Canada.  I often display it in my 2'X4' water table because it is a nice size for the table.  I change the display often so as not to bore the birds who use the table to bathe.

This is my latest project start. It is two Andorra Junipers ( Juniperus Horizontalis "Youngstown Andorra") that I collected about 8 yrs ago. They were originally started from one-gallon plants in 1973. They were both about 6ft. across when first dug. I never liked them as individual plants ( one was a semi-cascade, the other one was informal upright)  so this October '99 I  decided to fit them together by carving and screw attachment into one tree. I've only had time to finish  dead wood work, with NO WIRING. The foliage as you see it in the picture was the way it fit together when they were attached. I think this will make a wonderful tree when final wiring is done next season.  The tree(s) will be 31" above the pot.

Here you can see a bench with four trees on it. From right to left: Trident Maple forest, A VERY NICE Chinese Elm,  twin-trunk Korean Hornbeam, and a multiple trunk Trident Maple. On either side in the background you can see two nice Chinese Ficus'


This Boxwood is one of my favorite trees and has the potential to be  a wonderful bonsai.  This tree was purchased  two years ago from Dan Chiplis when he worked at the National Bonsai Collection in Washington, DC.  He had collected it two years before from a hedge row in the Washington, DC area. It is about 47 yrs old and taken from a short hedge of Dwarf Kingsville Boxwoods ( buxus mycrophylla "compacta"). This particular plant had reverted to the larger stock and the owner wished it removed. I have reduced it considerably and shaped most of the branches thru trimming or wiring.  It stands 34" above the pot. Please not the attached "Kingsville" Boxwood comming up from the base.  I have purchased a very nice pot for this specimen and next Spring it will be repotted and rotated slightly in the new pot. I'm sorry the background is so bad, but I couldn't get it moved by myself for a better picture...next year.

This plant is a large multi-trunk Arborvitae that I collected about 7 yrs ago and shortened from a 12ft. tall plant. It has freshly done shari work in this picture.

One of my favorite trees this large imported Chinese Elm stands 33" above the pot. A serious two-man tree.

 

Another of my Andorra Junipers collected about  7 yrs ago from a  started planted in 1973. The foliage of this  plant spread over 8 ft. across when collected. It has been seriously cut back and (re)styled 3 times.

This imported Chinese Elm is an ongoing project. It has a completely hollow trunk throughout. The left side was obviously  removed after dying off. Over the last two years  ( after a bud miraculously popped right at the old cut) I started to train a  new semi-cascade leader off the plant. The new leader is now about 10" long and filling out nicely. I hope to have a nicer picture next Spring.

 

This is a large collected Ponderosa Pine from Wyoming that is estimated at about 175 yrs. It was wired last year in a workshop when Walter Pall visited the Cleveland bonsai club. I stands 26" above the pot.

These are two Bald Cypress I collected from the swamps near New Orleans in February 1998. The taller tree was probably close to 30ft tall at collection. These are the 18-month pictures of their developement. New tops have been pulled up and they are awaiting wiring and carving for taper in Spring 2000. The larger tree will measure 53" above the pot and the smaller will be 42" above the pot when completed.