Live Stream Topic / Species Index

[Kendall]

*I am beginning to index the species & topics worked-on/discussed during each live stream, starting from the very first and working my way forward. This post will expand as I work my way through the archive, but I wanted to share what I have done already.

Fall shoot selection:

Tree species:

Ponderosa grafted with Black Pine, literati style

Topics:

choosing shoots, making selections - fall work for black pines

Juniper Structure:

Tree Species:

Utah Juniper, Juniperus osteosperma

Topics:

Choosing the front on yamadori, reading the live veins, splitting and separating the living tissues with trunk splitter, raffia and intense structural wiring

*see this tree again in the stream: Evolutions

Oak Evolution:

Tree Species:

Coast-live Oak, Quercus agrifolia

Topics: Mediterranean species and landscape, winter work, pruning oaks and the theory behind decisions, ancient oak design style, directing strength, handling suckers, talking design proportion, capturing the ‘look’ of an oak, expanding the silhouette in development

Redwood Theory:

Tree Species:

Coastal Redwood, Sequoia sempervirens

Topics:

Pruning, Redwood Development, Late Winter / early spring Work, Redwood aesthetics - natural versus bonsai shape

Juniper Design:

Tree Species:

Utah Juniper - Juniperus osteosperma

Topics:

Working collected juniper, first styling, setting structure, secondary/tertiary branch structure, deadwood work, juniper design, placing stones, identifying/cleaning the living vein, carving with Foredom, lime sulfur application, wiring technique with coarse foliage

*see this tree again in the stream, Evolutions

Beech Forest Creation:

Tree Species:

European Beech - Fagus sylvatica

Topics:

Forest creation, anchoring stone to a container, anchoring trees in the composition, capturing a forest ‘feeling’ with design, prepping the rootball, forest layout strategy, container selection, tree tie-down process

*see this tree again in the stream: Evolutions

Art of the Stand

Guest:

Austin Heitzman, bonsai standmaker

Topics:

Woodworking, bonsai stand theory & design, creating a custom stand to complete a composition

Juniper Pruning

Tree Species:

Rocky Mountain Juniper - Juniperus scopulorum

Topics:

pruning RMJ - for both horticulture and design, handling wire-bite, never pinching junipers, auxin, defining branch, juniper pruning timing, defining pads, strength in junipers, transitioning strength

Repotting Fundamentals

Tree Species:

Shore Pine - Pinus contorta sbsp. Contorta

Topics:

The shin, diagnosing yellowing foliage or root-related issues, repotting steps and technique, mycorrhiza, dealing with decayed soil, chopsticking, top dressing, post-repot watering

Spanish Master

Guest:

David Benavente

Topics:

Garden tour, David’s story, European bonsai, bonsai as a reflection of culture

Mirai Foundation

Topics:

Ryan’s apprenticeship, the story behind how he built Mirai and where he sees Mirai going.

Mirai Live Experience Pt. 1 & 2

Mirai Live Launch party

- Ryan styles a Coastal Redwood and Colorado Blue Spruce to live music.

Kusamono Mastery

Guest:

Young Choe, kusamono professional

Topics:

Kusamono, accent plantings, theory behind accent display - seasonality, creating & maintaining, collecting wild accents - using native material, using muck soil

Spring Fundamentals

Tree Species:

Japanese Larch - Larix kaempferi, Little-leaf Linden - Tilia cordata, Engelmann Spruce - Picea engelmannii

Topics:

Horticulture behind spring - energy generation, spring work & timing, reasons for repotting, losing percolation, removing the moss/surface layer, early spring pruning - development vs. refinement, encouraging back-budding, top dressing creation, increasing thickening, ‘hardening’, effective pruning for branch design, fertilization - timing application & amounts, teabags, Spring disease & pest prevention - needle cast, peach-leaf curl, phomopsis (juniper-tip blight), aphids

*see the Little-leaf Linden again in the stream, Deciduous Structure

Pine Innovation

Tree Species:

Ponderosa Pine - Pinus ponderosa

Topics:

Yamadori pine structure, finding the front, making big bends, structural wiring, healing tears / recovery, using the bonsai jack, wedge cutting

*see this tree again in the stream, Evolutions & Yamadori Repotting

Exploring Natives

Guest:

Arin Packard, Curator of the Pacific Bonsai Museum

Topics:

Curating a bonsai exhibition, pushing the idea of bonsai display, the evolution of American Bonsai, using native material, pairing art and accents with bonsai

Pruning Practices

Tree Species:

Colorado Blue Spruce - Picea pungens

Topics:

Handling all spruce - Picea characteristics, design decisions in the pruning process, evolving the shape, timing of work, coniferous design, representing ancient in design

Energy Distribution

Guest:

Todd Schlafer - Bonsai Professional & Collector based in Colorado

Tree Species:

Coastlive Oak - Quercus agrifolia, European Beech - Fagus sylvatica, Limber Pine - Pinus flexilis, Engelmann Spruce - Picea engelmannii

Topics:

Trees in development versus refinement, backbudding, fertilizer application, Timing of work, pinching

*See the Engelmann Spruce again in the streams: Pinching to Design…

Pinching to Design

Tree Species:

Shore Pine - Pinus contorta sbsp. Contorta, Coastal Redwood - Sequoia sempervirens, Engelmann Spruce - Picea engelmannii

Topics:

Daconil & Spruce - fungal issues in spruce, krummholz, single flush short-needle pines - pinching & fertilization, identifying candle maturity, redirecting strength, defining short versus long single-flush needle pines and how to handle, single versus multi-flush pines, nuances of redwood growth, pinching & pruning redwoods, difference between dawn & coastal redwood, pinching Engelmann Spruce

Spring Water

Tree Species:

American Hornbeam - Carpinus caroliniana, Rocky Mountain Juniper - Juniperus scopulorum w/ Itoigawa root grafts

Topics:

General watering concepts & theory, checking for water, balance of water & oxygen, water pH, systems for handling water, knowing when to water - what to consider, airlayering, xylem, cambium, phloem, where to apply an airlayer on conifer versus deciduous, when to remove air-layers, air-layering with juniper, how varying species respond to air layering, when to use rooting hormones

Deciduous Focus

Tree Species:

Hedge Maple - Acer campestre

Topics:

Dealing with stump cuts, redirecting growth with a 2nd/3rd shaping, refining/developing deciduous trees, hallow trunks, pruning, approach grafting, maple varieties & pruning, making big cuts, healing wounds, cut paste

Growth Perpetuation

Tree Species:

Engelmann Spruce, Picea engelmannii - Coastlive Oak, Quercus agrifolia - Ponderosa pine grafted with Japanese Black Pine

Topics:

Strength perpetuation, pushing growth and handling that growth, fertilization - goals and strategies, 3rd pinchings, pruning to transition energy - to the silhouette, inverse swelling in conifers, spring work for elongating species in refinement & development, broadleaf evergreen/ deciduous spring pruning & pinching, trimming leaves by 30%, defoliation, pruning multi-flush pines versus single flush pines, needle-plucking, mycorrhiza, timing of work - June in the Northern Hemisphere, summer dormancy, using grafting to shift a single-flush to a multi-flush pine

*See the Engelmann Spruce also in the streams, Pinching to Design, Energy Distribution

Live Vein Reduction

Tree Species:

All junipers, featured on stream - Sierra Juniper, Juniperus occidentalis sbps. australis - Kishu Juniper, Juniperus chinensus, ‘Shimpaku’

Topics:

Cleaning and reducing the living vein, increasing contrast of living vein to deadwood, juniper vascular tissue - xylem, phloem, cambium, creating the look of age in your tree, debarking, borers, timing of work, purpose of bark, enhancing more common material, creating deadwood, creating value in junipers with deadwood/living vein, not wiring/bending junipers - timing

Multi-flush pines

Tree Species:

All Multi-Flush Pines. For example, Japanese Black Pine, Pinus thunbergii - Japanese Red Pine, Pinus densiflora - Pitch Pine Pinus rigida - Virginia Pine, Pinus virgianiana

Topics:

Candle-pruning & elongation, needle plucking, multi-flush pine definition, the purpose behind decandling, timing of work, fertilization schedule, what to prune, mythbusting, rebalancing strength, **50:00 long-needle single flush & short-needle single flush pine work for trees in development and refinement around June (Northern Hemisphere), overwatering pines, pruning or cutting needles, repotting or needle-cutting in the same year.

Deadwood

Tree Species:

Ryan works on a Rocky Mountain Juniper, Juniperus scopulorum - Information in this stream is pertinent to most Junipers & Pines.

Topics:

Refining junipers, creating deadwood - a story of age, cultivating mounding growth, negative space in design, identifying and managing phytopthera, juniper vascular tissue, timing of work, energy positive, RMJ-esque deadwood, creating natural-looking deadwood, reading the wood grain, carving a flat-cut - technique, preserving deadwood, juvenile foliage, CPES - epoxy

Bald Cypress Primer

Tree species:

Bald Cypress, Taxodium distichum information also applicable to Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides

Topics:

Bald Cypress pruning, getting ramification, timing of work, how bald cypress ramify, the flat-topped form, finding the front, watering, pruning indicators, raffia application, apical dominance, elongating species, bald cypress design, taking cues from Florida landscape

Post-Growth Management

Tree Species:

Chinese Elm Ulmus parvifolia - Douglas fir Pseudostuga menzeisii - Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris

Topics:

Going into summer work, watering purpose, fertilization, energy positive - definition and indicators, pruning elm / deciduous, creating ramification, removing big branches, creating a callus, elongating species early summer work, doug fir nuances, elongating species in refinement, fertilization throughout the year, doug fir pruning, single-flush pines - transition from development to refinement, pushing strength to the interior, encouraging backbudding.

Shohin 101

Tree Species:

Subalpine fir Abies lasiocarpa - Information applicable to most all trees in the Abies genus

Topics:

soil particle size, soil composition, watering, fertilization, shohin official size, styling shohin, wiring technique, working with Subalpine fir, shohin display - critiquing the ‘rack’, World Bonsai Convention 2017 Shohin Display

Azalea Pruning

Guest:

Peter Warren, Bonsai Professional based in the UK

Tree Species:

Satsuki Azalea ‘Kaho,’ Rhododendron indicum

Topics:

The Japanese sub-world of Azaleas, horticultural challenges, timing of work - big cuts, removing flowers, azalea varieties - commonalities and differences, misconceptions, basal dominance - lack of apical vigor, preserving the roots, soil use - akadama or kanuma, watering azaleas, pest and disease control, winter protection, pruning, dieback and vein delineation, backbudding, masculine / feminine design, deadwood & satsuki, bare-rooting azalea, misting, balancing energy, fertilization

Summer Watering & Grafting

Tree Species:

Rocky Mountain Juniper, Juniperus scopulorum - Kishu Juniper, Juniperus chinensus ‘Kishu’

Topics:

Summer watering - what’s different from spring watering, approach grafting, water’s function in high heat, balance of water & oxygen, summer dormancy, watering considerations, how to know when to water, topdressing, veneer grafting vs. approach grafting, choosing where to graft, timing of work, compressing the graft, identifying when the graft ‘takes’, watering the scions

Nursery Stock Series Pt. 1

Tree Species:

Blue Rug Juniper, Juniperus horizontalis 'Wiltonii'

Topics:

Selecting Nursery Stock material - what to look for, initial styling, rethinking the angle, what is a good base and interesting trunk line, timing of work, multi-trunk style

Traditional Design

Tree Specie:

Scots Pine - Pinus sylvestris

Topics:

Informal upright style, setting structure on raw material, handling big cuts, using cut paste / puddy, sculpting a jin, expanding trunk girth, energy positive, traditional branch selection, using sphagnum & raffia to heal big cuts, traditional pine design anatomy, primary - secondary - tertiary lines and branching

Deciduous Design

Tree Species:

Tall Stewartia - Stewartia monadelpha

Topics:

Feminine vs. masculine, deciduous vs. conifer design, where to make big cuts, identifying the collar, callous formation, cleaning up cuts, cut-paste - puddy vs. liquid, green vs. white cap, orthodox deciduous style, finding the front, establishing a new potting angle, wire-wrapping technique with paper towels, ideal climate for stewartia, delicate wiring, aluminum vs. copper, masculine vs. feminine branch formation, stewartia fungus and treatment, considering flowers, grafting with stewartia, timing of work

Nursery Stock Series Pt. 2

Tree Species:

Cryptomeria

Topics:

Formal upright design, material selection - looking at trunklines, navigating a nursery - what to look for, what to steer away from, finding a front, ‘short-long’ design concept, adjusting the potting angle, working through the first design iteration, structural wiring technique, choosing an apex, making jins

*Also see the Little Leaf Linden from Deciduous Structure that was found in this nursery hunt

Hinoki Aesthetics

Tree Species:

Dwarf Hinoki Cypress Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘nana’

Topics:

Pruning, managing growth, maintaining hinoki cypress, compensating for lack of backbudding in the design, laying out branches, pad formation, hinoki design aesthetics, creating a jin, foliar feed

Tropical Styling

Guest:

Juan Andrade

Tree Species:

Bougainvillea Bougainvillea glabra

Topics:

Tropical bonsai defoliation, bougainvillea challenges, choosing material in the bougainvillea genus, working with rot, vines in bonsai, sacrificial branches

Thuja Exploration

Tree Species:

Northern White-Cedar Thuja occidentalis

Topics:

Thuja in nature translating to bonsai design, natural growth habit - translating to miniature, zones of growth, soil, timing of work, other thuja species, thuja backbudding

Ponderosa Pine Maintenance

Tree Species:

Ponderosa Pine Pinus ponderosa

Topics:

Needle reduction, pruning specifics, transition energy, species fundamentals, 3rd-year needle drop, physiology, where do they grow, perfect variety for bonsai - scopulorum, soil, grafting, mythbusting, backbudding, needle plucking - don’t do it, timing of work, watering

Fall Physiology

Tree Species:

Engelmann Spruce Picea engelmannii, Rocky Mountain Juniper - Juniperus scopulorum , Zelkova

Topics:

Fall goals - fertilizing, vascular growth, pruning, setting trees up for spring, heavy structural work on junipers, seasonal timing of work, borer removal, cleaning the live vein, deciduous work- what not to do, cold tolerance, watering adjustments.

5 Needle Pine Nuances

Tree Species:

Limber Pine - Pinus flexilis, information also applicable to Japanese White Pine - Pinus parvifloraand Eastern White Pine - Pinus strobus

Topics:

The famous ‘spooky’ stream, defining the ‘5 needle pine’ category, soil, care, bristlecone categorization, defining pads, applying raffia - bending, big design decisions, long-needle single-flush pine, 5 needle pines in the environment versus traditional design

[Kip]

This is great Kendall! Wondering if this could be put in the synopsis for each video when you’re in the Archive. I think that increase of ease would surely help.

[Chicago_bonsai]

This is helpful! Thank you!

[Ume]

Wow this is great! I’ve been wanting this so much

[BoneSci]

Thank you so much for this info! Especially nice to see the references to later streams when a tree is brought back. It would be great if that could be maintained so we can follow a tree through the streams/seasons/years.

Thanks again!
Chris

[Kendall]

Definitely a good idea. I will keep that in mind as we try to reorganize and clean things up a bit as it continues to grow.

[rafi]

I wonder how we as a community could help build over time in an organized manner this resource that Kendall is building to simplify finding information in the live stream. The ideal solution would be to have a searchable text transcript of the spoken word (like a subtitles file). I researched a bit a while back and couldn’t find any cheap technological solution. I would like to propose a mechanism to add during the live stream tags in the chat that Kendall can then use as source material that she can filter and then add here. For example Ryan is talking about grafting kishu on a rocky mountain. I would put in the chat #kishu, someone else would write #rockymountain another person would add #grafting, @Kendall would add #BobRoss - and so on. At the end Kendall can collect all these hashtags and put them here or somewhere they can be searched… just my two cents.

[moon]

@Rafi I think Dragon could be used post stream to transcribe the audio to text. Then the text docs could be archived and searched for keyword. It would save Kendall some work load.

[Kendall]

yeah we’ve definitely looked into transcriptions before (not for organizational purposes) but the cost is pretty intense. Organization of this wealth of information will continue to shift and grow as the platform does. Definitely interesting and solid suggestions! thank you!

[rafi]

I agree. That is why I think the idea of the hashtags collected during the live stream is very easy to implement. What do you guys at Mirai think?

A slightly more difficult thing to implement would be to allow people to add hashtags after the live stream - and hashtags could receive up/down votes like in rotten tomatoes so that they are automatically sorted by the community.

[moon]

@Kendall you might be able to “forum source” transcription of streams in trade for gear, swag, mirai credit or extended tier membership services. that would be pretty cheap for you and also foster community within the membership…just an out of the box thought.

[Bob_McCarlie]

Will there be a thread for the Structural Wiring stream?

[Kendall]

Here is the thread - Post-Stream Discussion : Structural Wiring - This resource index will expand as I work my way through the archive. I’m going from earliest onward, so you will see it expanding as I have time!

[tocci_89]

This is a great piece of work!
Thanks @Kendall!

[MelBAU]

Reckon this is going to need some extra work if they’re going to go on hashtags. I suspect #shot might be the most used hashtag on any of the feeds I’ve seen.

[ThomasUrban]

I am not sure if I am blind but does anyone know where we can see the finished Hemlock? I can’t find it anywhere and it was mentioned in the Miyajima video that it’s available somewhere?

Also with the top list of all the archived videos, I am not sure what the order is? Some of the videos are in different order than on the archive and time it was filmed? I feel old or something
Other wise it’s great that most of the streams are here in one place with the tree(s) used and topics, that’s great!