Acquired late 2024 – at PBE from Copper Creek Bonsai First set of candles in 2025: July 2026 – Pre/Post-decandling
Author Archives: Jeff Ammons
P. Afra Bonsai No. 1
Acquired 2020 from cutting Picture from July 12th, 2026 I cut some small bits off of a neighbor’s jade and grew this. From what I gather they’re really easy bonsai as they can tolerate pruning, repotting, and not getting enough water very well. If anything, I tend to overwater mine.
Coffee Cabinet
This project started with my being tired of clutter on our kitchen counter and deciding I should build something that looked decent to store things in. It was both a fun design challenge, which I still have a lot to learn from, but also I threw in some new joinery — dovetails and stopped dadosContinue reading “Coffee Cabinet”
A Pragmatic Beginner’s Guide to Introducing AI to Your Engineering Workflow
If you spend too much time on the internet, it’s pretty easy to believe that everyone out there has outsourced their job to AI and is just letting their LLM of choice run free. I’ve been talking with engineers in the real world recently though, and the truth is that there is wild variability inContinue reading “A Pragmatic Beginner’s Guide to Introducing AI to Your Engineering Workflow”
Lavender Starflower
Grewia Occidentalis #1 and #2 Acquired 2020 – Lavender Star Flower (Grewia Occidentalis) I bought two of these in 2020 from https://www.bonsaify.com/ for $25 each. They’ve been a bit challenging as they need a lot of sunlight and water, in comparison to some of my other trees. I bought two of these in 2020 fromContinue reading “Lavender Starflower”
Juniper No. 1
I bought this from a nursery and styled with the help of Addison in December 2022. Repotted winter 2023 year and did a 2nd styling in summer 2024.
Juniper No. 5
I bought this tree as a small whip at a show and added some bends in it to start with. I’ve mostly been growing it out to thicken the trunk, but also started adding shari in 2025. In 2026, I repotted it into the pot show up top. The plan now is to keep growingContinue reading “Juniper No. 5”
Ficus No. 1
Acquired 2020 I bought this ficus as one of my first bonsai. It’s got the classic mass-produced bonsai trunk s-curve, but rather than replace it, I’ve been trying to work with it. 2020: ~2025 July 2026 – after a cutback
Japanese Black Pine No 1
Acquired 2024 Just before decandling in 2025: I bought this tree at an auction in February of 2024 for fairly cheap, knowing that it would be a good deal of work to condense it into a more showable tree. I didn’t have any Japanese Black Pines at that time though and wanted to try oneContinue reading “Japanese Black Pine No 1”
Accelerating Learning: Bonsai and the Art of Management
I used to loathe having anyone tell me I needed “more years of experience” to succeed at something. Now that I have more grey hair and joints that don’t work as well, I have to admit that some things do simply take time. Though I still think this phrase is overused when people don’t haveContinue reading “Accelerating Learning: Bonsai and the Art of Management”