How To Make A Tanuki Bonsai🪴*EASY*

[@resolutebonsai]

I’m one of the beginners and had no clue what Tanuki was. Thank you for the great video!

[@notionbonsai]

I am glad you can learn something from me 😃 It doesn't have to be complicated. Just take your time and enjoy the process 😁

[@irynadvoskina9207]

Thanks

[@Village-MaN-Bonsai]

Hallo. In the last week, I watched almost all of your videos. Meaningful and instructive. The main thing is that your video is understandable and easy to understand. Thank you, you are very helpful

[@notionbonsai]

Hey! I am so glad that you find my videos useful! I want Bonsai to be easy and accessible to everyone!

[@BlueSkyBonsai]

Such a great video Adam, really inspiring! I also have some deadwood sitting outside for over two years, in my case a dead juni that dried up in summer '22. I will definitely do a tanuki sometime. Ps. Thanks again for showing the book!!

[@notionbonsai]

Thanks Dave! Sorry to hear that you had a tree die but I am glad you can make something new from it! 😊 Thanks again for sending it!!

[@hypolardnb]

the detail you go into everything is amazing! your videos bring so much inspiration to me and my new bonsai journey!

[@notionbonsai]

I like to understand why we do things in Bonsai so we know the correct time to apply certain techniques 😊 I am honoured that you got inspiration from me!

[@lil_treez_au]

outstanding red on the japanese maple :O outstanding beauty shots! outstanding video as always! Those tanuki are inspiring :)

[@notionbonsai]

Thanks Jesse! The deadwood is so beautiful to me!

[@raymondplodzien7459]

Great video Adam. I cannot wait to see future updates on your tanuki.

[@notionbonsai]

Thanks Raymond! I am looking forward to repotting this in spring to get it settling into a new pot!

[@phillricherdson4942]

Thank you for referring to the Phoenix graft, the practice of phoenix grafting has been around for 25 years and it was known for a long time before it's formal adoption into the Bonsai community. Good video and very informative, always try and save the base of the deadwood with a wood sealer or even clear paint just on the bottom. It really keeps the wood from absorbing excess moisture. I've worked with some bog oak and hope to have some future plans to make a bog oak themed tanuki

[@dylianbezuidenhoudt3554]

Love your content it's almost therapeutic I'm all the way from South Africa and you've inspired me to start a journey of bonsai

[@notionbonsai]

Thank you Dylian 😊 This is great to hear! You have great weather in SA for it!

[@n8tyler]

Really enjoy your videos Adam...Great narration and information with your natural enthusiasm...Great combination...Thanks for sharing...Sequim, WA...

[@notionbonsai]

Thank you very much Nathan! 😊🪴

[@dougieduck95]

Great video. Think this is one of your best so far. Very informative and professional.

[@notionbonsai]

Thank you very much Claire! 😊

[@joegarland4885]

Adam I think you are turning into a very capable bonsai teacher, people will learn a lot from watching your channel. The tanuki process you have demonstrated using the bog wood should encourage people to try it with their odd pieces of drift wood etc, I will be trying the process you have shown with my bits of wood. I hope you can keep us up to date with their progress over time. All the best Adam.

[@notionbonsai]

Hi Joe! Thank you so much for the kind words 🙂 I hope your project goes well for you! If you want to speed up the process you can carve a groove into the deadwood to place the tree inside!

[@SteveAllotment]

Great video. I did one this year where took a dead dwarf honeysuckle and added 3 cuttings that were taken from the plant before it died . Looking forward to seeing how this develops. It already fooled a couple of people think it was 1 old tree. Have another one to do but this time will treat the trunk with Lime sulphur so thanks for the tip.

[@notionbonsai]

Thanks Steve! It is nice that you were able to rescue the honesuckle! Nice one! How big is the piece of deadwood that you used?

[@SteveAllotment]

@@notionbonsai I have 1 that is about 12 inches tall and about 2.5 inches at the base . My other one is about 15 inches high but only about 1.5 inches at the base. going to look for bigger pieces like the ones you had .

[@davidmorgan3508]

Aussie Dave here, nice work 😊. I have 4 tanuki styles, 2 have interesting wood. So you are correct the more interesting wood the better 😊. I have also bought the Blue Sky Bonsai book

[@notionbonsai]

Hey Dave! Ahh nice! Are there photos of your tanukis on Instagram? I would love to see them!

[@davidmorgan3508]

Sorry David, I'm not on Facebook or instergram 😇🤔

[@Conor66]

Another excellent informative video Adam, look forward to seeing the piece develop over the next year. Conor

[@notionbonsai]

Thank you very much Conor! I am looking forward to repotting it in spring into some nicer soil!

[@bonsaiongtre_37]

Tuyệt vời. Tôi rất thích cách bạn làm và quay video như thế này 🎉

[@Donpapibonsai]

Great video the trees look good and as they grow will look great Thank you

[@notionbonsai]

Hey thanks very much!

[@Darkfire1300]

Very clear video. Thanks. I have messed around with a crab apple tanuki for several years. Trunk died back with interesting shape and a sucker came up so I carved a channel up to the top, used zip ties to hold the sucker to the trunk and it has come right along. I plan on sending some pics to your email as they cannot be uploaded here. Thanks again. What a great way to use all those spare pieces of interesting wood that otherwise clutter up the yard...

[@notionbonsai]

Nice! Crab apple look great in autumn with all them tiny apples on them too! I will have to check my email for it!

[@deepanjanbanerjee3491]

Interesting choice of tree! Liked it. I have had fair success with wisteria tanuki as well.

[@notionbonsai]

Thank you! I love wisteria! I'm sure they would be easy to wind around!

[@houghtonbonsai]

Great Video Adam m8, nice and informative. That reminds me i need to get my Tanuki out of the ground this year and into a pot cheers buddy ;)

[@notionbonsai]

Thank you Ryan, Aww nice one! I wish I had some ground to get my trees into! .... someday!

[@chrismarshall8321]

Great video Adam. I've a couple tanuki done and you just reminded me I should maybe do 1st styling on them. Love the red tool wrap .😅

[@notionbonsai]

Thanks Chris 😊 We are so lucky we got so much bogwood here in Ireland!

[@donnadornbusch6738]

As always - a great instruction!

[@notionbonsai]

Thanks Donna! 😊

[@Fabionsai]

Hi! I'd like to give you some advice on performing the tanuki technique. First of all, try to match the species of the deadwood with that of the young plant, otherwise, you’ll never be able to 'trick' the observer, as each species has distinctive characteristics, even in deadwood. This is particularly important if you plan to create jin in the future, as the difference in texture between the jin and the deadwood would be noticeable. Secondly, as someone has already suggested, you should carve a niche for the plant within the deadwood, following the grain direction, which is the natural path the veins would take. Lastly, I’ve seen many people screw or nail the young plant to the deadwood to secure it. In a short time, the plant will fill all the small spaces between itself and the carved niche in the wood. Also, the heads of the screws or nails will be completely covered by callus tissue, thus hidden from the observer. Greetings form Italy!

[@gokulfromuk]

Amazing as always 👌👏👏👏

[@notionbonsai]

Thanks Gokul!

[@GrowingBonsai]

nice one. Working on a tanuki video myself too.

[@notionbonsai]

Thanks Jelle! 😊 I will keep an eye out for your video!!

[@Seanny_Mack]

great vid as always but love the product placement hahah !

[@vladislavmenshch9527]

Thanks!

[@MattiasTiivel]

Great video as always, Ive never tried tanuki myself, but this video gave me tons of inspiration, going looking for some driftwood at the beach tomorrow! Also is there anything that you could potentially use instead of lime sulfur? Since lime sulfur is not really available in my part of the world, and making it is quite complicated, Thanks ahead!

[@notionbonsai]

Hey thanks Mattias! That is awesome! You can try using wood hardener or a natural wood preservative that can give similar effects. Some people also use diluted bleach or vinegar as a preservative, but it won’t give the same whitening effect as lime sulfur. Hope that helps, and good luck with your driftwood search!

[@RichardJackRobertson]

Good tanuki - thanks for the tutorial. Do you ever use wood hardener to preserve the tanuki wood.

[@notionbonsai]

Thanks Richard! No I have never used this before. Lime sulphur will do the job for me 😊

[@stevebattle687]

Hi , I use akadama pumis and lava rock , so what percentage do you use if adding soil , also why ericaceous soil why not john inner no2 , thanks for another good teach in .

[@KarateTaco]

What's your opinion on using powertools in Tanuki creation? I see you look for natural pre-existing grooves and I really like that. But what do you think about making a little groove artificially?

[@iancadwallender9779]

Hi Adam.I enjoyed the video.Just started my bonsai journey,by collecting a young twisted ash and some coton easters.I have ordered my first lot of bonsai soil.Westland bonsai potting mix.Is this suitable ?,or do i need to mix it with eracious soil ?.Believe it or not,im a gardener,but have little idea and no experience of bonsai.Your help would be much appreciated

[@jirkanovak5314]

Hodně dobrý video

[@notionbonsai]

Děkuju moc! Jsem rád, že se ti video líbilo! 😊🌲

[@chuschusco]

Gracias por compartir tus trabajos, me encanta el entusiasmo y la dedicación que pones en todos ellos. Sin embargo no entiendo cómo vas a conseguir en un futuro que los plantones se mantengan pegados a la madera muerta, simulando las venas de un árbol. Los trabajos de tanuki que he visto hasta ahora consisten en tallar con una máquina rotativa un canal a la madera con sección en forma de C, e introducir el tronco del plantón dentro del canal, sujetándolo en un primer momento con bridas. Si el canal está bien hecho y la madera muerta es resistente, cuando engorda el plantón se queda encajado en el canal, ya no puede salirse y ahí se queda por siempre, sin necesitar usar más bridas. Con el tiempo el plantón engorda todavía más y se crea una vena que abulta por fuera del canal, adquiriendo el aspecto de una vena natural. Si las técnicas empleadas son buenas, en un futuro resultará imposible distinguir el tanuki de un bonsái normal, con su verdadera madera muerta. Pero en tu caso no creo que eso llegue a suceder nunca, los plantones siempre se van a separar de la madera muerta si no están sujetos con alambres o bridas... Me gustaría conocer tus planes de futuro con esos tanukis para poder comprender mejor los trabajos que nos estás mostrando. De nuevo, muchas GRACIAS por compartir ❤ ¡Un saludo!

[@notionbonsai]

¡Gracias a ti por tus amables palabras y por tomarte el tiempo de compartir tus observaciones! 😊 Me alegra mucho que disfrutes del entusiasmo que pongo en mis trabajos. Sobre el tema que mencionas, es cierto que muchas técnicas tradicionales de tanuki consisten en tallar un canal para encajar el plantón. En mi caso, estoy probando métodos ligeramente diferentes, usando sujeciones como alambres y clips, y aplicando productos que ayudan a unir el plantón a la madera muerta sin depender completamente del canal. Mi objetivo es que, con el tiempo, las raíces y el crecimiento natural del árbol hagan que el plantón se adhiera permanentemente, creando esas venas que parecen naturales. Entiendo la preocupación y aprecio mucho tu interés en el proceso. Estoy experimentando con diferentes formas de asegurar la unión para que, al final, logre ese mismo efecto que mencionas: que parezca una vena natural de un árbol. Es un proceso que requiere tiempo y seguimiento, pero tengo confianza en que resultará bien.

[@chuschusco]

@@notionbonsai / Entonces me resulta todavía más interesante tu propuesta, porque ahora mismo no soy capaz de imaginar cómo podrás conseguirlo 😅 Seguiré muy atento a tus publicaciones en los próximos años 😉 Gracias de nuevo por tus vídeos, por la contestación a mi pregunta y por la deferencia de usar mi idioma, ha sido un gran detalle por tu parte 🥰 ¡Salud compañero!

[@notionbonsai]

@@chuschusco ¡Muchas gracias por tu apoyo! 😊 Es cierto que hacer un surco primero es más sencillo y efectivo, pero en el bonsái me gusta experimentar porque eso es parte de la diversión y el disfrute para mí. Al final, esa es la razón por la que hago bonsái, porque realmente lo disfruto. ¡Me alegra que encuentres interesante el proceso y espero que sigas disfrutando mis publicaciones en el futuro! 🥰 ¡Salud, compañero!

[@TheBugB]

Another one!

[@Bonsaicrazy]

Great video Adam. Good luck with those tanuki’s mate 👊👊👊

[@notionbonsai]

Thank you so much Andy!

[@robertsorrentino8293]

Is Autumn the best time for creating Tanuki? Great vid. Thanks

[@notionbonsai]

Spring would be best before the tree starts actively growing but I would only do one operation at a time in spring...fuse of repot. Personally with this one, I tied it in autumn so I can repot in spring 😊

[@robertsorrentino8293]

@@notionbonsai Great rationale. Thanks

[@Benw3790]

Why did you decide not to create grooves in the deadwood, for the trunks to set into?

[@notionbonsai]

I may do this in the future on another piece of deadwood but I want to see what will happen with this piece 😊

[@Benw3790]

@@notionbonsai Hey man, that’s what experimenting is all about! I love the channel. Keep up the good work. Also, I had to slip pot a couple trees the other week. I think it’s great for emergency repots, at the wrong time of year.

[@BebeSatos]

💚💚💚

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌🙂

[@vir_bhaiji]

you make very good videos how old are you👌👌🙏🌷

[@notionbonsai]

Thank you 😊I am 25

[@darkmolo]

WE NEED A SMALLER BOTTLE LIKE 10 ML OF LIME SULFER NOW!

[@notionbonsai]

😲This could be an idea for the future!!

[@andrewclack4881]

paused it at 15:40 that wood looks like an elephant!

[@notionbonsai]

I kind of see?? I may have to look longer haha!

[@claudebussi1423]

You can also use hydrogen peroxyd to clear the wood

[@notionbonsai]

Very interesting! I may try this in the future! Careful if using alongside other chemicals as it could react!

[@KennetDeBondt]

I saw lots of tanuki: if you don´t carve a channel into the natural groves to put the trees in, it will always look fake, I´m afraid...

[@notionbonsai]

Thank you for the advice Kennet! I would usually carve a groove and I may do this for a future video on the other bigger piece of deadwood but I like to experiment with other things to see how they look 😄