Looking for directions
I had a lot of fun setting up Bay Island Bonsai’s exhibit this year. Having recently returned from Japan, I found myself looking at trees in a very different light than I had before the visit. I now get much more enjoyment from flowering and fruiting trees, and I’m even more fascinated by the idea of balance in bonsai. On that note, I’ve really appreciated the recent discussions about whether certain trees point left or right. If an idea as simple as direction can lead to such rich discussions, either the trees in question – or our understanding of said trees – offer opportunities for improvement.
The crabapple below provided some much appreciated color to BIB’s exhibit. Discussion arose, however, as to the direction of the tree. More and more, I skip past the idea of which way a given tree points and start asking which way the tree could or should point. In other words, what can be done to a tree to enhance its balance or to clarify its direction?
Crabapple
The main branches on my trident maple are fairly horizontal and somewhat similar in size. Over time I plan to vary the angles at which the primary branches extend from the trunk and create more differentiation in branch size to improve the tree’s balance. I hope that in time to make it clear that the tree moves to the left.
Trident maple – antique Chinese pot
A number of nice shimpaku made it into this year’s exhibit, including the two well-balanced trees below. Both get their sense of direction from the trunk more than from the foliage. Although people often respond strongly to direction of the upper part of the trunk or the foliage, it’s typically not enough to outweigh the sense of direction provided by the lower trunk.
Shohin shimpaku
Kifu shimpaku
A small red pine provided an interesting example. The first branch indicates strong movement to the left. The foliage suggests movement to the right. It’s tough to say which way the trunk leads the eye.
Red pine – nanban pot
I’ve always enjoyed this tree. For the exhibit, it was placed on the left side of the display, but Boon suggested that in the future it could go the other way. Tilting the tree slightly to the left made it clear that the tree has good potential to point left. Some minor branch work could complete the makeover.
Red pine – tilted
Next week I’ll post photos of trees that more clearly know where they are going.
Daisaku Nomoto Bonsai Award
Bay Island Bonsai was fortunate this year to have Daisaku Nomoto around to help with its 13th annual exhibit.
Daisaku Nomoto
Nomoto, Boon’s senpai at Kihachi-en, wired trees, prepared moss top-dressings, and carried many trees before, during, and after the exhibit. Somewhere along the way, he took a liking to a Western juniper. So much so, it became the recipient of the first Daisaku Nomoto Bonsai Award.
The winning tree – Western Juniper
Nomoto is a fan of trees styled in this fashion. The tree has a somewhat bunjin-gi feeling, but has a more substantial trunk and silhouette than typical bunjin bonsai. The tree is full, healthy, and well balanced. I’ll add that it points to the right.
Having seen the tree develop since it was collected, I can say that it’s come a long way in a very short time. It is a deserving recipient of the first Daisaku Nomoto Bonsai Award.
The award
Rocky Mountain Juniper bonsai
One of the trees displayed at Bay Island Bonsai’s 13th annual exhibit got a lot of funny looks. It’s a Rocky Mountain juniper, Juniperus scopulorum.
Rocky Mountain Juniper
It’s not exactly “show-ready” as we like to say – the tree is only a few years out of the ground and branch pads have yet to be defined. The tree offers, however, a glimpse of how floppy the tree’s foliage can be and plenty of interesting deadwood. Maybe too interesting. The large piece of deadwood on the left looks like something an undiscerning artist found on the ground and affixed to the first tree they dug. It is, however, very naturally connected to the live part of the tree.
Old deadwood – evidence of an older, larger tree
If you look closely, you can easily discern the old deadwood from the new. The deadwood supporting the live part of the tree lacks the deep fissures evident on the big jin. In the photo below, the upper part of the deadwood is light in color with subtle fissures. This wood has been exposed to the elements for a while, but not for as long as the jin on the left. The lower part of the deadwood is darker in color and lacks fissures. This wood has more recently been exposed to the elements.
Older and newer deadwood
A few days before the exhibit, I cleaned the tree’s deadwood with a water gun and then treated it with a mixture of lime sulfur, water and sumi ink. This helped to even out the different tones of deadwood on the tree. A new pot and some bright moss completed the show prep.
Rocky Mountain Juniper deadwood
Moss
Why so much effort for a tree that’s not quite ready for display? Interesting deadwood, great age, and curious foliage contributed to the decision. Beyond that, the tree offers a great puzzle for aspiring bonsai stylists. In other words, what improvements can be made to the tree? There are plenty of alternatives. It’s the kind of tree I’d like to walk by in the garden for a while before making up my mind. Although I don’t know what exactly is in store for the tree’s future, I do know it will look quite different the next time I see it in an exhibit.
Displaying a shimpaku juniper
Bay Island Bonsai held their 13th Annual Exhibit this past weekend at the Lakeside Garden Center in Oakland, CA. The exhibit featured a well developed shimpaku juinper.
Shimpaku juniper
Before reading any further, which way do you think the tree points – to the left or to the right?
When setting up exhibits, we often start by identifying trees that point left or right and put these at the ends of each row where they can point toward the center. Cascade and semi-cascade bonsai often end up at the ends of rows as they are strongly directional trees. With the exception of formal upright bonsai, most trees tend to point or lean a bit to the left or the right. When trees point to the left, we tend to place accent or companion plants to the right in the attempt to create balanced compositions.
The apex of the shimpaku pictured above points strongly to the left, as does the first branch on that side of the tree. My inclination was to display the tree on the right and place an accent plant on the left. Daisaku Nomoto, a bonsai professional visiting from Miyazaki, Japan, however, wanted the tree placed on the left. I winced at the suggestion, and appealed to Boon. Boon seconded Nomoto’s opinion. While we stood there discussing the matter, the tree’s owner set the tree on the right. This made sense to me and I liked the resulting display.
Displayed on the right with accent and scroll
At the end of the day, I found myself very curious about the direction of the tree. Maybe if the trunk or branches were arranged differently I could see what Boon and Nomoto saw. The next morning I asked Boon and Nomoto for an explanation. Simply put, they typically find the movement in the lower part of the trunk to be the most important element in the determination of direction. What about the apex or the key branch? Not important, Nomoto replied. It really is all about the lower part of the trunk. Tilting the tree a bit to the right would increase the movement of the lower part of the trunk and move the apex to the right. Growing out the lowest branch on the right could further this movement.
What does the tree look like displayed on the left?
As displayed on the left
Turns out the tree looks good on the left too.
Armed with new knowledge, I found a new way to look at bonsai. Like the Ponderosa pine below, for instance. Surely it points to the right?
Ponderosa pine
No such luck. Nomoto insisted the tree points to the left, just as the owner had displayed it.
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