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.

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.

It’s customary, for bonsai displayed indoors, to cover the surface of the soil with moss. Moss, however, isn’t always readily available. What can a bonsai artist do? Here are some solutions from the East Bay Bonsai Society’s 50th Anniversary Show.

Moss – nice when you can get it

Scotch moss

Lava rock

Bonsai soil with patches of moss

More moss

Patches of moss with lava

Bonsai soil

Patches of moss, lichen, and fine soil particles

Moss growth accelerates in fall in the Bay Area. It’s around this time of year when Bay Island Bonsai members start scoping out moss collection locations ahead of the January exhibit. If the supply falls short, we’ll be sure to employ some of the above techniques.

You’ve heard the phrase if you’ve heard Boon talk about show prep. Full trees demonstrate health and maturity. Although there are exceptions, most bonsai look their best when they’re full.

Fullness means different things for different varieties. I consider the deciduous trees below from Bay Island Bonsai’s recent exhibit to be “full.”

Chinese quince ‘Chojubai’

Root over rock Japanese maple

Shohin trident maple

Some of the other deciduous trees in the exhibit are on their way to becoming full. The trident maple below has a wonderful trunk, but the branches aren’t yet as well-developed.

Trident maple

The same could be said of the trident maple below. The primary branches are in place, as are a number of the secondary branches.

Root over rock trident maple

I’m not very familiar with Amur maples. Based, however on the specimen below, I imagine that they will ramify well in time.

Amur maple

Chinese quince grow quickly in hot and humid weather, less so in more temperate climes like Northern California. In time, however, I expect this tree to ramify well.

Chinese quince

The same can be said for bald cypress, a variety that can develop quickly in the right weather.

Bald cypress

Fullness is a different matter for conifers. Shown year-round with their foliage, conifers are often the fullest trees in winter exhibits. I think of the two Japanese black pines below as being “full.”

Japanese black pine

Japanese black pine

I’ll say the same for the following black pine. Bunjin are not typically as full as non-bunjin bonsai. The bunjin pine below, however, has a thick trunk, and can support the additional foliage. By showing the tree unwired, the artist conveys the tree’s age through the foliage as well as the trunk.

Japanese black pine

The following three pines aren’t as full as the above examples. I expect each to be as full as the above examples after a small number of good growing seasons.

Corkbark white pine

Japanese red pine

Japanese black pine

From the beginning, Bay Island Bonsai exhibits have featured trees at a number of stages in their development. And I think this will be the case for the foreseeable future. The trees in my collections are at wildly different stages, as are the collections of most enthusiasts I know – which is fun, as this means we all have plenty to look forward to as our trees and exhibits improve.

Eighteen inches, give or take, counts for a lot at Bay Island Bonsai exhibits. Generally, trees between 8″ and 18″ tall are considered medium bonsai and are exhibited in “three-point displays” – displays with two trees and one accent plant.

Composing these displays requires care. If you haven’t set up a medium display before, imagine the following. First, find a show pot for your favorite chuhin (12″-18″) or kifu (8″-12″) sized bonsai. Then find a stand for the tree. Then try to locate a second tree that compliments the first. Conifers or evergreen broadleaf, for example, complement deciduous trees well. Try to ensure that the second tree is somewhat larger or smaller than the first – displaying two trees that are the same size can look funny. Next, find a show pot and stand for the second tree. Add one small accent plant with stand.

With the proper elements at hand, the trick becomes arranging them in an acceptable fashion. The trees should either point to each other, or both should point to the accent. One tree should be closer to the back of the table, the other toward the front.

It’s quite a puzzle, all told. When done well, the results are beautiful and balanced. Here are a few of the three-point displays shown at Bay Island Bonsai’s recent exhibit.

Shimpaku and potentilla

Japanese flowering quince ‘chojubai’ and sawara cypress

Japanese red pine and olive

Weeping cherry and hinoki

Japanese five-needle pine and weeping cherry

Corkbark elm and shimpaku

Trident maple and Japanese black pine

Sierra juniper and olive

Corkbark elm and procumbens juniper

Root over rock Japanese maple and accent

Japanese beech and California juniper

Flowering plum and Japanese black pine

The GSBF XXXIII Convention Exhibit included more stones than bonsai. The two ends of the exhibit hall were devoted to suiseki, and some of the stones were displayed in more formal arrangements. The composition below was created by Mas Nakajima.

Suiseki display

Another suiseki display featured a large scroll and accent plant.

Suiseki display

The remainder of the suiseki were displayed along the walls of the exhibit room.

Suiseki

Suiseki

Suiseki

Suiseki

Suiseki

Suiseki

Suiseki

Suiseki

Suiseki

Suiseki

In looking over my photos from the exhibit, one display caught my attention – the shimpaku-olive display below. While both are outstanding trees with very different characters, they happen to be very similar in height. Is this an issue here?

Shimpaku and olive

Shimpaku

Shimpaku – interior

Olive

The exhibit also contained some great accents. One of my favorites hinted at the season.

Accent

Even the mini-slab on which the accent sits is well done – one of many details that helped make this such an enjoyable exhibit.

The Golden State Bonsai Federation (GSBF) held their 33rd Annual Convention, “New Faces,” last weekend in Santa Clara, California. As always, the Convention featured a bonsai and suiseki exhibit. Bonsai were displayed in formal arrangements with accents – suiseki displays book-cased the bonsai at opposite ends of the room.

Although the exhibit was not large, it did a good job of representing California bonsai with trees from different parts of the state. I hope in future years the exhibit can grow larger. California is host to many bonsai clubs and has many fine trees, making the GSBF convention an excellent venue for showcasing the state’s collections for bonsai enthusiasts and the general public alike.

For those who couldn’t make it this year, here are photos of the trees in the exhibit.

California juniper

Trident maple

Crabapple

Hinoki

California juniper

Montezuma cypress

Chinese quince

Japanese black pine

Coast Redwood

California Live Oak

Boxwood

Mendocino Cypress

Shimpaku, Olive

Shohin bonsai display – Japanese black pine, white pine, trident maple, azalea, cryptomeria, and shimpaku

Who do we have to thank for assembling this exhibit? One of the convention’s “New Faces” – Peter Tea. In addition to chairing the Display Committee, Peter led a Japanese black pine workshop at the event.

Peter Tea

After studying bonsai with growing intensity for almost 10 years and starting his business, Peter Tea Bonsai, Peter is planning to continue his study in Japan next year. Which is great – Peter does outstanding work today and is aiming to do even better work tomorrow – a wonderful goal for any of us in bonsai.

The Sacramento Bonsai Club held their 64th annual show this past weekend at the Sacramento Buddhist Church. The event left quite an impression. The exhibit showed how fun a spring show can be. The suiseki displays were a super addition to the show. And the 40 or so happi-coated club members were one of the nicest bonsai groups I’ve run into. Sacramento Bonsai Club is doing great after 64 years.

Boon Manakitivipart provided demonstrations both days and the event was well-attended. As the Sunday demonstration cleared most of  the exhibit, I had a chance to to take some pictures.

The juniper below is one of two Members’ Choice Award winners at the show.

Members’ Choice Award – Juniper

The trident maple bonsai display below is a good example of some of the well-thought out displays. I like the addition of the pale-blue – almost Kokufu-felt blue – screen behind the display. It’s a nice way to highlight the relationships among display elements and it does a good job of obscuring the backdrop support.

Trident maple

A number of trees were in full-bloom for the show. The satsuki azalea below was the brightest.

Satsuki azalea

As I walked into the exhibit, I met Greg McDonald, a club member that contributed several trees to the show. Like his brother Jay, Greg has some great deciduous trees, including the hawthorn below.

Hawthorn

Greg’s unsure about the variety of this hawthorn – not a big surprise considering the size of the crataegus genus, but an anomalie for a hawthorn enthusiast like Greg. He’s also doing a great job with the oaks below.

Coast live oak

Interior live oak

More highlights from the show.

Japanese maple and Japanese black pine

Shimpaku – itoigawa

White pine

Japanese flowering apricot – Prunus mume, commonly known as ume

Ginkgo

Juniper

White pine

California juniper

Boston Ivy

Japanese maple

Coming soon – more highlights from the show including some uncommon varieties for bonsai, suiseki displays, and spring accent plants.

Balance is one of my favorite topics for bonsai discussions. The term can be used broadly – I recently mentioned a few of the possibilities in relation to trees exhibited this year by the Bay Area Bonsai Associates.

One of the more primary considerations is whether a tree points left or right. Getting direction right has a big effect on a tree’s overall balance and is key to setting up formal displays. Just this week I’ve had several discussions about the direction of the tree below. It’s a Japanese black pine.

Black pine silhouette

It’s a great case study. Looking at it brings up a number of questions for me.

• Does the tree point left or right?
• What makes you think so?
• Does the tree have good balance?
• Would the tree look better if it pointed the other direction?
• Are there areas for improvement?

I’m curious to hear what you think about it: feel free to share your ideas – even if it’s your tree!

Bay Island Bonsai maintains a tradition of putting its newest members in the spotlight. Since the organization got its start back in 1998, new members have been subjected to the bonsai “stand exercise.” A group of stands are placed on a table and new members are given the instruction to “arrange them from least formal to most formal.” No other explanation is given.

At a recent meeting, one of our new members included John Thompson, one of the more talented and experienced bonsai artists among us. Here he gets “help” from Jeff and Peter.

John, Jeff and Peter arrange stands

The exercise usually brings up two questions: 1) What makes one stand more formal than another; and 2) What’s the point of the exercise?

Having watched the exercise unfold for over ten years, it’s clear that most people can supply a pretty good definition of what passes for “formal” without formal bonsai training. Flat bamboo “stands” commonly used for accent plants are usually found to be less formal than taller rectangular stands. Slabs are usually found to be less formal than natural root stands.

Rigid, concrete guidelines can be hard to come by. In general, straight lines are more formal than curved; tall – to a point – is more formal than short; and dark colors are more formal than light. How do tall stands with strong curves and dark colors compare with short, powerful stands with ornate detail? That’s where things get interesting.

Both stands are dark and make use of curves – which is more “formal”?

Where does the tall, octagonal stand with intricate details and strong lines fit in?

After getting a feel for gauging formality, one commonly asks why it matters. The answer I’ve held onto the longest begins with an extreme case.

In formal or semi-formal bonsai displays – for these purposes, bonsai displays with trees, stands and accent plants – the stands used can have a big effect on the display’s esthetic. Imagine placing a Japanese black pine with a thick trunk on a ceramic disc next to a tall stand with heavy legs supporting a delicate accent plant. Such an arrangement could put a lot of focus on the accent while downplaying the pine. If the goal is to engage viewers with the pine, one needs to select a stand appropriate to the purpose. This is one reason why I like this exercise – it helps us create the effects we are looking for when we assemble a display.

It also causes us to look at stands closely. The best are beautiful objects on their own. For being quite simple, the sweeping curves on the stand below create a lively, almost playful effect for such a strong and squat stand.

Great curved legs

The stand below is an interesting contrast – it is short and strong with powerful legs that quickly taper to delicate feet. It’s hard to find a good tree for this stand, but well worth the challenge.

Such tiny feet!

The stands below share several characteristics. They are taller than they are wide and they fit in the general square/round category. In other words, these stands serve well for trees with square, round, or other pots that aren’t rectangular. Which is more formal? I’d vote the stand on the left. It’s taller, darker, heavier – it appears sturdy – and predominantly features straight lines.

More formal and less formal bonsai stands

Good root stands are a pleasure. They’re super for cascade and semi-cascade bonsai in bonsai exhibits, and good for all sorts of things around the house the rest of the year.

Root stand