Show trees are full trees
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.
Three-point displays
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
More from GSBF Convention Exhibit
More from GSBF Convention Exhibit
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.
Golden State Bonsai Federation XXXIII Convention Exhibit
Golden State Bonsai Federation XXXIII Convention 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.
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