How to wire a bonsai pot
In preparation for repotting season, Boon brought several pots to January’s Bay Island Bonsai meeting that exemplified the proper way to prepare pots for repotting. The technique differ slightly for pots with one, two, three or four drainage holes. First cover drainage holes with screen to keep soil in and insects out. The examples below feature “Z” clips – “C” clips may be used for small drainage holes (see “Repotting a Trident Maple” for an explanation of the “Z” clip). Tie-down wires are then measured and fitted into place. For round pots, measure out a length equal to the circumference of the pot. For rectangular pots, measure out a length equal to two long sides of the pot and one short side (two lengths and a width). You can make adjustments based on the placement of the drainage holes and the depth of the pot – for example, use longer lengths for deeper pots. For pots with a single drainage hole, secure tie-down wires to a “little-man” clip (the clip resembles an armless stick-figure).
One-hole pot from above
One-hole pot from below
For pots with two drainage holes, situate the wires at the inside edge of each hole. This lets us use as little wire as possible and prevents the screen from moving when we tighten the wire.
Two-hole pot from above
Two-hole pot from below
The preparation for three-hole pots is similar to the process for two-hole pots. The difference: one hole gets two wires, the remaining holes get one wire each.
Three-hole pot from above
Three-hole pot from below
For rectangular pots with holes in the corners, place each tie-down wire so it connects two holes along the width of the pot. Connecting holes along the long side of the pot wastes wire. Placing the wire through the holes at the points closest to the center of the pot will prevent the screen from moving when the wire is tightened.
Four- or five-hole pot from above
Four- or five-hole pot from below
For small accent plants, use thin wire and forgo the “little-man” clip.
One-hole pot for accent plants from above
One-hole pot for accent plants from below
If it’s hard to see the wires against the screen, click the photos to get a better look.
Bay Island Bonsai’s 13th annual exhibit
Bay Island Bonsai’s 13th annual exhibit
After hosting ten exhibits in Hayward and two in Pleasanton, Bay Island Bonsai moved its annual exhibit to the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland, California. The 13th annual event was a big success, drawing crowds of experienced bonsai folk as well as many who are new to the art. As the Garden Center contains two large rooms, we displayed all large bonsai in one room and all small and medium sized bonsai in the other. I really liked the split. At previous exhibits, large, impressive, trees like the black pine below would invariably end up next to much smaller trees. It was tough for the smaller trees to compete. By presenting like-sized trees together, following the convention employed at the Kokufu exhibit in Japan, it was easier to appreciate every tree in the room.
At the center of the exhibit was an old roughbark Japanese black pine that belonged to Mas Imazumi. It has long been a favorite of mine.
Roughbark black pine – Chinese antique pot
About ten years ago the tree was much weaker than it is now. I expect its renewed health will lead to some styling enhancements in coming years.
One of the fullest trees in the exhibit was a prostrata juniper. The tree is large – and heavy! It is also well-balanced, suggesting clear movement to the right.
Prostrata juniper
A Western juniper, only a few years out of the ground, made an interesting contrast to the prostrata juniper. Its young foliage hints at the tree’s future shape, leaving the viewer to appreciate the interesting movement and deadwood characteristic of many collected Westerns.
Western juniper
Japanese black pine
Shimpaku
The blue atlas cedar below has been a fun project. I helped repot it more than ten years ago during its initial styling. Planted in a 20-plus gallon container, the tree taught me how useful a reciprocating saw can be during repotting season. Now far more refined, the tree is well on its way to become an impressive cedar bonsai.
Blue atlas cedar
Cork bark black pine
White pine
The semi-cascade white pine below is another favorite of mine. The delicate foliage provides a nice contrast to the heavy trunk. One of two white pines once affixed to a large stone by Yasuo Mitsuya, the pine has more recently found its home in a custom-built pot by Michael Hagedorn.
White pine – Michael Hagedorn pot
Scots pine
Shimpaku – old Yamaaki pot, Kinkazouin
Japanese black pine
Shimpaku – Chinese antique pot, check out the feet!
Japanese black pine
Japanese black pine – Chinese antique pot
Exposed root red pine
The exhibit featured deciduous bonsai as well. Although not as well-represented as the coniferous trees in the exhibit, the bare trees suggested that BIB members appreciate a wide variety of bonsai.
Stewartia – Michael Hagedorn pot
Trident maple
Ume
Ginkgo
Catlin elm
Star magnolia – Chinese antique pot
Japanese maple
Trident maple – Koyo pot
Japanese maple
The broadleaf evergreens, on the other hand, were simply not well-represented at this year’s exhibit. That will change in future exhibits. For now, here’s an olive that has only been trained as bonsai for a few years.
Olive – off to a great start
Mas Nakajima provided an installation of his suiseki art for the exhibit. I heard several explanations behind the arrangement, but my favorite comment about these stories belongs to Mas: “Too much story,” he said. The painting, and the stones, were a welcome addition to the exhibit.
Suiseki art by Mas Nakajima
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
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