For this year’s Bay Island Bonsai exhibit, I displayed six trees and four accents. Two of the accents were created for past exhibits while the other (smaller) two came together just before the show. The trees, on the other hand, have all been in my collection for some time.
Two of the pines are the same age but don’t look it. Both the red pine forest and the shohin black pine were planted in 1994, but the red pines still look young to me. It may be another five to ten years before they begin to look their age.
Japanese red pine – 22 years from seed
Japanese black pine – 22 years from seed
The shohin black pine was an obvious selection for the exhibit as I’d recently shown it at the Artisans Cup who, by the way, launched today their exhibit retrospective. More on that plus a review coming soon!
Yaupon holly
Dwarf wisteria (Millettia japonica ‘Hime Fuji’)
Black pine – 12 years from seed
The white chojubai below caught my attention as it was fully budded and starting to bloom right as the exhibit was set to open. A new pot and some moss and it was ready to go.
Japanese flowering quince ‘chojubai’
The hens and chicks below have showed up in several BIB exhibits. A year or two ago, a leaf from a nearby succulent fell into the pot and began growing. I’ll leave it for the time being.
Hens and chicks with succulent
Sedum with selaginella
The accent below is a bit bare. Am curious how it will look in another year.
Selaginella with two kinds of moss
Juncus effusis – possibly ‘Spiralis’
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Mac McAtee says
Jonas, Could you address some care issues with your accents. Do you leave them in the pots that they display in year round? If you do, how do you care for them? Bury them in another pot or bed so they don’t dry out quickly? Do you take out of the pot and put in a similar size nursery container and bury that in a bed or larger pot?
Just wondering how you keep the grouping of plants in tact and get them through the year. If you have already addressed this in another posting, please tell which one and what year to go find it.
Jonas Dupuich says
Hi Mac – good question. I typically leave them in the display pots year round. When they become full, I sometimes divide them to make more. Most of these mature in the final pots, but sometimes I grow them in 4″ plastic pots. Most do fine with regular water, though I sometimes set the pots in a bed of pumice so the roots can escape into the pumice. This encourages faster growth and hedges against drying out.
I appreciate the question – I’ll look to do a post on this later this year!
Mac McAtee says
Thanks Jonas. Looking forward to learning more. Mine usually end up dead, usually because they dried out between daily watering. I just have to do better and would welcome knowing about your methods of success.