Bay Area Bonsai Associates’ 39th annual exhibit

The Bay Area Bonsai Associates held their 39th annual exhibit last weekend at the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland, California.

It’s been a few years since I last posted photos from the BABA show and I’m glad I have the chance to do so this year as there were some great trees on display (see “BABA” for photos from past exhibits).

One of the first things that struck me about the show was that many of the trees were showing signs of maturity as bonsai. Put another way, it was clear the trees were being carefully plucked, trimmed, and wired on a regular basis. This steady work results in densely ramified branches and full silhouettes that can make relatively young trees look old.

Let’s start with a beautiful cork oak. The tree is massive but it works as a bonsai because the foliage complements the large trunk well.

Cork oak

And here’s an olive that looks equally massive despite its much smaller size.

Olive

Among the deciduous trees, short internodes on the newest branches revealed that the trees are growing slowly – an important sign of age in mature bonsai.

Japanese maple ‘Shishigashira’

Larch

Whatever the stage of development, it was nice to see trees undergoing training techniques that will make the trees look better and better over time.

Shimpaku juniper

Ume

Root over rock Japanese black pine

Root over rock Japanese black pine

This same phenomenon was visible among the smaller trees too. The best example was a coast redwood that was about 5″ tall.

Coast redwood

Even the shohin display with the smallest trees in the room showed signs that the trees were well maintained. The only suggestion I can make for the display would be to use a smaller stand, if available, one as tall as it is wide.

Shohin bonsai display

Thanks to everyone who put on this exhibit and to Peter Tea for his Saturday evening demonstration – it was a great start to the new bonsai year!