You know a bonsai show is close when someone asks you for the sock during workshop. “The sock,” in Bay Island Bonsai parlance, refers to a sock filled with crushed walnut meat. Walnut oil is great for cleaning bonsai pots and juniper bark for bonsai exhibits. And the effort required to apply it is well […]
Display
Bonsai is meant to be displayed. The Display posts cover how to present bonsai at exhibits, the Accents with which bonsai are displayed, and the criteria we use when selecting Bonsai Pots.
Pot selection redux
There are a number of things to consider when selecting a bonsai pot – especially when preparing a tree for exhibit. The pot needs to blend into the composition, but depending on the exhibit, this could entail very different criteria. Garish glazes might be appropriate in a show that focuses on containers. More subtle selections […]
Show pots
When a tree is ready for exhibit – needles plucked, wires wired – it’s time to select a show pot. In Japan, it’s common for bonsai professionals to repot bonsai into show pots so they look their best during an exhibit. For some of the more prestigious shows, bonsai owners rent pots for exhibit. Shortly […]
BIB practice display
The practice display at this month’s Bay Island Bonsai meeting comes courtesy of Jim Gremel. The wonderful itiogawa juniper is one of many Jim has grown from scratch. Itiogawa juniper It’s shown, below, with a colorful pyracantha – a great variety to exhibit this time of year. If all goes well, the berries will last […]
Bonsai pots from Japan
Akio Kondo, senpai to Boon and a fellow student of Kihachiro Kamiya, is in town to do bonsai for a month. Summer is slow for bonsai professionals in Japan which makes it a good time for them to visit. Akio will very busy here wiring and styling trees and leading a few workshops. He also […]