Years ago, my ume bonsai grew upright as an informal upright tree. After losing all but one of the branches several years ago, I decided to change the tree to a semi-cascade style. When it was ready to go back into a bonsai pot, I found I didn’t have any good options for it. The […]
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.
Summer show prep: repotting black pine in July
With the fall bonsai exhibits still two months away, now’s a great time for some last minute show prep. The owner of the pine below plans to exhibit the tree in the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition in Rochester, New York, this fall. Black pine – one month after decandling To show the tree at its […]
Bonsai displays at the 16th biennial Shohin Seminar
With small bonsai display, the focus tends to be on the arrangement of elements as much as on the individual trees themselves. The great challenge, then, isn’t just developing trees that work on a small scale, but in having enough different trees from which selections can be mixed and matched to create compelling displays. Easier […]
Setting a display with a Western juniper and Japanese maple
I’ll be showing a medium sized Western juniper and Japanese maple at this weekend’s Bay Island Bonsai exhibit – that much is clear. What I’m still working on is how they’ll be arranged and which stands work best. Here are the two trees – the maple on a hexagonal stand, and the juniper is on […]
Showing accent plants at their best – wood slabs by Austin Heitzman
Last month, the Bonsai Society of San Francisco invited stand maker Austin Heitzman to talk about his craft. Club members learned about Austin’s design process, the materials that give form to his designs, and the treatments the materials go through on their way to becoming stands. I’ve been a fan of Austin’s since seeing his […]