On January 14-15, 2023, the Bay Area Bonsai Associates held their 41st bonsai exhibition at the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland, California. Here are some of the highlights, starting with the Best Conifer award winner from the Pacific Bonsai Expo. Grafted shimpaku Another tree you might recognize from the Expo is a large Coast […]
Exhibits
Exhibits are where we can see bonsai at their best. Explore posts from Bonsai Exhibits in the U.S. including the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition and Japanese events including the world-famous Kokufu and Taikan-ten exhibits.
Small and medium displays at the Pacific Bonsai Expo
Let’s wrap up our initial tour of the Expo with some examples of medium and shohin displays. Given a standard exhibit space that’s six feet wide, it’s common to fill the area with two or more trees depending on their size. For medium-sized trees under 18″, we expect to see displays featuring two bonsai and […]
Conifers at the Pacific Bonsai Expo
If seeing great deciduous bonsai at the Pacific Bonsai Expo felt like a treat, seeing the conifers offered a different feeling. It felt like a great opportunity to catch up with trees, and species, that I don’t get to spend a lot of time with. Hemlock is the first species to come to mind. We […]
Deciduous bonsai at the Pacific Bonsai Expo
Back in March, when the submissions started coming in, Eric Schrader and I were thrilled by the quality of the deciduous bonsai. Deciduous trees, a group of species that includes maples, elms, and hornbeams, among others, are often under-represented in bonsai exhibits, particularly on the West Coast. They are particularly great trees for fall exhibits […]
Scoring broadleaf evergreen bonsai at the Expo
Let’s look at two of the more impressive broadleaf evergreens in the Expo, a ficus and a cork oak. Chinese Banyan Tiger Bark Ficus by Jeff SternImage courtesy Julian Tsai Cork Oak by Michael RobertsImage courtesy Vince Smith Both trees scored well in the judging – here are the details: Tiger bark ficus: overall rank: […]