This past weekend, Bay Island Bonsai held its 14th annual exhibit at the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland, California. For those of you who attended – thanks for coming! I hope you enjoyed the show. For those who couldn’t make it, I’ll share some of the highlights. We’ll start, today, with some scale junipers. […]
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.
Accent plants
The Redwood Empire Bonsai Society puts a lot of effort into the accent plants that accompany their bonsai. Accent plants are a nice way to indicate the season and provide color to bonsai shows. I know little about what makes accents suitable to given bonsai displays beyond whether or not they “look good” to me. That, and […]
Impressive broadleaf bonsai at REBS 29th annual show
I was very impressed by the broadleaf and deciduous bonsai on display at REBS’ recent show. These often difficult to develop and maintain bonsai are in great shape – strong evidence of good bonsai care. The trees are also evidence that broadleaf bonsai can be powerful. Bougainvillea – about 45 years old Korean hornbeam – about 73 […]
Questions about conifers at REBS 29th annual show
Bonsai exhibits are a great opportunity to see different styles and varieties at their best. As such, my visits to exhibits tend to trigger a lot of questions. Finding answers isn’t always easy. Some questions are simple matters of horticulture that I have yet to learn. Others are matters of opinion – food for thought. […]
Trees with more than one trunk
The recent Redwood Empire Bonsai Society’s Annual Show boasted a healthy complement of multi-trunk and grove bonsai. Special considerations come into play when multiple trunks are present – should the trunks point the same way, should some be bigger than others, and how can balance be maintained between trunks? The more trunks that are present, the more […]