Last week the Bonsai Society of San Francisco held their 55th annual exhibit as part of the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show held at the San Mateo Event Center. This was the first time I was able to attend the show in recent years, so I was excited to head down to San Mateo. For […]
Search Results for: pine
Evaluating bonsai at BABA’s 34th annual exhibit
Things we look for at bonsai exhibits: healthy, beautiful trees in well-thought-out displays, clean pots and attractive top-dressings. This much is true for almost any bonsai exhibit. It’s when we start to consider criteria for evaluating individual trees that things get interesting. I have yet to visit an exhibit that lined up the trees on […]
Bay Area Bonsai Associates 34th Annual Exhibit
This past weekend the Bay Area Bonsai Associates, affectionately known as BABA, held their 34th annual exhibit at the Lakeside Garden Center in Oakland, CA. The exhibit featured bonsai in formal and informal displays. Most of the formal displays are situated on individual tables that let viewers see trees from three sides. This is great […]
Feed me!
What’s wrong with this picture? Cork bark black pine The tree is growing, but there is no sign of fertilizer. With tea bags filled with cottonseed meal That’s better. The sooner I can start fertilizing, the stronger I can make the tree by decandling time. I enjoy seeing the male flowers on pine, despite the mess. […]
Time for a smaller pot
First develop the trunk, then work on the branches. That’s how I think about bonsai development. If the trunk has yet to reach its final size, I use large pots and encourage vigorous growth. When I’m happy with the trunk, I move trees to smaller pots and focus on refinement. A number of my black pines turn […]