Last year I defoliated a shohin Japanese maple in an effort to stimulate back buds (see “Defoliating a Japanese maple“). The approach worked (see the “Follow-up“). This year I want the shoots that developed from these back buds to grow strong. To encourage this, I removed the leaves from the established branches and left the […]
Shohin
Bonsai Development Series #14: Sacrifice branches – the last mile
Not all sacrifice branches need to be big. Small sacrifice branches are a good way to thicken the trunk and close wounds on trees even when most of the branch work is complete. Here’s an example. Shohin black pine – 7″ (16″ with sacrifice branch) The tree above is fifteen years old from seed. I’d […]
Bonsai from the Gafu-ten sales area
One of the highlights of the Gafu-ten exhibit is the sales area. Like the sales areas at other top bonsai exhibits, the Gafu-ten sales area featured bonsai at all stages of development from seedlings to show quality specimen bonsai. Some of my favorites are pictured below. Japanese black pine Japanese white pine Dwarf jasmine Japanese maple […]
Beautiful shohin at the 2019 Gafu-ten exhibit
After looking into the practice of shohin display, I thought it would be nice to focus on some of the beautiful trees at this year’s Gafu-ten. Here are some highlights. Shimpaku Zelkova Cryptomeria Chojubai Princess persimmon Shimpaku Winterberry Isozanshou – Osteomeles subrotunda Princess persimmon Border privet Shimpaku Chojubai Princess persimmon Shimpaku Beautyberry Trident maple Related […]
Combining elements to balance shohin displays
Over the years I’ve come to expect directional bonsai to be displayed next to shohin box displays. Box display with shimpaku that leans toward the center of the display At Gafu-ten, I was surprised by how many of these trees shared their own stand with the accent plant. Box display with an additional stand Close-up […]