Bonsai tree: Case study: balance – follow-up

The tree from Tuesday’s Case study was shown this past January at Bay Island Bonsai’s 11th annual exhibit.

Japanese black pine as shown at BIB’s 11th annual exhibit

I hope Boon will share the tree’s story some day – it’s a good one. The tree has been in development for a long time from nursery stock and is looking really good. Here’s a close-up showing the spring candles. Note how well the tree’s strength is balanced from top to bottom.

Spring candles on Japanese black pine – the tree is in great health

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Bonsai tree: Spring bonsai display

Bay Island Bonsai’s annual exhibit is held in January each year. It is a great time to show bonsai, but it’s not always the most colorful time of year. At a recent BIB monthly meeting, we worked on a display that included a Japanese black pine and a Japanese maple. In winter, the maple would be bare. In spring, the foliage is bright green.

Boon setting up a display at a BIB monthly meeting

Or bright red. Boon brought two maples to try with the display, one green and one red.

Green and red Japanese maples

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Bonsai tree: Bonsai stories

What to do when a big branch in the front of the tree blocks your view of the trunk? Layer it and make a new tree. Last weekend’s Bay Area Bonsai Associates show featured both halves of a boxwood created by Ned Lycett. Here’s a shot of the main tree.

Boxwood bonsai

And here’s the branch that’s now a semi-cascade boxwood bonsai.

Boxwood and suiseki

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BIB’s Annual Bonsai Exhibit

I lifted this sinuous Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) off a great gallery at Bonsai Tonight from the 2010 Bay Island Bonsai Exhibit. Though I can’t tell for sure, it looks like at least five full twists in the trunk.

Here’s another heavy-trunked bunjin. It’s a Sierra juniper, also known as Western juniper. It and it’s close cousin, the California juniper are becoming favorites of bonsai enthusiasts here and abroad.

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Shohin exhibition

Shohin has a fun place in the bonsai world. One of the best events in shohin world that I know about is the biannual event held by the California Shohin Society in Santa Nella, CA. The next one is a week away – visit Shohin Seminar 2010 for details.
One of my favorite unproductive discussion topics focuses on the maintenance of large or small bonsai. Unfortunately I can not reproduce even the tenor of the greatest expounding on the topic I have witnessed, but if you’re curious, find Guy Guidry after dinner at your local bonsai convention and fire away.

Here are some photos of shohin on display at Bay Island Bonsai’s 11th annual exhibit.

Japanese Maple

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A Sierra Juniper’s Eight Year Journey

After. January, 2009 at Bay Island Bonsai show “An Exhbit of Fine Bonsai.” If you go to Styling on Bonsai Boon you can see how Boon got from before (below) to here.

Another example of a formidable bonsai artist expertise

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