Bonsai tree: Old News on the Pacific Rim

This stately Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) is from Weyerhaeuser’s  Pacific Rim Bonsai collection. The photo is from a gallery of Pacific Rim bonsai from Kahlua Bonsai on facebook. I was going to use this photo to start a post on Formal upright bonsai when, in the course of a little research, I stumbled upon an important piece of old news about the Pacific Rim Collection.

Better late….
Way back in April 2009 we featured a post titled Pacific Rim; a Glimpse of What You Can’t See. The Pacific Rim refers to Weyerhaeuser’s rather famous bonsai collection in Washington (near Seattle). The ‘Glimpse of What You Can’t See’ referred to the fact that the collection was closed to the public at the time. Turns out, that the collection is once again open. Somehow this piece of good news slipped by our rather faulty radar, so I suspect we’re a little tardy on reporting this.

The details
The Pacific Rim bonsai Collection is open weekly Tuesdays through Sundays (closed Mondays) year-round. Our operating hours are 10:00 Am – 4:00 PM. Federal Way Washington, between Seattle and Tacoma.

Photo gallery
A small sampling of some of the collection follows. You might notice that some text is cut off. If you are interested, you can visit the Pacific Rim’s remarkably well-hidden photo gallery to see what you’re missing.

Perfection.

Encore. This powerful old Sierra/Shimpaku juniper showed up on Bark almost two years ago in a post titled ‘The Bonsai Artistry of Michael Hagedorn Plus Freeze Dried Roots.’

59 trees!

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Bonsai tree: Shimpaku bonsai on sale at Green Club

Source: Bonsai Tonight
Shimpaku bonsai on sale at Green Club

Close by the Kokufu bonsai exhibit is the Green Club, home to a massive bonsai vendor area set up to accompany the event. Inside, some spectacular trees are for sale, including the shimpaku below.

What makes for good shimpaku bonsai? In addition to age, character, and beauty – general qualities that apply to all bonsai varieties – I’d say movement. Turning, twisting, even writhing formations of entangled live and dead wood characterize good shimpaku bonsai. Some of the better trees for sale at the Green Club this past winter have awesome movement.

Shimpaku juniper

Some of the trees for sale are quite refined, others are less so. And even though each of the these trees could easily be shown at most of the exhibits I’ve attended, all will benefit from further refinement.

Another awesome shimpaku

No matter how good the wood, bonsai really stand out when the branches exhibit the same age as the trunk. And the better the branch placement, the less likely we are to be distracted by imbalances that can draw our attention away from trees’ best features.

A graceful shimpaku

There’s also some room for fun when styling shimpaku. As the variety that best lends itself to abstract designs, shimpaku make great candidates for creative designs. I’ll admit it – I would not have thought to keep the lowest branch on the tree so far below the rest of the foliage.

Shimpaku with low branch

And I don’t know that I could have come up with such a well-balanced design for the shimpaku below.

Tall shimpaku bonsai

Of all of the trees pictured here, the following shimpaku reminds me the most of trees I’ve seen in California. Not unlike some California junipers, this tree has one main twist around the trunk and good deadwood.

Shimpaku with a twist

Finally, the shaggiest shimpaku of the lot. Less refined trees have been showing up more and more in Japanese exhibits as a trend towards more natural looking trees seems to be gaining traction. I would love the opportunity to decide how much work to do on a tree like this to best show off its unusual trunk.

Fun Shimpaku bonsai

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Bonsai tree: Slow Down & Stop Thinking So Much

Michael Hagedorn reworked this collected Sierra juniper (grafted with shimpaku) in a half-day refinement session at the Weyerhaeuser collection in Federal Way, Washington, way back in 2009. The before photo is below.

Sight of the Blind Man

It’s very rare to find writing that explores what goes on with our thoughts and feelings when we work on our bonsai. Mostly we just talk about our trees and what we want to do to them or what we already did to them. That’s why I was surprised and delighted when I read Michael Hagedorn’s latest post on Crataegus Bonsai, Sight of the Blind Man. (it’s actually the second installment in a series; the first installment is The Hook to Hang Your Hat On). Rather than say much more, I’ll provide a little teaser with a link and you can take it from there.

In Michael’s own words…

When I was in graduate school learning ceramics, a friend of mine asked our sculpture teacher when he was demonstrating assembling a work with clay slabs, sticks, and coils, ‘When you’re making those decisions, what are you thinking?’ The teacher paused and replied simply, ‘I’m not thinking at all.’ And he looked at us and carefully warned us of creating and analyzing at the same time, ‘You’ll fail at that. It’s the worst trap of all, thinking while making.’ You can read the whole article on Crataegus Bonsai.

The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk

Most people don’t practice the art writing much (if at all) and therefore don’t write very well, if and when they have to. Michael Hagedorn is the exception. He writes regularly and he writes very well. Some of Michael’s best writing can be found in his delightful and humorous book, Post-Dated – The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk.

Michael merging with an old Hemlock group. I wonder what he’s thinking. Before photo from 2010.

Before photo of the old Sierra/Shimpaku juniper at the top of this post.

Michael’s book

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Bonsai tree: Japanese bonsai garden

Source: Bonsai Tonight
Japanese bonsai garden

I don’t know whose garden this is, but I am impressed by the trees. The group plantings remind me of the bonsai from Saburo Kato’s nursery, but I haven’t been there in over 10 years and cannot say for sure. Enjoy!

Bonsai garden

Kuromatsu

Kaede

Nishiki matsu

Goyomatsu

Shimpaku

Yose-ue

Yose-ue

Yose-ue

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Bonsai tree: Shinji Suzuki’s bonsai garden

Source: Bonsai Tonight
Shinji Suzuki’s bonsai garden

Late summer is not the most exciting time of year in bonsai. Most conifers slow down a bit, decandled pines are busy producing new shoots, and deciduous trees aren’t looking as fresh as they did in Spring. Winter, on the other hand, is a great time to view bonsai, and Japan is a great place for the viewing. Thanks to Boon Manakitivipart, we can see some outstanding Japanese bonsai as they appeared this past winter.

The photos below are from the bonsai garden of Shinji Suzuki in Obuse, Japan. They were taken by Boon on his most recent visit to Japan this past February. I’ve done my best at guessing at the varieties, forgive me if I missed a few!

Ume – I don’t know the location of the tokonoma

Matt Reel has been studying bonsai with Suzuki since 2006, and he’s now senpai to Tyler Sherrod, who began an apprenticeship with Suzuki earlier this year. Matt and Tyler both worked with Boon before heading to Japan to study with Suzuki, much like Michael Hagedorn who wrapped up his study with Suzuki in 2006. Matt’s work is outstanding, and I expect the same from Tyler in the not-too-distant future.

Matt Reel, Boon Manakitivipart, Tyler Sherrod

The trees in Suzuki’s garden never fail to impress me. Here is a selection of the trees under his care – I’ll post more soon.

Kuromatsu

Ume

Bonsai

Goyomatsu

Tosho

Goyomatsu

Goyomatsu

Shimpaku

Bonsai

Shimpaku

Kuromatsu

Goyomatsu

Goyomatsu

Shimpaku

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Bonsai tree: Redwood Empire Bonsai Society’s 28th Annual Show

Source: Bonsai Tonight
Redwood Empire Bonsai Society’s 28th Annual Show

The Redwood Empire Bonsai Society held their 28th Annual Show in Santa Rosa, CA, last weekend. Long known as one of the biggest and best bonsai shows in Northern California, REBS again lived up to their reputation. Two demonstrations by Kathy Shaner, a large vendor area, and over 200 bonsai on display drew large crowds to the event. Bonsai were typically displayed in 6′ display areas with accent plants. All trees were well-labeled, and most labels included information about the trees’ age. Some of the numbers indicated a general age – others were quite specific. Here is a selection of some of the large bonsai on display.

Korean hornbeam – 92 years

Shimpaku – 456 years

Shimpaku – 456 years

Mendocino cypress – 106 years

Monterey pine – 51 years

Trident maple – 80 years

Japanese white pine – 50 years

San Jose juniper – 42 years

Cork bark oak – 45 years

Fig – 29 years

Grape – 100 years

Grape, zinfandel – 110 years

Pomegranate

Hornbeam – 73 years

Japanese maple – 40 years

European beech – 34 years

Hawthorn – 39 years

Atlas cedar – 53 years

Japanese maple –

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