I will be showing these bonsai at the 10th Anniversary Bay Island Bonsai Exhibit - January 17 & 18, 2009. I've spent the year getting them ready, and now they are resting waiting for the final primping. These trees will form 3 separate displays. The maple (2nd from the left) and the five-needle pine (on the right) will be shown together, and the stewartia on the left, and the black pine 2nd from the right will each form their own separate display. After the exhibit I will post the formal "portraits" of the trees in the show coats.

Bonsai waiting to be shown

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jtroth > I will be showing these bonsai at the 10th Anniversary Bay Island Bonsai Exhibit - January 17 & 18, 2009. I've spent the year getting them ready, and now they are resting waiting for the final primping.

These trees will form 3 separate displays. The maple (2nd from the left) and the five-needle pine (on the right) will be shown together, and the stewartia on the left, and the black pine 2nd from the right will each form their own separate display.

After the exhibit I will post the formal "portraits" of the trees in the show coats.

jtroth > This is a stewartia, also known as "summer camellia". In Japanese it is called "hime-shara". The outer bark, which is a beautiful red, peels away exposing the beautiful wood underneath.

To be made ready for show I will use a dry soft toothbrush to clean off any flaky bark, and oil the trunk and main branches very lightly. I'll do this a couple weeks before show so it has time to weather and fade. This (I will use camellia oil or canola oil) will bring out the colors of the wood, but if done right will not look oily or shiny.

Next I will place moss as top dressing over the entire surface of the pot. This year the weather has cooperated and I already have quite a bit of moss growing on its own.

Lastly, the day before show I will wipe the pot with a damp rag, and then oil it very very lightly using an old sock filled with walnut bits.

The pot was made by Michael Hagedorn.

jtroth > Japanese black pine (kuromatsu) in a Japanese Tokoname pot.

A couple of weeks before the show I will cover the soil surface with moss.
The day before the show I will remove the guy wire holding the branch on the right, trim the extra long needles to match the rest, and clean and lightly oil the pot. (By trimming the needles right before the show they won't show any brown tips).

jtroth > Japanese maple (momiji) in a Japanese tokoname pot. This is the very first show for this tree. The trunk and root base (nebari) are well developed, however the branches are still in development. They have just the beginnings of refinement. Last year it could not have shown at all.

After the leaves started changing color I removed them all, and used a wet toothbrush to remove any moss growing up the bark.

A couple of weeks before the show I will repot the tree a smaller pot (the same pot, but the next size down), and cover the soil surface with moss. Shortly before the show I will remove all of the wires from the branches, and clean and lightly oil the pot.

After the show I will return the tree to this pot where it will continue its development.

jtroth > Japanese 5-needle pine (goyo matsu) in an old (Taisho era) Japanese pot.
Daisaku Nomoto has been doing the styling on this tree.

A couple weeks before the show I will clean up the dead wood and paint it with diluted lime-sulfur mixed with a couple drops of sumi ink and put moss on the soil surface. Just before show I will clean and lightly oil the pot.

This tree has been shown before, but is becoming a much better bonsai. The pot it is in now enhances it, the potting angle is better, and gradually the branches and foliage are developing.

I will be showing these bonsai at the 10th Anniversary Bay Island Bonsai Exhibit - January 17 & 18, 2009. I've spent the year getting them ready, and now they are resting waiting for the final primping.

These trees will form 3 separate displays. The maple (2nd from the left) and the five-needle pine (on the right) will be shown together, and the stewartia on the left, and the black pine 2nd from the right will each form their own separate display.

After the exhibit I will post the formal "portraits" of the trees in the show coats.