Shohin On Parade

jrodriguez wrote:Martin,

Yes. Awabuki flowers in two (2) year growth branches, hence the idea of developing bonsai in the exposed root style with hanging branches.

Viburnum are mostly temperate trees, with some exceptions in the tropics. If you take a look at Kunio Kobayashi's book, you will see several Awabuki bonsai.

Kind regards,

Jose Luis

I've wondered about Viburnum Odorarissimum as I have hedges of it in my yard. It makes white flowers and berries but the leaves on this variety are very large. Maybe it's time to dig one up. I could always show it defoliated.

This Japanese Black Pine has been in my collection for over 10 years. It started as a nursery tree and was chopped to significantly shorten it. It is now about 8.5 inches tall and 14 inches across. So even though it appears large is it still a shohin?

I didn't take a before photograph but it pretty much looked like a ragged bush. By needle plucking and thinning along with candle pruning I expect to finally get some small needles on this tree. Tonight after needle plucking and wiring the tree, I cut the needles. This is a short cut that some frown upon but it does let a lot of light into the tree interior. When the new needles grow in, the old needles will have brown cut tips and will be readily identifiable and hence easy to pluck. Even though this tree doesn't look like much now, the major and minor branches are finally where needed and so this tree might be show ready for next season if I get a good crop of short needles.

I made the pot but I feel it needs a slightly smaller pot. I would also like to pot it a little deeper in the pot. Any pot suggestions?

Three different pot choices in these virtuals

Tall replica of an old Chinese pot.


An old Japanese pot I have had for 15 years or so.
I believe I had this tree in this pot before but it was growing too slowly. Now that the branches are where they need to be, slow growth would not be bad.




The third choice is a red lava crackle pot by the Chinese copying a Japanese style that probably originally copied a Chinese style.

Rob Kempinski wrote:This Japanese Black Pine has been in my collection for over 10 years. It started as a nursery tree and was chopped to significantly shorten it. It is now about 8.5 inches tall and 14 inches across. So even though it appears large is it still a shohin?

Hi Rob

Very nice tree. Looks promissing. Great movement in the trunk too.

Maybe on the large size to be a Shohin. Looks more like Kifu.
Not only the size is a measure of the bonsai belonging to the Shohin category. At the same time, the balance of the tree is important.

Example 1): You may have a tree where the width of tree is more than 40cm, but less than 25cm in height. The physical volume and size of the tree makes its all over volume to heavy to be a Shohin. Maybe the size is right regarding the height of the tree, but a heavy or massive root base makes the feeling of the tree out of style suiting the aesthetics of shohin-bonsai.

Example 2): The tree is maybe 30 cm in height, but because it is the "bunjin" style ("literati"), having few branches, little mass of leafs and therefore having the appearance of being a small thing (shohin), and acceptable as a shohin.
On exhibitions, also larger trees are exhibited. This is a list of the exhibited sizes that is used by the All Japan Shohin-bonsai Association:

Shohin-bonsai (up to 20 cm / 8 inch high)
Mini (maximum 10cm / 4 inch – the rules of measures are exact and also includes long Jins at Junipers e.g.)
Chuhin (middle size, maximum 45cm / 18 inch)
Kifu (over 20cm, / 8 inch - around 25-35cm / 10-14 inches)
Bunjin / Literati (may be up to 70-80 cm high / 27-32 inches but no exact demands in this group)

Regards
Morten

Thanks for the comments Morten. Any suggestions on the pot?

Hi Rob!

Also from my side a clearly: Well done! I like the movement of the tree very much. Will also fit to my collection.
M

Rob Kempinski wrote:Thanks for the comments Morten. Any suggestions on the pot?

Rob

I do think your pot is beautiful. If had was a little less high it might be better, but to early to say. The canopy of the tree will have greater volume later, so I would not decide anything now. Just wait and see until the tree has developed further. Then I think the pot actually is the right one.

Regards
Morten

Bump


A Willow Leaf Ficus shohin over rock
and, a WLF cascade shohin I started this spring.

Dale Cochoy wrote:Bump


A Willow Leaf Ficus shohin over rock
and, a WLF cascade shohin I started this spring.

Looks good Dale. Your pots I presume?

Is it too late in the year to defoliate the trees. Would be nice to see the structure.

Rob, not my pots.
I don't defoliate tropicals as a rule ( rarely) and only severely trim in early summer. Also, I never remove all the roots on ANYTHING as I often see done in Florida. No 'Saw Jobs' .Tropical work season for ME is typically Mid-May through end of August or maybe into mid-Sept if it's still pretty nice. No 11 month tropical work here! It is too late here now to do anything to tropicals. It's 45 at night now and in 50"s during the day. I cheat the season with my tropicals by putting them in the greenhouse ( a few days ago) for 2 or so weeks this time of year. It gets nice during the day and if needed I run a 1,500W heater at night to warm up a bit. After I get back from Asheville they will go in the house. Here are a couple pics I took last year at this time showing all my tropicals ( only) in the greenhouse before going inside. I take advantage of this to spray them a couple times to help with bugs indoors. This works out good for me because I don't need to put hardy trees in there until about Thanksgiving time usually. It is not heated at all during the winter.

Again I dig out this post here to up date a few pictures. Hope that is OK for you...

Martin


The ilex I'd show you once. Now in a better fitting pot

This one is new in my poor collection. In the left corner you see it before I shape it.

Also new, but for sale because I got to much trees. Azallea with red flowers.

Part of the exposed roots

My little quince. Easy to see that fall has started in Germany

The Premna japonica over the rock.

Is that a Texas marching band I hear? ... Oh no, it's merely a Texas Ebony (Pithecellobium flexicaule) shohin on parade.

This severely slanting style came from a club auction earlier in the year. It started as nursery grown cutting. I shortened the tree by 50 percent and regrew this dense crown by using wire to drastically wiggle the branches. From left to right it is roughly 9.5 inches and only 5 inches tall. I made the pot but am looking for pot ideas.



Now that the crown has filled in I feel it would look better planted further to the left in the pot as in this virtual.
Texas Ebony makes a compound leaf so it is tough to get the foliage to do exactly what you want.

Rob,

like that Texas Ebony.

I found that it helps to remove the inner leaves here and there, which then stimulates the exterior to grow for additional fine trimming. Brings the shape in nice and slowly.

Book package arrived Monday. Slowly going through. More privately.
Thanks a million.
Khaimraj

Rob ... OK? That's great!
Very interesting and nice trees. The premna over rock is very good, and I like the solution moving the Texas Ebony to the left in the pot. A not so deep pot will suit it very well I think. A round lotus shaped pot or alike will match the tree I think. But a nice piece anyway.

Best regards
Morten Albek

I think the Japanese Snowball in earlier post is most likely Japanese Snowbell or Styrax japonicus.

I've a few of them in training and the leaf looks right.

Doug

Hi Rob,

So many nice trees. Congratulations.

Budi

Budi Sulistyo wrote:Hi Rob,

So many nice trees. Congratulations.

Budi

Thanks Budi, hope all is well. Here is another one, a weeping style Chinese Elm in a pot by Horst Heinzreitler of Austria. 8.5 inches from pot top. Thi sis the extent of our fall color.
I haven't seen too many weeping shohin bonsai around.

Another shohin, Ficus microcarpa Green Island, in a high quality Chinese pot (made from virgin clay, not repugged).



The other is a Japanese Black Pine I've grown from seed. Might be getting a bit big for shohin and it needs to be styled with some wire.

Rob,

thanks for the encouragement, in the black pine.

Interesting the virgin clay bit. Is it that the clay was simply dug from the ground, cleaned and a pot made ?

Have you a present image of the weeping elm to show ?
Thanks for showing,
Khaimraj

Khaimraj Seepersad wrote:Rob,

thanks for the encouragement, in the black pine.

Interesting the virgin clay bit. Is it that the clay was simply dug from the ground, cleaned and a pot made ?

Have you a present image of the weeping elm to show ?
Thanks for showing,
Khaimraj

Yes. It is the original Yixing clay body. Other colors have been repugged.

Khaimraj Seepersad wrote:
Have you a present image of the weeping elm to show ?

It is full of leaves. I will try to grab a photo later today.

Rob,

on the Yi xing, I just bought a few pounds from a Chinese supply, one is orange, will let you know how it fires.
Will be great to see that elm.
Thank you.
Khaimraj

Khaimraj Seepersad wrote:Rob,
Will be great to see that elm.
Thank you.
Khaimraj

Here it is. Pot by Horst H. Enjoy.

Rob,

firstly, thank you for taking the time to post the image. It is appreciated.

Looks just as good in leaf as it is defoliated. I find your solution to a weird Chinese shape, refreshing and very appealing to look at.
Will keep a look out for it's further development.
Stay well.
Khaimraj

I love this thread, Rob. I offer a few of my own humble shohin for the parade, in varying stages of development...

Japanese White Pine, in a Chinese pot by Master Shu (not sure of spelling):



Kingsville Boxwood, a gift from my dear friend Victrinia Ridgeway, in a pot by Tony Remington:



Japanese Dwarf Garden Juniper, in a Tokoname pot by Heian Kosen:



Privet, collected from an old hedge, in a Japanese tray. I have a lovely, smaller pot by Tousui to be used for exhibition, but it's not ready for it yet:



Close-up of the (mostly natural) deadwood:

A tiny crabapple, newly planted in an older Japanese pot, artist unknown:



Close-up of the pot:



Another privet collected from an old hedge, in a pot by Yozan:



And another Japanese Dwarf Garden Juniper in a nice rock landscape pot by Tony Remington:



Thanks very much for looking. Of course I would be happy to hear any comments or suggestions.