Austin Bonsai Society show May 2012

I thought I'd post some shots from our club show last weekend. We all had a great time, signed up some new members and talked trees.

Entering the building, the main tree, an old Ginkgo:








Buxus microphylla


Acer buergeranum


Cedar Elm (Ulmus crassifolia)

More...

Buxus microphylla


Acer palmatum


Buttonwood, Conocarpus erectus


Shefflera arboricola


Taxus cuspidata


Ulmus parvifolia 'Yatsabusa'

Thanks to your tour, my mother-in-law had lots of fun enjoying the trees...but then again you know that already. She really loved the cascade by the corner (2nd pic) and the forest (4th pic).

Hopefully in a few years, I will have one worthy to display too.

A few more:

Ulmus parvifolia


Pinus thunbergii 'Corticosa'


some Suiseki


Ficus retusa


Texas Persimmon, Diosporos texana


Ulmus x hollandica 'Jaqueline Hillier'

And a few more...

This was a funky stone which one of our members found, and seeing the Man in the Moon, carved this interesting wooden stand:


Another member specializes in stand-along Kusamono:


a few interesting accent plants



even a Prickly Pear cactus:

We had demos both days.. & raffled them off.
Boxwood demo on Saturday by Austin Bonsai Society president Mike Watson:


Another on a juniper by Mike:


I did the demo on Sunday (didn't take pics of myself!).

A couple pics in the Vendor room. Here is Ruby who makes Shohin pots:


Chuck from Jade Gardens Bonsai with trees and accessories


Some members took the opportunity to sketch some of the Bonsai


In all, it was a terrific weekened. Austin Bonsai celebrates its 41st year this year, and we're looking forward to more. Happy trimming everyone!

Nice show. Thanks for the pictures!!
Tona

There are several very nice trees in there, and the show looks really well put on, too. I really enjoyed the boxwoods, in particular. And your tables look taller than the usual display tables...the usual tables are always too short. Thanks for sharing your photos!

There are several very nice trees in there, and the show looks really well put on, too. I really enjoyed the boxwoods, in particular. And your tables look taller than the usual display tables...the usual tables are always too short. Thanks for sharing your photos

Thanks much! We put PVC risers under the tables to get them to the right height (to, I think about 38 inches). It really helps when looking at the smaller trees especially.

I love the ginkgo, and the cascading penjing on the tall floor stand. The longhorn figurine is a nice touch; is it bronze? Also, the Texas holey rock (man in moon) and stand are very nice. I love Texas holey rocks; they are similar to the Chinese Taihu Stones; both are limestone, eroded into awesome shapes with interesting textures. Nice show!

I love the ginkgo, and the cascading penjing on the tall floor stand. The longhorn figurine is a nice touch; is it bronze? Also, the Texas holey rock (man in moon) and stand are very nice. I love Texas holey rocks; they are similar to the Chinese Taihu Stones; both are limestone, eroded into awesome shapes with interesting textures. Nice show!

Thanks!
The Longhorn is by a bronze sculptor & Bonsai artist in San Antonio, she usually does full size and larger than life sculptures, but created a few that were also "Bonsai appropriate". Here is her website:
http://www.sculpturaldesigns.com/3/artist.asp?ArtistID=26495&Akey=8W568XGL

I'm a fan of the local limestone "holey stones" as well. It's rarely used in Suiseki because of the light color and rough texture. In Bonsai, it's not actually used much because of the idea that the stone is soft and will break down with watering and the growth of a tree. I use it with some root over rock, and think otherwise! After all, these are old water-carved stones which are even used as building material!

It's been almost 20 years since I've been in Austin, but I don't recall seeing many Texas Persimmons, Diosporos texana, being collected and trained as bonsai. (or did I miss something?) I remember seeing them growing wild and thinking what amazing material they would be. Beautiful bark, small foliage and fruit too - what more could you ask for?

The one you show here has tons of potential. Are they hard to collect and train as bonsai? Just curious.

Very nice show! Thanks for posting.
I love the cactus accent and plan to steal the idea.
Paul

Russell,
Tx Persimmons can be the best material we have for Bonsai, BUT they're wierd. They're not particularly hard to collect or to train (though the branches are brittle). The problems usually come when some aspect of care is neglected or changed and the tree can go into a kind of suspended hybernation. It can happen any time of the year - suddenly it stops producing leaves, and drops most of them, eventually defoliating. Then it will sit in this state for maybe 3 years, completely "dormant". I have two fairly nice Persimmons.. one went tharn like this last year, and the other did this 3 years ago. Both are still wick and green if you scratch the thin bark. Not all make it back, but a good percentage will eventually produce new buds and branches (it could be any time of year). I have 5 healthy ones and 2 sleeping beauties right now. It's frustrating, but the benefits outweigh the cost: smooth twisting whitish trunk, small leaves in scale, small marble sized black edible fruit, and best of all very dense hard deadwood that naturally oxidizes a dark charcoal black color looking like it had survived a fire.

by PaulH on Sun May 27, 2012 9:59 am

Very nice show! Thanks for posting.
I love the cactus accent and plan to steal the idea.
Paul

Thank you!
That's my accent, a prickly pear seedling that came up in one of my Bonsai. I didn't even know what kind of cactus it was until it began to make the pads. Then I nearly threw it away, as the thorns are just as sharp as the big ones! So I wired it in to a pocket in a rock and decided it would either die or become something interesting. Hardy little thing.. it barely has soil and does just fine.

Beautiful exhibit with some really nice trees ! Thank you for posting.

Ed

by Ed Trout on Sun May 27, 2012 12:33 pm


Beautiful exhibit with some really nice trees ! Thank you for posting.

Ed

Thanks Ed! It was terrific seeing you at last year's convention in Corpus Christi!