Mind Blowing Bonsai Exhibition

leonardo wrote:Very nice! They sure have the science of nebari down to the very best. The pots, well that is another story.

What's the matter, you don't like Ming dynasty pots for bonsai?

leonardo wrote: Branch on inside of curve doesn't bother me at all.

Glad to hear it - sticking to the rules all the time does not reaveal artistry.

Rob Kempinski wrote:A dwarf Hibisucs (the flower is a dwarf - the tree is large.) A very rare species. The variety of trees at this show in incredible. Taiwan has the good fortune fo growing many many different species.

Rob, did any of the trees have Latin names? Could this be Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii, our weedy little wild "Turk's cap hibiscus" that grows along the Gulf Coast and into Florida???

Thanks for sharing, can't wait to see more!!!!

Russell

Rob since you were there....Tell us about the soil they use.

Russell Coker wrote:

Rob Kempinski wrote:A dwarf Hibisucs (the flower is a dwarf - the tree is large.) A very rare species. The variety of trees at this show in incredible. Taiwan has the good fortune fo growing many many different species.

Rob, did any of the trees have Latin names? Could this be Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii, our weedy little wild "Turk's cap hibiscus" that grows along the Gulf Coast and into Florida???

Thanks for sharing, can't wait to see more!!!!

Russell

Hey Russel, that is pretty close. I took photos of the name tags of the ones I didn't recognize and will sort them out upon my return home.

irene_b wrote:Rob since you were there....Tell us about the soil they use.

It varies but there was a surprisingly large amount of akadama from Japan used.

Rob,
Thanks for posting these! Magnificent! I'm wondering, was there no moss on any of the trees? Is this just a local convention, or is there another reason for the bare bonsai soil?

Chris

bonsaikc wrote:Rob,
Thanks for posting these! Magnificent! I'm wondering, was there no moss on any of the trees? Is this just a local convention, or is there another reason for the bare bonsai soil?

Chris

Regional and personal preference. Not everyone in the world follows the Japanese model.

I imagine the junipers get pretty big in the field, and then have to be cut way back. Do you know if it is standard practice to graft new branches onto a field-grown juniper? Or are there generally sufficient useable branches low on the trunk?

Wow! Thanks Rob. If I had to pick one place to go for a vacation-sai it'd be Taiwan. The less is more notion, doesn't look very popular there. I really like the fact that even a relatively small trunk can look great with a relatively large canopy.

Hi Rob, I guess u don't need the CD now. If u do, just drop me a line. It was indeed a mind bursting display of some of the most massively beautiful bonsai I ever seen. Here are a few more from my lense. I have posted more on my blog http://newzealandteatreebonsai.blogspot.com/.
CJ
Still having problem uploading my pic.

Finally I got it right.

IMO this is what bonsai should look like. When I was a kid and just had a vague notion of what a bonsai was, these are what I imagined. Of course then I also imagined that they grew from seedling to bonsai in the same pot :-)

A truly inspiring post Rob, thanks for taking the time.

The soil used for bonsai in Taiwan is Huashan sand, a local product. Akadama is not used at all. Given the fact that Taiwan has high humudiy, Akadama turns into muck quickly.

jose luis

Good god..

Thanks for photos.Amazing the first tree(assume a Podocarpus) has a trunk that looks like very ancient Yews (Europe) as well as Cypress(China). Don't see that type of curving trunk on Podocarpus collected. I assume many years of early training and trunk not carved deadwood to produce taper/movement. Dustin Mann

I asked a few Taiwanese who were taking care of the trees on display on the type of soil they used. They told me it is a type of Taiwanese sand. When I pointed to the akadama which was clearly visible on many trees, they replied that it was dressing for display purpose. I got some really different anwers to my question of watering on a typical day then (15 - 30 C). The first was once, the second was twice and the last was thrice a day. Make your choice. Attached is a Taiwanese master who worked on creating a literati pine tree. Earlier he gave a talk in Taiwanese (Hokkien) on how trees grow in the wild.
CJ

jrodriguez wrote:The soil used for bonsai in Taiwan is Huashan sand, a local product. Akadama is not used at all. Given the fact that Taiwan has high humudiy, Akadama turns into muck quickly.

jose luis

They import this Huashan sand from China jose luis? I ask because Huashan mountains are in China no... I can understand the demise of Akadama.

Ciao.....Leonardo

jrodriguez wrote:The soil used for bonsai in Taiwan is Huashan sand, a local product. Akadama is not used at all. Given the fact that Taiwan has high humudiy, Akadama turns into muck quickly.

jose luis

Hi Jose,

I actually saw bags of soil with the Akadama kanji on it in Taiwan. Maybe some people use it. Akadama comes in a unfired and fired state.It sure looked like Akadama. The fired stuff is similar in hardness and durability to turface. BTW, I use the unfired Akadama in Florida and find it lasts well even with our humidity. I would guess that freeze thaw cycles (which I don't get) are tougher on it than just plain water/humidity.

Thanks for the Taiwan show pictures, Rob. When I stop drooling I'll find new inspiration to improve my own trees. Right now they're tucked away for the winter, but next spring (and there is always another spring) I will remember your pictures.
Marty Haber

Huashan or Yangming sand is a local product. It is the basic component of most of the bonsai medium in Taiwan. If fact, Yangming sand is used 100%, without any organic matter whatsoever for Ficus microcarpa.

Akadama is only used as a cosmetic dressing for exhibiting trees. While in Taiwan, a few fellow students of Lao Tze Cheng Cheng Kung and I were thoroughly discussing soil types and the subject of Akadamaa came. For the reasons i explained in my prevoius post, akadama is not used.