Bonsai Society of Greater St. Louis

There are now four days until Selection Monday, the day our club will begin to select trees accepted into the exhibition for Bonsai Central. Today’s post will discuss the number 4 in Japanese culture.

Four is a number that holds very negative connotations in many Asian cultures; similar to how the number 13 is regarded by many in the West. For anyone that is fortunate enough to be able to travel to Japan to view any one of their wonderful bonsai exhibits, you will be hard pressed to find a display that contains four of….well anything. For example, there are two point, three-point and five point displays, but rarely if ever four-point. Twin trunk and triple trunk trees are highly revered an quite common, whereas with quadruple trunk trees….or maybe they are called quad-trunk trees?....even the name sounds like an abomination. On flowering displays with four flowers in bloom, one is often removed-such is the aversion to having four present in any way shape or form. Going well beyond simple aesthetic preferences for odd numbers, as discussed in my earlier post, the number 4 seems to be “a bit extra” to Japanese and other Asian cultures. But where does this ire and animosity originate.

Like many things (including bonsai) in East Asian cultures that surround the ‘Middle Kingdom’ the aversion to the number four originates in China. In Mandarin, the word for four (sì) is quite similar to the word for death (sĭ). If fact, those unaccustomed to hearing the nuanced pronunciation of tonal languages may be unable to distinguish between the two words. ( https://youtu.be/-n7E354W6Rk?si=Rl2BX-Pkdy_Wkg1T&t=65 ) Throughout history, cultures have ‘borrowed’ heavily from one another and countries throughout Asia have utilized Chinese (kanji) as the framework on which to build their own languages. Those languages that took the kanji appropriation (or in many cases assimilation) route to language building all share a similar connotation between the words “death” and the number “four” (e.g. Mandarin, Shanghainese, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese etc.). So engrained is the association between the two words that scientific studies have shown that people of Chinese and Japanese decent living in the United States were 13% more likely to die on the fourth of each month due to “physiologically induced” stress ( https://pages.ucsd.edu/~dphillip/baskerville.html ). I can only imagine the collective PTSD of the Asian-American community elicited each July by the increasingly raucous ‘bombs-bursting in air’ celebrations on the Fourth.

All that said, over time as I personally gain a bit of patina and my list of departed loved ones (whether human, furry or arboreal in nature) gets ever longer, I find that superstitious beliefs, regardless of their origination, are just plain….well…silly. Avoidance of the thought of death does not preclude its presence. In short, outside of a vicious physical attack from one of the more aesthetically traditional members of our club, I am no more likely to suffer ill-will from composing a 4-tree arrangement than my mother is to break her back from the countless number of cracks I have carelessly tread since I gave up restricting the areas I placed my feet around age 8.

In fact, studies have shown that active thought and recognition of death creates more well-adjusted and happy societies. No other place is this more clearly exhibited than in the small Buddhist country bordering China to the south: Bhutan. In Bhutanese culture, citizens are encouraged to think of their death and demise over five times a day. Despite their preoccupation with death, or more likely because of it, Bhutan is consistently ranked as the happiest country in the world. Honest daily acknowledgment of the reality that we are ALL constantly just one bad driver away from our ultimate ends has a way of firmly grounding the frivolous, and bringing things of true importance into greater focus. In short, by realizing that death is a possibility, we appreciate all of which we are fortunate enough to have…we enjoy our lives (happiness).

Although I don’t get in the suggested 5 reps per day, in my personal life I do my best to take a page out of the Bhutanese playbook for happiness and consider my own death regularly. I find that my relationships, especially those with my children and wife, have dramatically improved as a result. It is difficult to bemoan the cranky behavior of a child when you have just ruminated on the possibility of that same child losing a parent before the age of 10 and what a dire impact that would have on their life. In place of avoiding the petulance, one tends to embrace the child instead--contented with the fact that for at least this moment you can be the one that comforts and guides them.

Bringing this full circle back to bonsai, I find that acknowledgment of the death of trees in our care and the act of thinking deeply on those that were lost while we tinker with living/breathing/growing creatures in our back yards provides a practitioner with an increased sense of reverence. To the dismay of my teacher Tyler Sherrod (Dogwood Studios), I do not discard the carcasses of trees that have perished for an entire growing season. Instead, they remain in the areas of the benches where they last stood (unless of course they died from an infectious disease) getting passed over with the hose each day: a solemn reminder of my misfortune, mistiming, and/or mismanagement. I won’t lie and pretend this practice is a joyous one. I often feel my blood boiling as I rue the quality and/or potential of a beloved, yet now barren, dead trunk. However, in the grand scheme of things I find the practice leads to a greater appreciation for the trees that are still alive and healthy, more careful and precise work on the next trees gracing my workbench, and celebration when everything works out perfectly.

If you have any trees that have worked out perfectly over the last several years please consider celebrating by sharing them with our wonderful community at Bonsai Central. Email entries to [email protected] . Although the event is occurring in 2024, I assure you it will be full of happiness, joy, and (living) tiny trees.

Bonsai Central will feature a full slate of talented artists – all 6 of them headliners in their own right. With such a varied set of skills and personalities to utilize, our scheduling committee has had their hands full working out the best methods to showcase each of the artists talents and abilities. As a result we have workshops, full demos, pop-up demos, artist roundtables and interactive events scheduled for the long weekend.

One of the most intriguing demo arrangements we will trial at Bonsai Central is a ‘speed dating’ themed styling event. Although the specific details and timing of the event are still being refined, I would love to publicly share the general premise of the event at this time:

There will be six medium-sized trees, which the artists will get ample time to study throughout the weekend before the event. Artists are not to converse about their personal vision for the trees.
We will randomly select which tree each artist starts with
Six tables will be lined up, similar to a speed-dating event. In this event, the trees are the ones that move, while the artists remain stationary. In 15-20 minute intervals (still working out logistics of this) artists will have the opportunity to work on the tree set in front of them. When time runs out, the tree will be passed to the artist next to them. We will continue working and passing the trees until each tree has been worked by all of the artists.
Each artist is free to do/change whatever they want to a tree, regardless of what the previous artist has done/changed.
For her time with each tree, Young Choe will be asked to create a small companion planting to accompany the tree. At the end we will have a brief discussion about how the artists approached each tree and whether they would have done things substantially different would they have been the only one working the tree.

So without further ado, I present to you a brief (bonsai) dating profile/bio of the six amazing artistic talents with which some lucky trees will soon have the opportunity to spend 15-20 minutes of stylistic bliss.

*Please note all of the artists profile sections are written by the author of this post and do not in any way reflect upon the artist themselves, their work, or their nurseries. Particularly the “What I am looking for in a tree” section.

Bjorn L Bjorholm Eisei-en Bonsai
Undeniably talented American bonsai professional and educator recognized internationally as a master of his craft. He spent six years as an apprentice under Master Keiichi Fujikawa where he achieved certification as a Bonsai Professional from the Nippon Bonsai Association. He has styled numerous trees that have been featured in some of Japan and North America’s greatest exhibitions: Kokufu-ten, Sakufu-ten, the Nationals, and Taikan-ten. Currently developing an online learning platform, Bonsai-U, where he publishes video-based content breaking down various techniques, and best practices for caring for bonsai.

What I am looking for in a tree: Just looking to have a bit of fun, set it and forget it so to speak. No long term commitments, as I soon will depart the country for work. Any shape or size or species.

Tyler Sherrod Dogwood Studios
Tyler Sherrod resides in Hickory, NC where he owns and operates Dogwood Studios, a bonsai nursery centered around developing and maintaining trees of the highest quality. Tyler, a film studies minor and unabashedly huge fan of Star Wars, was drawn to the ‘dark side’ of bonsai through employment at the Bonsai Learning Center in Charlotte. Tyler apprenticed for five years under the tutelage of Master Shinji Suzuki and the Taikan Bonsai Museum in Obuse Japan in 2011, obtaining his certification as a professional from the Nippon Bonsai Association in 2016. Trees he has styled have been showcased in Kokofu-ten, Taikan-ten, The Nationals, PBE, and Sakafu-ten, often winning top prizes at these shows.

What I am looking for in a tree: Looking for a tree with great bones that I could see growing old with. Prefer a tree that will bring me joy time and again, aging together like fine bourbon. Despite my own grizzly exterior, I prefer a tree with gentle lines and a formal Japanese aesthetic. The closer the foliage resembles Darth Vader’s helmet the better for me.

Marija Hajdic Meleda Bonsai Studio by Marija Hajdic
Marija Hajdic is a talented bonsai professional and practicing lawyer from Croatia. Over the last two decades of honing her skills, including stints studying under the tutelage of Walter Pall and others, Marija has developed her keen eye for developing trees, particularly from deciduous yamadori. Living outside of Split in the village of Dicmo, Marija showcases her work at her thriving nursery Meleda Bonsai Studios. She frequently displays trees at many of Europe’s premier exhibitions, including the Trophy (previously Noelandar’s Trophy).

What I am looking for in a tree: During my travels to America I am looking to get my hands on something foreign to me. I am not intimidated by the size of the tree in front of me and will bend (or prune) even huge branches laid before me to my every whim.

Andrew Robson https://www.instagram.com/rakuyo_bonsai/
Locally born, the founder of RAKUYO-en and a prominent figure in the American bonsai community. His garden and school are dedicated to the promotion, natural elegance, and techniques associated with the deciduous bonsai form. , Andrew enjoyed a 3-year apprenticeship under Michael Hagedorn, which laid the foundation for his success in bonsai. Remaining in Portland after his apprenticeship, Andrew is now President of the Bonsai Society of Portland, and has worked diligently to help continue the upward trajectory of the largest bonsai club in the United States. His winter hazel won best deciduous at PBE in 2022.

What I am looking for in a tree: Must look good naked, no unsightly scars or blemishes. Doesn’t mind a fixer upper as long your heart is in the right place. Willing to hook up with some old trees that I may have messed around with in the past while living in STL. If you are less than 8” (shohin) I may pass you along to my dad, who prefers that sort of thing.

Mauro Stemberger Mauro Stemberger Italian Bonsai Dream
Mauro Stemberger, a bonsai artist with an infectious passion for his craft, is the driving force behind Italian Bonsai Dream, a garden, school, workshop and website operating out of Feltre Italy. Beginning his bonsai journey as a young whip of 14 years of age, Mauro has had the unique opportunity to learn from renowned European Bonsai artists like Hotsumi Terakawa, Marc Noelander, Horst Crekler, and Edoardo Rossi. A transformative period of his career took place in 2002, when studied under the tutelage of Enrico Savini at the Progetto Futuro Bonsai school. Mauro is a frequent traveler, sharing his knowledge and skills with eager bonsai practitioners across the globe. Mauro is a working architect in his native Italy. In addition, Mauro is an avid and astute yamadori collector, attending collecting expeditions on multiple continents.

What I am looking for in a tree: Looking for a raw piece of material, untamed, one that is ready for me to radically change and construct into a grand architectural masterpiece. I travel to the States frequently so looking for a tree that will liven up my journey each time I visit the area. Must have a big base.

Young Choe https://www.instagram.com/kusamonochoe/
Young Choe is an artist specializing in the creation of kusamono, or as in the literal translation from Japanese, “Grass-things”. Young first developed her interest in kusamono while volunteering at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. Young then traveled to Japan to study with master kusamono artist Keiko Yamane, a former student of Saburo Kato. At the 2021 National Show in Rochester NY, Young, along with her colleges and students, were commissioned to fill an entire display aisle with her kusamono, an exhibit that was undoubtedly quite memorable for all of those lucky enough to attend.

What I am looking for in a tree: Above all else I am interested in a good companion. Must be full of complements. I have a knack for being a wonderful partner, and am able make my partner better. I expect the same from a tree. Must be clean and pest/disease free as I don’t mess with insects.

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Thanks for humoring that bit of fun. We hope that you are able to join us May 4th at Bonsai Central where we will see how the dating event turns out during the banquet. A lucky number of us will get to take home some of these well-dated trees at the auction. Immediately after the artists have each had their way with them.
If you have a certain special tree at home, that you have been courting for any number of years please consider exhibiting it at Bonsai Central. There are now 6 days, one day for each artist at the event, to get your entries registered for full consideration. As always, email [email protected].

**I took a quick break for the holidays, but now I am back to counting down the days until 2024. **

There are seven days until the beginning of 2024: one week. While pondering this length of time this morning I have been tinkering with the question “What does the span of one week mean for a bonsai?”

On some plant’s time scales, this span of time is an eternity. For example, the short-lived thale cress, a flowering w**d in the mustard family that is utilized extensively in scientific research, completes its entire life-cycle within a 6 week period. Miss a week in the life of the thale cress and you may not even recognize it seven days later.

On the other end of the spectrum, one week is less than a blink of an eye to the mighty ancient old-growth trees that grace certain portions of the world. Methuselah, a Bristlecone pine in the White Mountians of California has long been considered to be the longest lived non-clonal tree in the world, with a confirmed age of 4855 years (for those interested, the Llangernyw and Fortingall yews in the UK and the Alerce Mileranio cypress in Chile have challenged Methuselah for the longevity crown but none of them have a “confirmed” age). For Methuselah, one week is a miniscule .0004% of its life…not really even worth mentioning.

For those of us that cultivate bonsai we do our best to stick toward the latter end of the plant longevity spectrum, slowing down the metabolic rate of species that already boast well-endowed lifespans. Thus, when one decides to add a tree to their garden, particularly a well-developed tree or yamadori, there is an unspoken pact we make with the tree which is often analogous to a wedding vow....to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part . This pact of course excludes the more common reason one might move a tree along to someone else’s garden, to make room for or raise funds for another (bigger/better) tree! But the point remains; with a little luck and a lot of skill many of our trees should outlive their caretakers, and in some cases several caretakers.

Since it is often the human component of the bonsai ‘equation’ that seem to be the weakest link, perchance the better question to ask is “what does the span of one week mean to a bonsai practitioner?”. This question is thankfully a bit easier to wrap our heads around both qualitatively and quantitatively.

For discussion purposes, let’s say a practitioner has 40 trees of varying stages of development (which seems to be about average in my bonsai circles) What and how much needs to be done to ensure each of these is getting the care and development they deserve? As we all know, one of the most consistent bits of maintenance is the ever-present watering cycle which we do on a weekly to seemingly bi-hourly basis depending on the season/weather. However, most of us have slipped the watering process somewhere into our circadian rhythms at this point so to consolidate the discussion let’s pretend we don’t all lose weeks of our waking free time on these daily general bonsai upkeep and maintenance tasks. Instead, let’s focus on the seasonal tasks, those that we may pull a tree down from the bench to undertake: repotting, cleaning/thinning, pruning, (un)wiring, fertilizing, pest management.

Within these tasks, the general rule of thumb is we get one ‘major’ insult a year (i.e. a large chop), often coupled with a few minor insults (i.e. light wire on branches emerging from chop site). This works well for trees in development and may result in a tree being pulled into the workshop 3 times a year, while fertilizing and spraying for pests on the bench another 3 -4 yearly touches. In totality 6-7 yearly touches.

Trees that are closer to being finished likely need less fertilizer and wiring/unwiring cycles on rapidly growing whips. However, the length of time each general task takes gets exponentially longer – such is the price of refinement. Anyone that has cleaned both a juniper in development (semi-carelessly removing yellow needless and shoots from bottom of branches and crotches that are unneeded) and a refined one (delicately plucking seemingly half a needle at time) will greatly sympathize with the logarithmic mismatch in time required between the two tasks. So although a tree in the refinement may only need 2-4 touches a year, each one could take several days to fully complete. In short, refinement trees typically have less tasks to complete overall (less fertilizer, less wiring events, less repotting, less pruning) but require more time to do the fewer tasks. If a tree is being prepared for showing, it may require several days of work on each task over several years. Thus, I would estimate around 7-8 “touches” a year for more refined trees.

So taken together, I am fiddling with any individual tree around 7 times a year. If we use the 40 trees per garden number, along with the 7 touches per year, we are messing with our trees 280 times a year. In other words, each and every week I should be working on the needs of about 5 trees to maintain a 40-tree garden. The point I am driving home here is that devotion of time is a one of the most important yet underrated factors to becoming proficient at bonsai. Unfortunately it is also a zero-sum commodity….where time spent one place can not be used elsewhere. Thus, the more we are working on growing trees, the less time we have for refinement and vice versa.

Due to the inherent limitation of time, the sooner one is able to recognize the inverse relationship between ‘more’ and ‘better’ the quicker we are able to achieve our bonsai ‘goals’. However, moving along trees we have had for years or decades is often a prickly and at times unachievable endeavor. Beginners in our group will often will have ~100 saplings and take care of them just fine (2-3 touches per year each). However, 4-5 years down the road when those same practitioners (now intermediately skilled) acquire better material yet retain all of their saplings (now needing semi-regular wire, pruning, and care) I often see both the trees and the grower stall in development. On the other hand, those that have the continual wherewithal to pare down their collections as they bring in better material never seem to slow their progression curves. This is a skill I myself am still learning and applies well beyond bonsai.

So, in that spirit, on the first of the year I will be going through my entire collection and making a binding decision as to whether that tree will remain in my garden on January 1 2025. As it happens, Bonsai Central will also begin to select which trees to showcase in its exhibition. Thus, I am terming January 1st 2024 as “selection Monday”.

I hope that some of you are able to join along in the festivities in your own gardens. If you are looking for (better) material to fill in any newly obtained bench space, look no further than our convention May 3-5 in St. Louis. We will have a bustling marketplace full of top-class vendors.

And finally, if you have highly developed trees, please consider using one of your interactions with trees this week to take some photographs and submit them for display at Bonsai Central. It would be a waste to devote so much time to these trees without taking every opportunity to show them off to other tree-heads. To submit, email the tree and a few photos to [email protected].

In a meeting many moons ago our club was discussing the stylistic preference in Japanese cultures for odd-numbers of trees in forests and group plantings. After one of our former presidents had thoroughly convinced the group as to the stylistic merit of odd-numbers (“which by nature lend an asymmetric feel to a composition”), a cheeky member of the group quickly piped-in “then why does this tree you brought in as an example have 16 trees?” Never one to skip a beat in retort, our former president calmly said “because you are the only one that even bothered to count”. It should come as little surprise that immediately following this exchange all discussions remotely approaching horticulture screeched to a halt in lieu of an anthropological straw poll as to the maximum number of items a ‘typical’ (bonsai) person would likely count. Despite a few outliers here and there, of both the self-deprecating (3) and boastful (15) varieties, the general consensus around the meeting was 8-9 things. In groups of items any larger than that, our brains naturally just switch to the default that’s “A Lot of Things”.

After a lively 10 minutes of enjoyably (off topic) discussion, our former president deftly reeled us back into our interactive lecture covering the building and designing of forests. Nevertheless, the dialogue surrounding the number of trees one can immediately recognize lives rent free in my mind, and I often (always) find myself internally challenging my brain to enumerate trunks within the first few seconds of viewing a friend or club member’s forest. I (personally) find seven trunks and below to be nearly immediately recognizable and agree with Japanese aesthetics that at these lower quantities even numbers are quite a bit harder to stylistically palette compared to their odd-numbered brethren. But that said, right at the 8-10 mark I find my mind instead takes up a much more qualitative approach to multi-trunked trees in pots, releasing my psyche from its accounting duties in favor of directing focus toward a forest’s stylistic sense of place, cohesion of branch structures, technical merits, etc. To my stylistic sensibilities 9 seems to be the transition upon which the balance between ‘many’ and ‘some’ is hinged. Above 9 trees and you clearly have a forest whereas below 9 you are boldly flirting with a clump.

Speaking of counting things up to 9, today there are now only 9 days left until the first day of 2024 - the day Bonsai Central will begin its rolling admission process to select trees, kusamono, and suiseki for our exhibition in early May. The organizing committee has conveyed to our jurors that quality is paramount above all else while choosing displays that will comprise the show. Thus, we are yet to finalize the award categories, despite the $7500+ purse of prize money attracting considerable interest in this topic. Instead, we plan to first review the trees that were accepted, and then devise our award categories so that similar numbers of trees are eligible for each award. I am secretly hopeful that numerous forests (9 trees or otherwise) will be submitted and selected for the exhibition so that ‘best forest’ could be a prize category all on its own. I guess we will all have to wait a few more days to find out. Until then, here is a collection of Kyukan, or 9 tree forests to whet your appetite. Let us know your favorite…and don’t worry, I promise that each of them has exactly 9 trunks…but then again at this point who’s counting?

We hope that you all will make plans to join us at Bonsai Central. https://www.bonsai-central.com/register

If you have a kyukan forest, or any other high quality bonsai you would like to show at Bonsai Central, please email [email protected] with your name, contact info and 2-4 photos of the tree(s). For more info, please see the entry page of our website. https://www.bonsai-central.com/register

Tenjin - a deadwood (jin) feature extending above the apex of live foliage on a bonsai

At the final stages of a tree’s lifetime, the apex of the tree has often been significantly impacted by the passage of time. This can be the result of a myriad of issues including lighting strikes, insect infestations, brutal winters, and often, just the diminished efficiency of the tree’s water transport capabilities which renders the apex of the tree unviable. As a result, it is a common feature on ancient trees (particularly those with lifespans well beyond the century or so achieved by us feeble humans) to have deadwood at or near the apex. A vestige of a life well lived, with deadwood now occupying the areas where mighty foliage once stood.

In bonsai, two of the core tenants of the art form are mimicry of the natural world and the expression of age. Well-developed trees display each of these throughout the composition, whether that be though well ramified branches with appropriate taper and branch angles, trunks with pleasing natural movement and mature plated bark, or roots that appear to be strongly gripping the earth with their significant basal flare a.k.a. nebari. On conifers (and select deciduous species) deadwood features look both quite natural and simultaneously suggest the tree has moved well beyond its seedling and sapling stages and firmly into maturity. In order to push the illusion of age one step further, we can utilize a tenjin, or a deadwood feature at the apex of the tree, to signify the tree has moved past maturity and has started its decent into decline.

Many of the most powerful and memorable compositions in bonsai reflect a tree in decline and take advantage of the illusion of age afforded by a tenjin. This technique is used extensively in Japan, particularly with Junipers. Perhaps most renowned, at least in the West, are the various powerful examples from Master Mashahiko Kimura that litter our news feeds and fill us with ambitious envy. Anyone lucky enough to get their hands on The Art of Kimura published in 1992 (now over $400 a copy on Amazon) will undoubtedly have the exquisite tenjin that graces the cover emblazoned in their mind.

Although recent work by a slew of artists returning from Japanese internships may eventually topple it, in the United States the magnificent “Goshin” by the legendary John Naka is the most iconic piece of American Bonsai to date. With the first tree begun by Naka in 1948, Goshin was refined and elaborated over three decades; eventually becoming the 11 tree foemina Juniper forest for which we all are familiar. Now residing in the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum of the National Arboretum in Washington DC, Goshin, protector of the spirit, conveys a scene that is delicately poised on the precipice between verdant life and impending demise. To strike this perfect balance, Naka leaned on subtle and intricate use of tenjins that grace the tops of several of the trees. It is a striking composition, idealized, yet familiar, which forces a period of reflection as you gaze into its depths, often unable to perfectly articulate what makes the piece so captivating yet unable to look away.

Today there are merely 10 days left in 2023, we have officially reached the waning moments of 2023’s lifetime. Would the year be “arborified” as a tree, it may resemble the tree above, long past it’s prime from a health, vitality, and growth standpoint, yet alive and kicking…tenjin still fully intact. But as Mother Nature is want to do, with the passing of the old come rebirth. As branches are shed on the tree of 2023 and it soon comes to an end, 2024 will finally have enough “light hitting the forest floor” to explode to life.

From a bonsai perspective, 2024 promises to be a stellar year. There are several fantastic shows occurring across the country including our own, Bonsai Central occurring in St. Louis on May 3-5 2024. We have heard of so many friendly folks that plan to attend and we can’t wait to put on a stellar show.

As a result, the planning committee is impatiently counting down the days until the end of the year when we will begin selecting and accepting submissions to display bonsai at our show. So, if you have a tree you would like to share with the community (whether it has a tenjin or not) take this holiday break to photograph the tree and email your name, contact info, and 2-4 photos of the tree to [email protected]. We will be selecting trees on a rolling basis starting January 1 2024, so the best chance to get your tree in the show will be to submit it before the start of the year.

We hope to see you all there! Happy end of 2023.