By Harold Johnson Jr

Judges for the 2010 Joshua Roth New Talent Bonsai Competition select you as a finalist. Step one conquered. You enter the competition room and locate a table where you set up your tools. There are still a few minutes before the competition begins so you look at each of the junipers in the blind draw for the competition material. Tree number two is the one you like the least. Of course, you draw tree number two.

By Enrique Castaño, Mexico
2010 John Y. Naka Award Winner

Species of bonsai: Avicennia germinans
Common name of tree: Black mangrove
Source of bonsai material: collected
Years in development from stock: 4
Starting height: 112 cm (43 inches)

Black Mangrove, Avicennia germinans, is a good species for bonsai.

Despite its common name, this is the lightest in color of the mangroves. Black Mangrove has opposite leaves, pale gray-green that can become almost white, which is also why it may be known as white buttonwood. The leaves are shiny above, and often found encrusted with salt. The leaves are usually larger than most mangroves at 4.5 to 15 centimeters (two to six inches) long and are oblong to lanceolate in shape. However, they can be reduced to ½ cm or less if the branches are constantly pinched. The tree can grow up to eight meters (24 feet) in high. The flowers are small — 0.2 centimeters (1/8th of an inch), white to yellow in color, and blooms from November to May. The fruit is about one centimeter (0.5 inch) in length and irregularly oblique shaped. Black Mangrove is one of the few mangroves that don’t grow on stilt roots. The root system consists of long underground cable roots that produce hundreds of thin, upright pneumatophores in the water around the tree. These structures have numerous pores that are thought to conduct oxygen to the underground portions of the root system. This tree is particularly strong and cuttings will take very easily, I have yet to see someone use it for bonsai. In March 2007, I was passing through an area near the coast of Tulum, Mexico, about 300 miles from my home and I saw a lot of dead trees. Most of them had great movement and the white dead wood was incredible. I decided I could use some for tanukis or just simple Ikebanas. Of course, I had to get into the mud and get soaked. It was however a sad site, as I could see hundreds of dead trees with many more following the same trend. As I was passing I saw a few that were still slightly alive, so I decided to collect them. This particular Avicennia had a great lifeline and interesting deadwood that needed just a bit of work. But first, the health of the tree had to be established. The soil in which they were living is only a 30 cm deep and contained almost no useful nutrients, with high salinity and no air. Although the species is very tough, few plants in the world would survive such conditions. Also, having been exposed to hurricanes over the decades prevents any tree from growing very tall and the constant currents of air will kill sections of the trees. The high salinity in the mist covers the wood, giving it a white appearance and preventing it from rotting. A few weeks after collection the tree’s health was much improved. New growth came quickly and most importantly new roots were beginning to form. I had chosen a soil that contained a rough structure and a lot of volcanic rock that would keep a lot of humidity but provide more air for the roots. Many times beginners and non-practitioners of the art think that bonsai artists want the trees to grow slow. Quite the contrary, the faster it grows the faster one can shape it. Using the right growing conditions and knowing them gives the artist the plasticity to think what to do. One can follow simple rules and that’s fine but one has to know what the time frame would be to have the tree look decent.