Criteria for Show Trees

[shipsquartersfarm]

In an attempt to limit fisticuffs, or at least misunderstandings, at the beginning of our annual show, our local club is in the process of attempting to codify reasonable expectations for the appearance of show trees. What set rules do you all use?

[lewisjk]

The ABS has (or had) the "Bonsai Manual for Appreciating, Judging, and Buying Bonsai" 4th ed. (which is what I have).

You can find it here: http://absbonsai.org/book-service/abs-manuals

[MatsuBonsai]

Unfortunately our local club has no such rules, and I think our overall display suffers as a result. I believe we should do our best to display the best of the club to promote good bonsai to the general public. However, with our local club, anyone that shows up with a tree in hand gets a spot in the display. This sometimes means trees with little or no training make it into the show. Not everyone is aware of the time and effort that some take to prepare their trees for a show.

• At the very least pots should be clean (and perhaps lightly oiled where appropriate) and the soil free of weeds and other debris.
• Wire, if present, should be neat and not distracting.
• Dead branches and dead leaves and foliage should be removed.
• I enjoy a good top layer of moss, but this is a step that not everyone is familiar and/or comfortable with.
• Appropriate stands, slabs, or other separators should be used (these should also be clean and free of dust, dirt, and other debris).
• Accent plants, companion plants, and/or stones should be selected to compliment the main tree on display.
• Having a "Show Prep" workshop at different times throughout the year is a great way to get everyone on the same page.
• DO NOT OVERCROWD THE DISPLAY! It would be great if each tree/display were to get 4-6', but this is not always possible.

A good show chair and/or committee should be able to gather a set of criteria for the club display, and even organize who shows what where.

Good luck with the show.

[MatsuBonsai]

I just went through the exercise of preparing one of my trees as if to show for the upcoming tree critique for the Cincinnati Bonsai Society meeting by Ted Matson of the Advanced Bonsai Study Group. I've been working on it all year to get it ready, and spent another 2 hours this past week to finish the cleanup and preparation.

(For show I would remove the guy wires as well)

Before final cleanup

JBP - before.jpg (239.9 KiB) Viewed 1594 times

Prepared

JBP - prepared.jpg (92.86 KiB) Viewed 1594 times

See what a difference the final push makes?