8th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition, Rochester, NY, USA, September 9-10, 2023

[coltranem]

(Almost) everyone was taking photos it seemed.

Trucking trees across the country is a massive undertaking so if there's a good option available on the west coast on a regular basis, I would think it's natural that those folks would be less likely to lug trees to Rochester every other year. That could be the reason that Neil and others chose not to attend this year.

Maybe somewhere down the road things evolve into an "eastern" show and a "western" show, and maybe eventually there could be someone putting on a "national" show somewhere closer to the middle of the country. That way everyone has to travel. I have no inside info on this matter, just thinking out loud based on what I'm hearing.

I understand not trucking trees across the country but you would think someone like Ryan could have flown out to support the show in some way. You can't want to be the face of American Bonsai then blow off the biggest show of the year.

 

[Ruddigger]

I understand not trucking trees across the country but you would think someone like Ryan could have flown out to support the show in some way. You can't want to be the face of American Bonsai then blow off the biggest show of the year.

I believe Ryan had a conflicting engagement elsewhere. I know he said he was bummed this was the first National Show he was goin to miss.

 

[roberthu]

I mean, when potters don’t price their pots very high this is what happens. A lot of potter’s medium sized pots at this show I felt could have been priced a little higher. I see pots like that go for double online, especially anything Sara Rayner or Nao Tokutake. We bought an April Grigsby pot that many people were fighting over and she could have easily sold that one to us for $100 more and we would have still paid for it. Even worse, we attended a garden show once and a local bonsai seller found out a fellow vendor bought his trees and were flipping them at the same show. Super tacky.

I don't see anything wrong with reselling those pots. Whoever bought those pots were at least there and willing to taking the risk of holding those inventories that they may or may not be able to sell. It's a free market for everyone.

 

[Shogun610]

I don't see anything wrong with reselling those pots. Whoever bought those pots were at least there and willing to taking the risk of holding those inventories that they may or may not be able to sell. It's a free market for everyone.

Hmm I don’t agree with that opinion.. it’s one thing to buy the pot and not be able to use it .. and the. Maybe selll off a while later *at the same price * .. and yeah you could totally do it but right after and sell for double but it’s kinda douchey based on the genuine mindset of the person selling that hey I want my materials tk be appreciated and share the same passion with others … some guy did that at the studio with pines and azalea we imported from Japan, took all that time to import , repot, after care .. only to see him try and sell for double even triple the price for a profit… we were pissed and we banned him from coming to the studio ever again.

 

[NaoTK]

As a vendor this show was amazeballs. I basically sold out 250+ pots, most in the first hour. I will be back to vend.

As a two-time attendee I will echo everything @Ruddigger said: the show can aim higher. I understand bill's intent and there are many great aspects to the show. But half of the trees didnt belong in OUR National show. I get it, it's hard to ship great trees to Rochester, and that's part of the problem. What was National level were the community and networking and friendships I built, and the variety of trees and displays. This is the de facto meeting place for American bonsai and that will not change anytime soon. The judging was questionable at best. I changed my shirt twice because the venue is a drab sauna. There were few west coast entries because they are going to be at the PBE.

It is pronounced Pie-toon @Pitoon

 

[SouthernMaple]

As a vendor this show was amazeballs. I basically sold out 250+ pots, most in the first hour. I will be back to vend.

As a two-time attendee I will echo everything @Ruddigger said: the show can aim higher. I understand bill's intent and there are many great aspects to the show. But half of the trees didnt belong in OUR National show. I get it, it's hard to ship great trees to Rochester, and that's part of the problem. What was National level were the community and networking and friendships I built, and the variety of trees and displays. This is the de facto meeting place for American bonsai and that will not change anytime soon. The judging was questionable at best. I changed my shirt twice because the venue is a drab sauna. There were few west coast entries because they are going to be at the PBE.

It is pronounced Pie-toon @Pitoon

What was so questionable about the judging? from what I saw best deciduous went to Bjorn for his beautiful Arakawa that he sold to some guy 3 months ago.

I would like to see a show where the artist wins the award instead of the guy with the fattest checkbook.

 

[Dav4]

What was so questionable about the judging? from what I saw best deciduous went to Bjorn for his beautiful Arakawa that he sold to some guy 3 months ago.

I would like to see a show where the artist wins the award instead of the guy with the fattest checkbook.

A fair number of people felt there were several better maples in the show. The arakawa is a very impressive tree but I personally felt that Matt Ouwinga's large Shishigashira was technically better.

 

[Ruddigger]

A fair number of people felt there were several better maples in the show. The arakawa is a very impressive tree but I personally felt that Matt Ouwinga's large Shishigashira was technically better.

Hard agree. And if anyone else was at the award dinner, you may have had a laugh at the best Native American Tree being awarded to a Shimpaku.

(This was later changed to be awarded to a rocky mountain juniper which the award sponsor gave to herself.)

 

[Shogun610]

A fair number of people felt there were several better maples in the show. The arakawa is a very impressive tree but I personally felt that Matt Ouwinga's large Shishigashira was technically better.

This ^ the ones I felt to be more of my liking and had more technical/ quality and “life” to them were styled and developed by the owner of the trees. Now we can probably talk till we’re nauseous about supporting professionals etc, but want to see more first hand trees in future as well.

 

[SouthernMaple]

A fair number of people felt there were several better maples in the show. The arakawa is a very impressive tree but I personally felt that Matt Ouwinga's large Shishigashira was technically better.

Matts tree is a beautiful one, Shishis are very popular right now, I love their fall colors but the bark on an Arakawa is something else. I wonder if Bjorn leaving for Japan had anything to do with the awards.

 

[NaoTK]

The "ramification" on the arakawa was non-existent. Internodes longer than my thumb. It was a stock tree with rough bark.

 

[coh]

A fair number of people felt there were several better maples in the show. The arakawa is a very impressive tree but I personally felt that Matt Ouwinga's large Shishigashira was technically better.

That arakawa was one of the trees that "stopped me in my tracks" the first time I walked through the exhibition. It seemed more "natural" or tree-like or original compared to some of the perhaps "technically better" maples you are referring to. Would be interesting to hear the thoughts of the judges on that.

 

[badatusernames]

A fair number of people felt there were several better maples in the show. The arakawa is a very impressive tree but I personally felt that Matt Ouwinga's large Shishigashira was technically better.

Agreed. It was unlike anything I expected to see here.

Speaking of maples, who had Joseph’s technicolor dreamcoat Arakawa? I saw that it was from northeast PA - the coloration was amazing. Seems like autumn is starting.

Regardless of awards, it’s so nice to walk through and suddenly be arrested by something. The shishi was definitely one of those trees.

One thing I’ll say about no photos - it makes you LOOK and try to burn an image into your mind. I was particularly interested in apexes, and I don’t think I could have gotten reasonable photos of what was happening up there anyways.

I feel like it would have been easier to just look at the trees thinking you could parse them out from photos later, than actually experiencing them in the moment and analyzing how they may have been built branch by branch.

I can see some positives from the policy beyond book sales.

 

[badatusernames]

Also, I don’t really care, but I did think most were maintained and shaped by their owners. If the Bjorn/Neal/Mauro comment is true, it puts a spin on things.

I don’t really have an opinion on whether or not it’s a bad or good thing - the trees were great to look at. But I’d like to see more artists comfortable competing at this level if that’s really true.

 

[Shogun610]

A fair number of people felt there were several better maples in the show. The arakawa is a very impressive tree but I personally felt that Matt Ouwinga's large Shishigashira was technically better.

the plot thickens

 

[shohin_branches]

What was so questionable about the judging? from what I saw best deciduous went to Bjorn for his beautiful Arakawa that he sold to some guy 3 months ago.

I would like to see a show where the artist wins the award instead of the guy with the fattest checkbook.

I think that is the biggest change I've seen over the years since I started bonsai in 2001. I forget who's podcast it was but Colin Lewis said,

"You used to go to a bonsai exhibition, you're looking at examples of what exhibitors can do. When you go to an exhibition now you're seeing examples of what exhibitors can afford, and who they can afford. I lament that change."

You hear the stories here and there about people buying fully developed trees and then submitting them to a large show a few hours after purchase and they win best in show. I don't want my years of time and care to be judged next to someone else's checkbook.

 

[Hartinez]

i had the chance to chat with Matt at the banquet that night and he was talking about how he took the criticism that his tree received from a few shows a go and opened the tree up a bit more to show its structure and tight internodes. Not enough I suppose.

 

[Hartinez]

There was also a big Japanese 5 needle pine there that I felt was deserving of the traditional bonsai display award. This one. It’s one of @Ruddigger picture. I personally appreciate the North American varieties more, but this tree was spectacular. I would have voted for this one over the cascading Procumbens.

 

[Ruddigger]

There was also a big Japanese 5 needle pine there that I felt was deserving of the traditional bonsai display award. This one. It’s one of @Ruddigger picture. I personally appreciate the North American varieties more, but this tree was spectacular. I would have voted for this one over the cascading Procumbens.
View attachment 507982

I agree. The procumbens was a nice tree, but the display was confusing. And overall it didnt hold a candle to this 5 needle, which was incredible!

There was a Limber Pine that was my personal favorite tree, but also Bjorns one seed, Suthins JPB and White Cedar were miles better than that procumbens.

 

[Hartinez]

I agree. The procumbens was a nice tree, but the display was confusing. And overall it didnt hold a candle to this 5 needle, which was incredible!

There was a Limber Pine that was my personal favorite tree, but also Bjorns one seed, Suthins JPB and White Cedar were miles better than that procumbens.

I don’t even think that was Marc Arpags best display in the show.