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The 94th Meifu Bonsai Exhibition was held on January 10-12, 2025 in Nagoya, Japan. This is one of the largest and most important bonsai exhibitions. Also, it is the second longest in duration than the 99th KokuFu Bonsai Exhibition. Next February in 2026 will be the 100th anniversary of this most prestigious bonsai exhibition. It was started by Count Yorinaga Matsudaira and Tosho Kobayashi to raise the level of bonsai and increase awareness. Next year is the 100thexhibition, but the show has not been around for 100 years. Originally the exhibition was held twice a year in March-April and in November-December yearly from 19434 to 1954. There were no exhibitions during the wartimes.

The Gafu Shohin Bonsai Exhibition was held in the same venue and exhibition hall as the Taikan Ten Bonsai Exhibition only six week ago. Even though both exhibitions were similar and had most of the same vendors. Both were sponsored by different organizations and had most of the same people running the show, so most were familiar faces to me.

This juniper was one of the first restyling adventures of my new apprentice, Patch Clark.

Bark is the protective outer covering of a tree’s trunk and branches. It serves several vital functions:

If you haven’t finished your fall pine work, there’s still time! Fall and winter, right up until buds start elongating in spring, is a good time to prune and wire dormant conifers including Japanese black and red pines.

In the past I’ve called this annual “blooper” reel. Fewer of these 2024 shots seem like authentic bloopers, but there are still plenty of bats, toothy fungus grins, and odd sugary drinks to keep you wondering. I do.

A couple of years ago, I came across a great batch of cork bark elms at Lone Pine Gardens. It had been a while since I’d owned one, so I picked out my favorite and brought it home.

I came across a few of these photos from a “memory” which popped up on my Facebook page, and thought I’d update the development of this Scots pine from a Xmas tree farm in Pennsylvania. Of course, I’ll add a lot more information in Part 2, but I’m busy finishing the anticipated 2023 US National Bonsai Exhibition Album.

As the year runs out, here is a possible bonsai promise to yourself for 2025. Learn to observe and understand your bonsai.