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This past weekend the California Shohin Society hosted the 16th Biennial Shohin Seminar in Santa Nella, California.

One thing I’ve appreciated about Bay Island Bonsai’s annual exhibits is the use of moss to cover the surface of the soil. The convention is common among bonsai exhibits in Japan and elsewhere. It gives the trees a clean look and provides some life in the case of dormant deciduous varieties like the corkbark elm below.

Sierra junipers have become a favorite variety of mine in recent years. They grow vigorously and often feature deadwood with undulating movement and exciting jin.

I’ll be showing a medium sized Western juniper and Japanese maple at this weekend’s Bay Island Bonsai exhibit – that much is clear. What I’m still working on is how they’ll be arranged and which stands work best.

“Bonsai Jacks” are tools designed to bend heavy branches and trunks. They allow us to make these bends incrementally – and safely – by twisting a threaded rod.

One of the first cork oaks I started working on has developed quickly. I let a couple of sacrifice branches grow freely and they have now adequately thickened the branch that will become the new leader. It’s time to make a big cut.

I recently picked up a field grown cork oak with some nice movement in the trunk. There are, however, few usable branches at this point.

There’s a lot to try to keep in mind when shopping for field grown material. It can be easy to focus on the lower part of the trunk and think, “This looks nice, I can fix the rest later.” The fix may not, however, always come easily.

Last month, the Bonsai Society of San Francisco invited stand maker Austin Heitzman to talk about his craft. Club members learned about Austin’s design process, the materials that give form to his designs, and the treatments the materials go through on their way to becoming stands.

I recently cut back a root over rock trident maple during a live Q&A for Bonsai Empire. Here’s the tree before I got started.