In Santa Cruz County, the arboreal spotlight is so focused on some of the world’s tallest trees — the coastal redwoods, the Douglas-firs — that it might not occur to people outside the know to look here for some of the world’s smallest.
Bonsai, the Japanese art of growing and shaping miniaturized trees in shallow pots, will have two days to steal the show the weekend of March 26 and 27, when the Santa Cruz Bonsai Kai, an organization of bonsai tree enthusiasts, will host its 23rd annual Bonsai Show at the Scotts Valley Community Center.
According to Ed Lambing, president of Bonsai Kai, both days will feature demonstrations by the famous bonsai sensei Katsumi Kinoshita.
Kinoshita, who lives in Monterey, has won many awards and was trained in creating bonsai in Japan, Lambing said.
In the demonstration, Kinoshita will select an ordinary piece of plant material and show where and how much to trim it, how to attach wire to the branches to set their growth in the desired shape and how to properly pot the tiny tree.
After each demonstration, Lambing said, the completed Kinoshita bonsai will be the prize in a raffle.
Lambing, an 11-year Bonny Doon resident, has been involved with Bonsai Kai for nearly seven years and has served as president of the club for two.
“I’ve been interested in bonsai for over 30 years;” Lambing said, but it wasn’t until he moved to Santa Cruz County that the interest became an active hobby.
Now, Lambing has many bonsai of different species and styles growing at his home.
Growing plants to the desired shape and small stature, Lambing said, requires the gardener to be equal parts artist and botanist.
Bonsai, which translates from Japanese as “tray planting,” requires annual repotting and careful attention to the plant’s shape, number of branches and roots.
The term “bonsai” described the manner in which a plant is grown, potted and pruned, not its species. Lambing said that while some plants lend themselves better to the technique, “virtually anything can be used as bonsai material.”
Enthusiasts can get plants for bonsai by growing them from seed, buying them at a nursery or, among the more adventurous, finding them in the wild.
The California juniper, Lambing said, is a particularly prized species for bonsai gardeners, because in the wild, packed snow naturally keeps the plants small.
Balance, he added, is the key to a successful bonsai plant.
For the plant to grow successfully, yet maintain its small size, a bonsai gardener must ensure that both the foliage and the roots are pruned in such a way as to achieve a balanced growth system.
“It’s a never-ending series of compromises,” Lambing said. “You’re creating a symmetry in the tree that’s eye-pleasing.”
Lambing has bonsai of varying sizes, ages and species, including Japanese maples, shumpaco junipers and coastal oak trees. One bonsai, a gift from a friend, is a California juniper that was estimated to be 200 years old based on trunk measurements.
Lambing said that although bonsai is often seen as a hobby for older people, many younger people have begun showing an interest in the techniques, even going so far as to dedicate three to five years to learn from renowned bonsai teachers in Japan.
At the Santa Cruz bonsai show, every plant sold comes with an invitation to Bonsai Kai’s meetings, where new enthusiasts are offered instruction on how to properly grow and care for a bonsai.
“Bonsai is fun, but in order to do it and do it right, you’ve got to follow the rules,” Lambing said. “Everyone’s killed at least one.”
AT A GLANCE
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