Winter Silhouette 2020 – Awards and Critique

Once again, I know there weren’t any formal awards, but I enjoy adding my own even. The categories are as follows: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, Best Shohin, American Bonsai, and my personal favorite.

1st Place: Winged Elm – Michael Roberts

  • The presentation on this tree is fantastic. The moss and surface of the nebari were developed over time with great care.
  • This tree took two things I’m usually not a huge fan of and executed them well. Those two things are having a secondary trunk and very low branches. I actually love the secondary trunk to the left and I think the lower branch on the right is what helps balance it so well.
  • Great ramification are the icing on the top of this well executed tree.

2nd Place: Chinese Hackberry – Marge Blasingame

  • I love the overall silhouette of this tree. I mean this is a silhouette show is it not?
  • The rounded canopy give the feel of a large mature tree.
  • Has a great balance between all the branching: front, back, right, left, high, and low.

3rd Place: Korean Hornbeam – Ed Clark

  • This tree had plenty of flaws, but I think there is so much good in this tree
  • Besides the interesting base, this tree has great movement in the main line.
  • The branching is coming along as this tree is almost in complete refinement. In a year or two there will be great pads of foliage that can be dense and well ramified.
  • The last thing is the presentation of the tree. Great moss, stand, and pot choice. The feminine pot really ties in with the style of the tree.

Best Shohin: Cork Bark Elm

  • Wonderful contrast between the bark and the pot color. I’d love to see this with yellow fall foliage.
  • The ramification slowly increases as you reach the exterior of the tree. Great job keeping the ramification going throughout.
  • My eyes keep going to the top right where it seems that a chunk got bitten out of the silhouette. That would be the perfect finishing touch on this tree.

American Bonsai: Bald Cypress – Shig Miya

  • This was one of the few American native species in the show. That being said it also reflected what it would look like in a natural setting instead of going with a traditional Japanese bonsai feel.
  • The color and execution of the moss makes this tree remarkable. The color change from the brown colored pot to bright green and to a trunk with several shades is outstanding.
  • The pot has an interesting design and somehow doesn’t pull from the tree’s gravity of the viewer.
  • I would’ve loved the tree to be placed around 2 inches to the right. I haven’t seen the root system at all, so I can’t know that it would work, but I imagine it would please my eyes a bit more.

My Personal Favorite: Japanese Privet – Ted Matson

  • Killer pot choice for this tree that brings a lot to the balance of the tree with it being shallow and matching the color of the bark.

General Critique

  • A great use of different heights, planes, and angles to make this planting dynamic
  • The different moss, rocks, pebbles, and grouping of them makes the landscape visually interesting. This is what can really make a landscape or forest planting exquisite.
  • It needs time to get better ramification, but has been executed well up to this point.
  • I’m not sure how this tree didn’t make one of the awards, fantastically done. Excellent technique in the ramification, and development of taper on this tree.
  • The only critique I can come up with on this tree is of myself not having it in the top 3.
  • I wanted to mention that this tree seems a bit odd. It had my eye and I really enjoyed it, but I think the balance is off and that is what it was.
  • I also took photos from the side and thought “Maybe once this tree is reworked as it grows you could change the angle and play with it a bit to see more of the deadwood that is hidden from the current front.” It might not work at all, but I had that thought so I thought I’d share.

Hopefully you’ve learned something reading all this jargon. It was a great show, can’t wait until next year!