Here it is. It’s a Pinus densiflora (Japanese Red Pine) that was donated to the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum by The Imperial Household of Japan. It has been in training since 1795.
The Japanese Collection
It’s right here in North America and it’s one of the best collections of bonsai anywhere.
Here’s an excerpt from the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum’s website:
“The Japanese Collection began with the gift of 53 bonsai from Japan on the occasion of the American Bicentennial in 1976. The trees, which were from private collections, were selected by the Nippon Bonsai Association with financial assistance given by the Japan Foundation.”
Not 1795, but not exactly yesterday either. This striking Japanese Camellia (Camellia japonica ‘Higo’) with its full display of remarkable flowers has been in training since 1875. It was donated by the Kyushu Branch of the Nippon Bonsai Growers Cooperative.
Reverse taper
Does the reverse taper on the camellia (above) jump out at you? When it comes to flowering bonsai, Japanese growers don’t seem to mind features that would be considered flaws in non-flowering bonsai. As long as the flowers themselves are beautiful and well displayed, all is forgiven.
This old Japanese Black Pine was donated by Saichi Suzuki. It has been in training since 1895.
Quarantined
All the bonsai in this collection spent a year in quarantine before they could be displayed.
Can bonsai still be imported into the U.S. from Japan? Or does the lengthy quarantine period make that non-palatable to any who would do it? I’m curious… Not that we don’t have plenty of good stuff to work with here.
HI Al,
Though the USDA makes it very difficult, especially with the very long quarantines (some as long as two years I believe) there are still a handful of companies that do import from Asia. Europe is much more relaxed (smarter?) when it comes to importing, which is one reason their bonsai are more advanced (were more advanced? – things are fluid and bonsai on this side of the pond seems to be undergoing a leap forward).
Anyone else have an experience or information on importing these days?