Wild! There’s so much going on with this delightfully crazy tree, that you could spend a long time looking at it and still see something new. It’s a Chinese juniper by Yang Hsui.
Taiwanese Bonsai
The three bonsai shown here are all from the 2008 Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibition booklet which appears on Bonsai Shari Si-Diao, Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s website. Cheng is one Taiwan’s most famous, and most innovative, bonsai artists and teachers.
This one is more wonderful than wild. But take a look at the size of the pot relative to the tree and particularly the trunk. Could the tree really stay in that pot? I suspect it’s it just for show and soon it will go back into a larger container. The texture of the trunk is interesting too. Looks kinda like termites got into in.
Ficus microcarpa by Hsieh, Shun-Chin
Wild and eccentric. I wonder if this tree was influenced by calligraphy? Certain Chinese bonsai styles use calligraphy as inspiration. Hibiscus tiliaceus by Chien, Yuen-Kui.
It is so nice to see trees that are different and not so “cookie cutter”. I really like the Juniper and the Hibiscus.
Wayne,
Yang Hsui (pronounced yang chiou) is the immediate past president for the Taiwan Bonsai Creators Association. He libes in Tien Wei, Chung Hwa township, Taiwan. The hibiscus tree is from south Taiwan, Pindong Township, from a cutting.
All the trees you selected have been nursery grown. None of them were developed from collected stock.
Kind regards
Jose Luis
Thanks Jose. Good information. Interesting about the nursery grown part. In cold climates most impressive trees were originally collected.
BTW: Jose Luis has studied bonsai extensively in Taiwan with Cheng Sensei and has first hand knowledge of the Taiwanese bonsai world.
Hi Geoffrey,
Yeah. Those two really break the mold. The ficus is more ordinary in terms of form, but an extraordinary example of that form nevertheless.