This European White Birch (Betula alba) in all its natural simplicity (and in its great pot) is the winner of the Finest deciduous Bonsai award at the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exibition. It belongs to Dennis Vojtilla.
Though birch are ubiquitous in most cold climate regions of North America and the rest of the Northern Hemispere, you see surprisingly few birch bonsai. And even fewer good birch bonsai.
I think part of the problem is birch aren’t all that easy to collect and keep healthy. They are relative short lived and prone to insects and disease and though they have some resistance to common pests and diseases found in their natural habitat, when taken out of their habitat and placed in small containers, the stress combined with disease can be problematic (all this is somewhat speculative on my part, but I’ll stick with it until proven wrong).
Thanks again to Oscar Jonker (Bonsai Empire) for the photos in our posts from the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exibition.
Continued below…
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and the book Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees
I don't remember the companion from the show, but it looks a lot like a geranium from here.