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Variety of plant types on display at bonsai exhibition
Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Sep 24, 2006 by SHARI CHANEY GRIFFIN THE GAZETTE
Many types of plants can become bonsai.
At the Bonsai and Other Magical Miniature Landscapes show, which continues today, there are pine trees, spruce trees, aspens and a rhododendron among the exhibit.
"All 'bonsai' means is tree in a pot, really," said Pete Apostolas, associate president of the Pikes Peak Bonsai Society.
The show is in Colorado College's Worner Campus Center, 902 N. Cascade Ave. and runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Along with trees to peruse, there are trees to buy if inspired to try a hand at bonsai, organizers said.
"It's usually just a bush" in the beginning, Apostolas said. To make it more treelike, branches on the bottom third are cut off. Wire is used to flatten the branches or change their direction.
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One misconception is bonsai trees are old, Apostolas said. That's where tricks like flattening the branches come in.
"What we usually do is get young material and make it look old," he said.
Some trees at the show are old. A tag in front of each tree indicated age of the tree and "years in training."
One blue spruce was listed as 400 years old, but had been in training for just a year.
"I didn't realize there were that many different styles," said Colorado Springs resident Judy Hill.
She went to the show because a friend was showing several plants. She said she was amazed at the variety and handiwork of the plants.
Mary Lou Porak, president of the Manitou Springs Garden Club, said she was under the impression that bonsai were all very small, until the show, where trees ranged from less than a foot tall to several feet tall or wide.
She said she also enjoyed the fall colors at the show. One pot had several Japanese maple trees in red and orange leaves; another had aspens in yellow.
"I never think of aspens as being anywhere but the mountains," said Sally Fitzgerald of Manitou Springs.
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0394 or shari.griffin@gazette.com
Copyright 2006
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