Inside the Museum, Museum Curators, NBF News
Brendan Bailes
Spring Arrives with Fresh Blooms and Budding ...
Spring Arrives with Fresh Blooms and Budding Bonsai
Bonsai People, Inside the Museum, Museum Curators, Museum Donors Trees
Brendan Bailes
Introducing Stunning Recent Additions of Bonsai ...
Introducing Stunning Recent Additions of Bonsai and Suiseki
Inside the Museum, Photographing Bonsai
Brendan Bailes
Our Best Bonsai Photos of 2023
Our Best Bonsai Photos of 2023

Michael James

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Spring Arrives with Fresh Blooms and Budding Bonsai

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Japanese apricot (Prunus mume 'Kobai')

Sunlight glinting off bright, young leaves. The aroma of sweet quince drifting across your path. The ambiance of refreshed, peaceful trees in the courtyard.

No, this is not a dream — it’s just a peek into the sensory experiences that await you at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum this spring.

Kusamono display

The energy of the season always brings lots of activity to the Museum, from new growth and fresh buds to tree placement shuffles and pavilion adjustments. In an interview this week, Museum Curator Michael James shared an inside look at preparing for the surge of warm weather visitors, and he discussed what makes the beauty of bonsai so unique.

The Post-Winter Waltz

Sensitive trees are protected in the greenhouse with controlled temperatures during the frigid months. Meanwhile, the consistently cold weather this past winter has prepared the trees for strong growth this spring. Winters that are peppered with warm and sunny days encourage bonsai and penjing to open up earlier than preferred, Michael said.

“When those leaves emerge under glass or in a protected environment, they’re extra thin, and sensitive to sun and wind,” he said. “If we move the trees out at that point, any slightly harsh weather can easily damage that foliage. This year, the trees have stayed very dormant, so we can move the deciduous trees outside before they sprout.”

Trident maple (Acer buergerianum subsp. forosanum ‘Miyasama’)

Every spring, staff complete a major structural change at the Museum by removing the roof of the Chinese Pavilion, which no longer requires winter protection. But the trees aren’t yet completely in the clear. Museum staff remain on frost watch, in case a cold snap sweeps through and requires them to protect these specimens once again.

“There’s this spring dance in horticulture of watching the weather for that last cold night, that last freeze, and moving sensitive plants back inside for a night or two as needed,” Michael added.

A New Focus

The springtime shuffle also allows staff to intentionally ponder this year’s displays. Michael, alongside Assistant Curator Andy Bello and other Museum staff, build the bonsai, penjing, and stone placements from scratch each year, ensuring the dominant flow of directional branches leads visitors through the enchanting exhibits.

Sargent juniper (Juniperus chinensis var. sargentii)

The courtyard display for 2025 showcases native species from the Museum’s collections, aligning with the U.S. National Arboretum’s Lahr Native Plant Symposium, hosted annually in March.

“It’s amazing to see every pedestal in the central courtyards display a native tree this year,” James said. “These species are all relatively new to bonsai, because they weren’t used in the Chinese and Japanese tradition. It really shows how bonsai is global now.”

Though leaf removal, root care, and other maintenance might need different approaches from more traditional bonsai species, Michael and his team have developed their expertise by working with native trees and getting to know their unique characteristics.

Native species also naturally draw pollinators, which facilitates a healthy ecosystem. They are well-adapted to the local environment, making them excellent choices for bonsai cultivation that reflects the natural appeal and resilience of regional landscapes.

Spring Showstoppers

Japanese maple (Acer palmatum)

As with most gardens or naturally occurring vegetation, the beauty of bonsai flourishes in the spring. Small vegetative buds open up on deciduous trees, while the flowering species flaunt their scents and petals.

Drummonds red maple (Acer rubrum var. drummondii)

Chinese quince (Pseudocydonia sinensis)

In the international pavilions, inconspicuous red pearls on maple varieties will unfurl into delicate, star-shaped flowers, while the Japanese apricots boast bright pink blooms. The Chinese quince will display unique flowering, which occurs on bare branches before vegetation sprouts, as well as the cherries. Crab apples and tricolor Higo camellias already have leaves when flowering. Satsuki azaleas will be in full bloom for May visitors – with "satsuki" referring to the "fifth month" in Japanese.

Can’t-Miss Events

Please join us for the Potomac Bonsai Association Festival on the weekend of May 10-11, which coincides with World Bonsai Day on May 10. We will also be celebrating an incredible milestone: The 400th anniversary of the legendary Yamaki Pine. Stay tuned for more about these events in the next few weeks!

World Bonsai Day will include a Beginner Bonsai Workshop (Saturday and Sunday), as well as appearances and workshops from Andrew Robson of Rakuyo Bonsai (Saturday) and John Naka student and contemporary Guy Guidry of NOLA Bonsai (Sunday), who will demo work on his tree in the North American collection.

We hope to see you soon to absorb the beauty of the art of bonsai this spring! Stay tuned for more information on World Bonsai Day and plan your visit here.

 

Click images below to enlarge. Photos by Stephen Voss.

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Queen of the Crepe Myrtles

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RECENT Donations to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum
Part 4/6

In 2024, the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum welcomed five remarkable new additions—four exquisite bonsai and a striking suiseki. Each piece tells a unique story, reflecting the artistry, history, and evolving traditions of bonsai. Carefully selected for their cultural significance and artistic merit, these new acquisitions highlight the diversity of bonsai and its growing influence in North America. Join us as we explore the fascinating origins, creative vision, and horticultural mastery behind these latest treasures.

The magnificent bonsai displayed at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum often hail from unassuming locales across the world. This particular crepe myrtle seemed destined to land back at the U.S. National Arboretum.

In May 1978, the U.S. National Arboretum officially released a cultivar of crepe myrtle called Lagerstroemia indica, or Natchez, that had been specifically bred for its resistance to disease. The seeds were a cross between Asian crepe myrtle genes, impervious to powdery mildew, and U.S. genes that produce the iconic crepe myrtle flowers and mottled bark. They were sent to nurseries all over the United States.

Cliff Pottberg, owner of a Florida nursery called Bonsai at Pasiminan, grew this specimen for more than 35 years, alongside a field of 25 other crepe myrtles. Brussel Martin – founder of Brussel’s Bonsai, the largest nursery in the United States – purchased the tree in 2013 and cared for it for 10 years.

Martin’s nursery manager helped transplant the crepe myrtle from Pasiminan and was told that the tree was either of Natchez or Muskogee cultivar, but this mystery remained unsolved. Although its specific origin had been lost to time, the tree stood out as a quintessential example of a flowering bonsai.

Recognizing the uniquely special characteristics of the tree, McNeal McDonnell – previous co-owner and now sole owner of Brussel’s Bonsai – generously donated it to the Museum. McNeal is a business entrepreneur with a deep appreciation for the art and beauty of bonsai.

In early 2024, the crepe myrtle arrived in Washington, DC. Noted bonsai expert Bjorn Bjorholm, with support from Curator Michael James and Assistant Curator Andy Bello, styled the tree in the Museum’s Yuji Yoshimura Lecture and Demonstration Center. Guided by Bjorholm’s artistic insight while honoring the original vision for the tree, they trimmed, wired, and shaped the crepe myrtle to prepare it for its new home on display among the native species in the North American Pavilion.

Assistant Curator Andy Bello, Curator Michael James, and bonsai artist Bjorn Bjorholm after styling the Queen of the Crepe Myrtles, 2024.

Four months later, the tree finally flowered. This allowed a botanist on staff to determine that this species was none other than Natchez, the very same cultivar that the Arboretum had introduced back in the 1970s – bringing the Lagerstroemia indica full circle, back to its roots.

Curator Michael James said this cultivar demonstrates how a plant’s value can increase both through breeding – ensuring a species is disease resistant, tolerates droughts, produces more ornate flowers, etc. – and through artistic training techniques.

U.S. National Arboretum Director Dr. Richard Olsen admires the crepe myrtle.

“People often don’t make the connection between bonsai and scientific institutions,” Michael said. “But if you’re going to care for a plant that will last longer than your lifetime, it’s important to start by choosing a plant with strong attributes.”

With its glossy, dark green leaves and pure white flowers, this elegant deciduous tree became known as the “queen of crepe myrtle,” a perfect example of how the Arboretum’s and Museum’s missions are intertwined. The species’ mottled cinnamon bark and powdery, mildew-resistant foliage flaunts its long-tapered pure white flowers between June and September.

We look forward to seeing you at the Museum this summer, when you will be able to witness the crepe myrtle’s full bloom.

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From Wilderness to Wonder: The Journey of Little Lonely Doug

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Bonsai artist, expert, and donor Bjorn Bjorholm with Little Lonely Doug outside the North American Pavilion at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum.

RECENT Donations to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum
Part 2/6

In 2024, the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum welcomed five remarkable new additions—four exquisite bonsai and a striking suiseki. Each piece tells a unique story, reflecting the artistry, history, and evolving traditions of bonsai. Carefully selected for their cultural significance and artistic merit, these new acquisitions highlight the diversity of bonsai and its growing influence in North America. Join us as we explore the fascinating origins, creative vision, and horticultural mastery behind these latest treasures.

In 2016, in the nooks and crannies of the Rocky Mountains in the greater Denver area, Richard Le discovered “Little Lonely Doug”.

Little Lonely Doug, 2024.

The tree – unique in its scale, taper, age, and character – represents one of North America’s oldest and largest conifers, the Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). It was named in honor of Vancouver’s iconic, 230-foot “Big Lonely Doug,” the last Douglas fir standing in the Gordon River Valley, after intense and devastating logging deforestation.

Le, who spends time hunting for large yamadori, or “bonsai from the wild”, sells the trees he collects for use as bonsai or ornamental landscape trees. Little Lonely Doug, which was one of Le’s most compelling discoveries, ended up at Eisei-en, the well-known bonsai artist Bjorn Bjorholm’s nursery, garden, and school in Nashville.

Little Lonely Doug was the first tree to arrive at Bjorholm’s nursery upon its opening in 2018. There, the Eisei-en team repotted the fir in a more suitable container. In the spring of 2020, the tree went through another repotting and styling, while it finished out its term as a centerpiece at Eisei-en.

Staff from the U.S. National Arboretum position Little Lonely Doug in the North American Pavilion at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.

The fir was one of the last trees to leave the nursery when Bjorholm moved his business to Kyoto, Japan, where as a student he had completed a study abroad program and met his future wife. He also spent 16 years as a bonsai apprentice in Osaka. Marianne Duhamel, Montreal Botanical Garden’s penjing curator, rewired and styled the tree again under Bjorholm’s direction, just before its arrival at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. In March 2024, Le and Bjorholm donated this striking specimen to the Museum.

Staff from the U.S. National Arboretum, including Director Dr. Richard Olsen, Museum Curator Michael James, and Assistant Curator Andy Bello, were on hand to welcome the bonsai to the collections. They were joined by NBF board members Stephen Voss and Ross Campbell, as well as Executive Director Bobbie Alexander.

Left to Right: U.S. National Arboretum Director Dr. Richard Olsen, NBF Board Member Stephen Voss, NBF Board Member and Officer Ross Campbell, bonsai artist, expert, and donor Bjorn Bjorholm, Museum Curator Michael James, Assistant Curator Andy Bello.

Also joining the welcome committee were Aaron Stratten, immediate past President of Potomac Bonsai Association, and Roberto Coquis, President of the Northern Virginia Bonsai Society. Our local clubs do so much to support the art of bonsai, and we are grateful for their presence. Everett Miller, the Diplomatic Associate for the Economic Section of the Embassy of Japan, attended the ceremony as well. We greatly appreciate their partnership and friendship.

Left to Right: Museum Curator Michael James, NBF Board Member and Officer Ross Campbell, immediate past President of Potomac Bonsai Association Aaron Stratten, bonsai artist, expert, and donor Bjorn Bjorholm, President of the Northern Virginia Bonsai Society Roberto Coquis, Assistant Curator Andy Bello.

These esteemed guests helped Little Lonely Doug find its home in the North American Pavilion, where it proudly represents an American species of evergreen conifer with a rugged appearance, hardy resilience, and uniquely “wild” look.

You can see more about the tree’s life and journey to the Museum’s North American Pavilion in Eisei-en’s beautiful tribute.

Little Lonely Doug also found a spotlight as the star of the National Bonsai Foundation’s limited edition World Bonsai Day 2024 clothing line, designed by Aaron Stratten.

The Museum is open daily (see hours), if you want to help Doug feel a little less lonely!

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Introducing Stunning Recent Additions of Bonsai and Suiseki

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Clockwise from top left: Blue Spruce by Karen Harkaway; Western Hemlock by Nick Lenz, donated by Mike McCallion; Douglas Fir by Bjorn Bjorholm; waterstone “Horseshoe” suiseki from Seiji Morimae and Ronald Maggio; Crepe Myrtle from McNeal McDonnell, styled by Bjorn Bjorholm.

RECENT Donations to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum
Part 1/6

In 2024, curators at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum were thrilled to welcome four extraordinary bonsai from influential artists along with a striking suiseki, or viewing stone. In the coming weeks, we’ll share a lot more photos and the fascinating stories behind each one!

These additions bring fresh beauty and new depth to the Museum’s already remarkable collections, inspiring joy and wonder for visitors.

Last year’s donations include (click images to enlarge):

A beautiful Blue Spruce by Karen Harkaway, president of the American Bonsai Society;

A striking Douglas Fir, collected by Richard Le and cultivated by Bjorn Bjorholm;

An intricate Crepe Myrtle from McNeal McDonnell, styled by Bjorn Bjorholm;

A majestic Western Hemlock, created by innovative artist Nick Lenz and donated by Mike McCallion;

And a remarkable waterstone suiseki presented by Seiji Morimae on behalf of the family of Ronald Maggio.

The Museum is home to three historically significant bonsai collections—Japanese, Chinese, and North American—preserving them for public education and appreciation. While maintaining these living works of art, curators also seek new acquisitions that reflect the intricate evolution of bonsai. These new pieces enrich the story of the art form, showcasing its diversity, legacy, and evolving global influences.

Last year, curators focused on contributions from North American artists and collectors, highlighting the role of American art and representation of American culture within this ancient art form, which traditionally was shaped by Chinese, Korean, and Japanese artists. This enhances the narrative of bonsai as both an artistic and horticultural tradition rooted deeply in nature. But these are not just any bonsai.

Adding any specimen to the Museum’s collection is a meticulous and intentional process. Curators do not accept trees on a whim; each must hold historical and artistic significance, reflecting how cultures have transformed nature into art across generations. They carefully evaluate every bonsai and viewing stone based on its aesthetic qualities, artistic interpretation, and place in the broader story of bonsai. Whether naturalistic, highly stylized, or a unique blend of both, each new addition contributes to the ongoing evolution of this art form.

Last year’s acquisitions specifically highlight the role of American artists in shaping bonsai’s future. These trees embrace native species rather than adhering strictly to traditional selections, demonstrating both innovation and an American sensibility within this deeply rooted East Asian tradition. Each piece brings a distinctive vision, skillfully showcases the unique beauty of North American flora, and adds a chapter to the ever-growing legacy of this living art form.

The National Bonsai Foundation is proud to help introduce these five remarkable specimens into the permanent collection at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. We extend our deepest gratitude to the artists and generous donors who made these gifts possible: Karen Harkaway, Richard Le, Bjorn Bjorholm, McNeal McDonnell, Nick Lenz, Mike McCallion, the family of Ronald Maggio, and Seiji Morimae.

To see their beauty firsthand, visit the stunning collections at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. The experience will inspire you.

Historical Tree Spotlight: Quince forest planting

The quince forest planting, photo by Stephen Voss 2021

The quince forest planting, photo by Stephen Voss 2021

One alluring aspect of bonsai is the ability to recreate an entire forest from a far away place all in a single pot. In this month’s Historical Tree Spotlight, we draw attention to a planting of Chinese quinces (Pseudocydonia sinensis) at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum that does just that. 

Former curator Warren Hill began this arrangement in 1975, growing the centermost and now-largest tree from nursery stock to produce quinces – a yellow, apple- or pear-like fruit (pronounced “kwins”) that is usually not eaten raw but is used in desserts or teas. He then collected seeds from the fruit of that parent tree to grow the surrounding trees.  

Hill combined the parent and offspring trees to create the planting in 2002 and donated the arrangement to the Museum in July 2013. 

Museum Curator Michael James said the trees are relatively similar in age, but Hill grew them to different sizes and shapes by paying special attention to his thickening technique.

“It’s really about how much foliage each tree is allowed to have,” James said. “Allowing a tree’s branches to really extend before cutting them off allows the trees to thicken faster, but trimming branches fairly often keeps a tree smaller. 

Now that the forest planting is fairly developed, Museum staff keeps the foliage throughout the forest planting at a similar vigor to balance the leaf size with the trunk sizes and ensure the trees are proportional to each other. 

“Maintaining this difference in height and thickness really drives home the true representation of how trees look in a natural forest environment,” James said. 

He said the deciduous planting requires a lot of sun and a fair amount of water compared to other trees in the collection. The trees in Hill’s planting are some of the first to flower in the spring, and the quinces’ bark changes colors and textures throughout the year. But James said the planting peaks in the summer, when the bark exfoliates.

Warren Hill and the Chinese quince forest planting, photo credit to Walter Pall

Warren Hill and the Chinese quince forest planting, photo credit to Walter Pall

“The smooth bark in the winter and early spring is a mixture of grays and tans and different browns, even greens,” he said. “But when that exfoliates and those colors flake off, it gives way to rosy oranges and pinks that look as if someone lit a match inside the heart wood.”

In the fall, if the flowers are pollinated, the trees grow their quinces, which are so large compared to their branches that Museum staff rarely leave more than one fruit on the composition each year. 

First Curator’s Apprentice Sophia Osorio said the planting is protected in the greenhouse during the colder months, so the quinces don’t always have access to pollinators. Museum staff have to manually pollinate trees, taking a soft, bristled brush from flower to flower to transfer the pollen. Osorio said they will pick a few flowers to enlarge throughout the year and eventually grow fruit, but that takes some extra planning. 

“We have to be careful that the branch we allow to flower is in the right place in the composition and will be able to support that fruit, yet not swell too much from developing,” she said.

Osorio added that the branch often has to be supported with wire because a fruit could easily snap a bonsai branch off by the time it matures in fall.

“The fruit draws tons of nutrients up from the roots, through the trunk, through the branch and to itself,” she said. “Due to that immense transfer of water and energy, the branch with the fruit is going to thicken a lot more than the others.”

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Photo by Stephen Voss, 2021

Bonsai Around the World: The Pacific Bonsai Museum

PBM’s exhibit, World War Bonsai: Remembrance and Resilience, on view through October 2021 Photos: Aarin Packard

PBM’s exhibit, World War Bonsai: Remembrance and Resilience, on view through October 2021 Photos: Aarin Packard

Many of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum’s staff members have gone on to establish a great bonsai legacy for themselves. For this edition of Bonsai Around the World, we detail the Pacific Bonsai Museum through an interview with Aarin Packard, one of our former assistant curators who now leads PBM as curator.

Packard grew up in Southern California, forging a connection to nature while gardening with his parents on the weekends and watching his father work on bonsai in the backyard. He always held an appreciation for miniatures, like scale models, as well as Asian culture, particularly martial arts. Packard, however, only became interested in bonsai after several of his friends began the practice.

He started after buying a tree from the Orange County swap meet and tended to it as a hobby while studying anthropology at California State University, Fullerton. Packard read about the art and visited local nurseries and club shows. He started pursuing bonsai as a career after moving to D.C. to get his master’s in museum studies at The George Washington University and coming across the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. 

“On my first day as a resident in the District, I went to the U.S. National Arboretum and stopped at the bonsai museum,” he said. “Michael James was the assistant curator at the time, and I asked him, ‘How do I get your job?’”

In February 2006, Packard graduated from GW and was selected as the assistant curator for the Museum, a position he served until 2014. The year before Packard left the Museum, the Weyerhaeuser Company – one of the largest North American timber companies – donated its entire bonsai collection to a new nonprofit, The George Weyerhaeuser Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection, or the “Pacific Bonsai Museum.”

The nonprofit was looking for a curator, which Packard saw as a great opportunity to return home to the West Coast while heading the privately run but public collection. He was hired to use his museum studies background to curate exhibits for the new collection and lead tree care efforts.

“I was given the opportunity to create a vision for what this Museum could be,” he said. “I kind of had a blank slate to do what I wanted, so it was exciting to have that creative freedom to progress in my career, and it’s been really enjoyable.”

Rather than separating their trees into different collections, the museum displays a museum-wide exhibit each year with trees that pertain to the exhibit’s theme. The current exhibition is “World War Bonsai,” an idea Packard has been forming since working with bonsai artists and trees with intrinsic ties to World War II, like the Yamaki Pine. 

“I’ve been amassing research on this era throughout my career, and with last year being the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, I felt like it was an appropriate time to investigate the stories of bonsai and people within our collection that have a relationship with that time,” Packard said. 

Alcove depicting the scene when 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced to board trains and travel to live in barbed-wire detention camps displayed with a Bristlecone Pine bonsai originally created by Kelly Hiromo Nishitani

Alcove depicting the scene when 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced to board trains and travel to live in barbed-wire detention camps displayed with a Bristlecone Pine bonsai originally created by Kelly Hiromo Nishitani

The exhibition primarily focuses on the incarceration of Japanese Americans during the war and how the years of fighting affected the art of bonsai both in the United States and Japan. 

“It’s been a well-received exhibit,” Packard said. “The exhibit sheds light on the cost of war on the art of bonsai and how it provided people in hard situations comfort and connection to cultural communities and extensions of self.” 

The museum's exhibits incorporate work from contemporary artists that connect the theme of the display to current events. World War Bonsai features an installation from a Seattle-based Japanese American artist who draws parallels from Japanese incarceration to current racial inequities in the United States. 

“That’s one thing bonsai has the ability to do – the art is not just limited to cute little trees and someone’s gardening curiosity,” Packard said. “Bonsai are objects of significance that have a lot of resonance and can tell stories that haven’t been told before.” 

Though the museum’s trees are displayed in an open-air gallery, the bonsai are still protected in the winter with their own small, cube-like greenhouses that are removed in the spring. About 60 trees are displayed at a time among the museum’s alcoves and benches, but Packard moves the bonsai around depending on the year’s exhibit. The museum’s tropical trees remain in a special conservatory throughout the year to keep them safe from the elements. 

Left: Aarin pruning the domoto maple; Right: Domoto maple (in training since 1850) in colorful, leafy state

Left: Aarin pruning the domoto maple; Right: Domoto maple (in training since 1850) in colorful, leafy state

A 9-foot-tall trident maple from the Domoto family is what Packard calls the museum’s “crown jewel.” The Domoto maple is one of the oldest bonsai in the United States, imported from Japan for the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1913.

Kanetaro Domoto, a Japanese immigrant who ran one of the largest commercial nurseries in California, bought the maple after the fair, and it was the only possession the family didn’t lose during the Great Depression. The tree survived alone during the incarceration period of World War II, but upon their release from captivity Domoto’s son found and cared for it until 1990, when he loaned it to the Weyerhaeuser collection. His descendants eventually donated the tree outright to the museum.

 “The maple tells the story of bonsai in the United States and the Japanese American immigrant experience,” Packard said. “Just to think of the story of this tree and how it survived hardships is kind of the flipside of bonsai during the era and is very rare to see.” 

Learn more about the Pacific Bonsai Museum and its beautiful exhibits here. 

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Museum Curators: Michael James

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The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum couldn’t house the finest bonsai in the world without a dedicated, talented and knowledgeable leader. In our next installment of Museum Curators, we’re helping you get to know our current curator, Michael James, who is all of those things and more.

Horticulture was a natural career path for James, whose family owned and operated a small produce business out of Maryland called Blueberry Hill. His first bonsai encounter occurred around 1996 when he was in college – a silver maple forest planting at a community fair The beauty and intricacy of the small grouping of trees astonished him.

 James studied art at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he delved into the art and practice of bonsai in his free time. He then decided to pursue a plant science degree at the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

“I realized that the most important thing is to learn the science behind it and the ‘why’ and ‘how’ plant cultivation can be done,” James said. “Whether it be higher yields or better tasting fruits or beautiful foliage, it can be done with knowing the physiology and plant sciences.”

Instead of waiting for a job opening or to be recruited, he reached out to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum for a volunteer position in the summer of 2001. James initially saw his time at the Museum as a place to learn bonsai with the best trees and instructors in the world, but he never thought he would procure a full-time job. He eventually became a permanent employee in 2002, after helping the Museum host that year’s World Bonsai Friendship Federation convention.

James planting blueberries with his late mother around 1981

James planting blueberries with his late mother around 1981

In 2005, James returned to his family’s produce farm in Maryland, where he remained for the next decade. But he eventually found his way back to the Museum in 2014, working as the assistant curator to former Curator and NBF Co-President Jack Sustic. James was finally appointed curator in June 2018. 

The allure of bonsai and a curatorship

James’ favorite part of growing bonsai is watching the trees thrive and change over the years. Bonsai is such a lengthy process that Museum staff constantly make decisions that will be seen 15 or 25 years later, but James said watching the results of previous years of work is very rewarding.

 “We’re coaxing these trees to their future forms over a very long timeframe, and even though it’s subtle and very slow, you see those forms taking shape,” he said.

 James said some of the most exciting times at the Museum have been when he worked on trees with international bonsai master John Naka. Naka would share his vision for the styling and future appearance of his famous tree planting Goshin or exchange laughs with staff and other bonsai artists.

 “He was always making a joke, like pinching at a spruce with chopsticks and pretending to eat it, or other corny little things,” James said.

 To James, bonsai has always been an important facet to horticulture and agriculture production. He said cultures that produce their own food, like the United States, pave the way for more luxury and time for the arts, including bonsai.  

 “Bonsai turns science into a form of art that is relatable and a balance between both culture and science,” he said. “Some plants produce fruit and could technically be eaten, but these are living things that often speak to the soul, rather than feeding the belly.”

James working on Goshin as a museum volunteer under the direction of John Naka, 2001

James working on Goshin as a museum volunteer under the direction of John Naka, 2001

 James said he tries to approach the styling of each tree with an unbiased mind, channeling the influence of the bonsai’s creator to maintain the integrity of its design.

 “When working on Goshin, I have to be thinking about what Naka would do to that tree,” he said. “The trees are in a different state than years ago, more developed and refined, but their creators would still utilize the same principles and individual characteristics they applied from the start.”

Most of James’ bonsai education has been through the Museum, but he has traveled around China and Southeast Asia to study the styles and inspiration for bonsai and penjing. James added that the diverse collection within the Museum – which holds bonsai from China, Japan and throughout North America – allows him to study the nuances of different plant species, from training techniques to growing specifications.

 “The Museum is a hub – all these incredibly educated bonsai artists pass through here when traveling to work on trees and explain their ideas of styling and bonsai culture,” he said. “In the branches and trunks, you can see what creators saw in them and what they were intending on in their form that translates out the branches as the trees continue.”

James is one of a few essential workers keeping the trees thriving while the Museum is closed to the public. Leave him a comment below to share your appreciation for his hard work and great leadership! 



Historical Tree Spotlight: A Black Pine from Dr. Yee-sun Wu

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The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum is home to a breathtaking penjing collection housed in the Yee-sun Wu Chinese Pavilion. This month’s Historical Tree Spotlight draws your attention to a Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) from Dr. Yee-sun Wu, whose trees initiated the foundation of the Museum’s Chinese collection and who financially supported the pavilion’s construction. 

A prominent penjing collector, Wu began styling the pine in 1936 and donated it in 1986, along with 23 other trees of various species. Read more about his personal background here. 

This Japanese black pine can be categorized as a tree penjing. “Penjing” refers to scenic landscapes created in trays or ports that often include additions like rocks and ceramic figurines, like a Chinese landscape painting come to life. A pot with a single tree can be called a “tree penjing” but is more commonly known as “penzai,” the Chinese pronunciation of the characters of “bonsai.” 

The pine’s exaggerated primary branch, the lowest and longest branch off the right of the tree, is a distinct Chinese tree penjing quality, James said.

“If your eye follows the curvy line of the trunk up and then down that swooping branch, you can see that it gives a playfulness or a whimsical look to the tree,” he said.  

Many of Wu’s penjing were trained in the Lingnan style – the clip and grow technique – which his father and grandfather are credited with popularizing. James said the dramatic change in the tree’s direction, led by the primary branch, is consistent with the aesthetics of Lingnan style. The sweeping movement emulates Chinese brush paintings and drawings that, along with scholarly pursuits of poetry and culture, have inspired penjing artists for hundreds of years. 

“If you look at a lot of old paintings of trees in China, there are sharp zig zags in the branching with a lot of natural breaks and snaps left in the painting,” he said. “It shows the weathering of the tree and its survival through time.”

This pine inspired the logo used on the cover of a booklet listing the trees Wu gave to the Museum in 1986.

This pine inspired the logo used on the cover of a booklet listing the trees Wu gave to the Museum in 1986.

A shot of the pine in its original pot from Wu's second publishing of his book.

A shot of the pine in its original pot from Wu's second publishing of his book.

Lingnan style technically means “south of the mountains” and strives to reveal but not control the nature of each tree specimen. Because the style encourages spontaneity and whimsy, these penjing appear more natural than bonsai, James said. 

He added that the black pine was likely collected and placed in a pot, like many Lingnan trees, rather than grown from seeds. The original pot is a traditional deep penjing container that fosters strong tree growth, which is useful when trees are first developing. Now that the penjing is more mature, it tolerates the shallowness and size of its current pot, which retains water well and restricts root growth, facilitating shorter branches.

Wu wrote in his book Man Lung Garden Artistic Pot Plants: “The challenge of art in penjing consists of uniting within the same pot the three elements from Chinese proverbs: ‘heaven, earth and man.’”

Caring for the pine

James hesitates to categorize this tree as completely Lingnan because black pines will die if they are constantly clipped back. Evergreens, like black pines, are typically treated with decandling, or the process of removing a first flush of foliage growth to create a second flush of needles shorter than the first. Shorter needles are in better proportion to small trees in containers and increase the trees’ ramification, or number of branch bifurcations, James said.

He added that Museum staff do the bulk of the work on this black pine between June and July, when decandling should be performed. Decandling the pine too early would produce lengthy needles in its second flush of growth, but decandling too late doesn’t give the second growth spurt time to harden before winter.

From August on, James and the Museum team remove old needles with fingers or tweezers. Black pines in the wild retain needles for multiple years, but James said they must remove the older needles periodically to help light filter through the top of the tree to lower foliage.

 “We pull more needles in stronger areas and less in weaker spots,” James said. “This practice makes the black pine look neater and balances the growth.”

Historical Tree Spotlight: The Logo Tree

The Sargent juniper, photographed by Stephen Voss for the National Bonsai Foundation Annual Report in 2019

The Sargent juniper, photographed by Stephen Voss for the National Bonsai Foundation Annual Report in 2019

Have you ever wondered how the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum logo came to be? 

In this month’s Historical Tree Spotlight, you’ll get to know the story behind one of our Sargent junipers, Juniperus chinensis var. sargentii, known as the shimpaku juniper in Japan. While the tree is notable for its place among the first 53 bonsai that established the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum collection in 1976, it’s also the inspiration for the Museum’s logo!

History of the Sargent juniper

The juniper is a yamadori, meaning it was collected from the wild. The tree came from Itoigawa, in Japan’s Niigata prefecture. Donor Kenichi Oguchi, who ran a bonsai nursery known for its beautifully trained junipers in the neighboring city of Okaya, started training the tree in 1905. Oguchi’s employees visited the Museum in 1977 to demonstrate how to use wiring to maintain the shape of the juniper. 

Museum Curator Michael James said bonsai often outgrow or might not match the style of their original containers, but the Sargent juniper has lived in the same antique Chinese pot since it was donated. He said the styling of this juniper is an excellent representation of the natural growth junipers experience in the wild, specifically in the land around Itoigawa, home to some of the most prized juniper yamadori material in Japan. 

Bob Drechsler, the Museum’s first curator, wiring the juniper with two of Kenichi Oguchi’s staff members in 1977

Bob Drechsler, the Museum’s first curator, wiring the juniper with two of Kenichi Oguchi’s staff members in 1977

Trees in the Niigata region grow along cliffs and mountainous areas and are exposed to heavy snows and winds. The harsh weather conditions force junipers to fold back on themselves, which is reflected in the way Museum staff have trained this Sargent juniper’s branches to harmonize with the “shari,” or deadwood on the trunk, James said. 

“When training a juniper or bonsai, if you go by the guidelines, the branches often radiate out from the trunk,” he said. “But in nature, their branches fold like ribbons on top of each other. Sargent junipers also have a mounding habit in its foliage that is often cloud like.”

A story of resurrection

In the 1980s and 90s, the Sargent juniper mysteriously started to experience die-back. Finally, a curator determined the cause: a pest called the juniper twig girdler – the larvae of a small moth – had been eating away at the bonsai’s branches each year, slowly killing off parts of the tree until the apex completely died in 1998. 

“In the wild, twig girdlers don't harm junipers too much because the trees only lose a few branches but are perfectly adept and still survive,” James said. “But when it’s a little bonsai, the twig girdler is devastating.”

The larvae bury themselves in tiny holes under the bark, out of reach from treatment like insecticides, he said. Curators tried protecting the tree with measures like screened cages, but the most effective method was using a magnifying glass to find the holes and using a dental pick to scrape out the larvae. 

Left: The juniper in 1998 after losing its apex to the girdlers | Right: The juniper in 2019 with healthy foliage and branches

Left: The juniper in 1998 after losing its apex to the girdlers | Right: The juniper in 2019 with healthy foliage and branches

Once Museum staff discovered how to stave off the girdlers, former Museum Curator and recently retired National Bonsai Foundation Co-President Jack Sustic restyled the tree to create a new apex, and the tree is healthier than ever. 

“Even to this day, that moth returns to this tree annually and often just to this tree” James said. “But when the girdlers are found early enough, with vigilant checking, the branches are not lost.”

The birth of the logo

The Museum’s logo, created for the U.S. National Arboretum and adopted by NBF, came to fruition thanks to a collaborative effort. Former Arboretum Director John Creech initiated the development of the logo to create a “visual identity” for the Museum’s collection, in imitation of Japanese family crests.  

Beverly Hoge in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s communications department and local graphic designer Ann Masters, who had traveled in Japan, partnered to create the symbol. Masters visited the original Japanese bonsai collection – quarantined in Glenn Dale, Maryland in 1975 before the Museum was built – and was inspired by this Sargent juniper.

The evolution of the NBF and Museum logo.

The evolution of the NBF and Museum logo.

John Creech noted in his book, The Bonsai Saga, that the logo depicts the Sargent juniper in a double circle to reflect the “sturdiness” of the bonsai and its abundant foliage. The leftmost branch of the juniper breaks the bands of the circle, which symbolizes the “continued vigor of the trees in their new home” – the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum!

“You can see the cloud-like foliage, the twisted trunk, the ribbon-like branches and the line separating dead and live wood in the drawing,” James said. “Those aspects were the main focus when creating the final version of this logo.”

The next time you visit the Museum, be on the lookout for our logo and pass on your knowledge of the significant history of this Sargent juniper bonsai. 

The entrance gate to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum bearing the logo. Photo credit: USDA

The entrance gate to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum bearing the logo. Photo credit: USDA

Museum Curators: Jack Sustic

Jack Sustic at NBF’s annual reception in 2018.

Jack Sustic at NBF’s annual reception in 2018.

“It’s almost as if my life path was leading, from the very beginning, to become curator.”
— Jack Sustic

Sustic has just retired from his two-year stint as National Bonsai Foundation co-president and 19 years as a board member, leaving an extensive and inspiring legacy at the Museum – including 12 cumulative years as Museum curator. Therefore, it’s only fitting we pay homage to him in our next Museum Curators spotlight. 

His “path” to bonsai curator began indirectly during his youth. Sustic had heard references to bonsai in films like Karate Kid, but he first saw a real bonsai in the mid-1980s when he was serving in Korea as a U.S. Army soldier before college. He said the bonsai immediately captivated him, and upon returning to the U.S. at Fort McClellan, Alabama, Sustic joined the Alabama Bonsai Society.

The club jumpstarted his love for bonsai and plants in general, and Sustic soon graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in horticulture. He scored his first plant care job at the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden in South Carolina, during which he applied for the U.S. National Arboretum’s internship at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.

In 1996, Sustic served as the Museum intern for six months under Curators Bob Drechsler and Warren Hill. He returned to South Carolina after his internship wrapped up but was soon chosen for the Assistant Curator position, taking over as curator after Hill retired. Sustic served as curator from 2001 to 2005 and returned in 2008 to preside over the Museum for another eight years. 

“It was such an honor to be part of that collection, but with that honor comes responsibility,” Sustic said. 

Sustic and volunteer Dr. Joe Gutierrez repotting the Yamaki pine.

Sustic and volunteer Dr. Joe Gutierrez repotting the Yamaki pine.

Accomplishments as Curator and Co-President

Sustic helped to establish many perennial programs and relationships at the Museum and NBF. He pioneered the formation of NBF’s National Bonsai Hall of Fame, which currently includes three members: John Naka, Yuji Yoshimura and Bill Valavanis.

“It was something I thought the Museum and the U.S. bonsai community needed in order to honor and recognize these bonsai masters’ valuable contributions to the art,” he said. 

Sustic is credited with planting the seeds to grow the Museum’s Sister Museum relationship with the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum after he visited their site in Saitama, Japan. Sustic also formed the Consortium of Public Bonsai Curators as a way for bonsai artists and leaders to share information about how they share, cultivate and protect their bonsai collections. 

“The consortium serves to help each other and each public collection. I’m very proud of that,” he said. 

From left to right: Former Curators Jim Hughes, Bob Drechsler, Jack Sustic and current Curator Michael James.

From left to right: Former Curators Jim Hughes, Bob Drechsler, Jack Sustic and current Curator Michael James.

Sustic’s Bonsai Inspirations

Sustic met an array of friends and teachers throughout his nearly 20 years at the Museum. 

“Being curator has allowed me to get to know, work with and befriend people around the world who have been part of the Museum,” Sustic said. “The kindness that all these people share is wonderful.”

Among that company is Felix Laughlin, appointed as NBF’s third president as Sustic began his internship in 1996. Sustic eventually joined Laughlin as co-president from 2018 to 2020. 

“I was really lucky to have one NBF president the entire time I was at the Museum and really lucky it was Felix,” Sustic said. “He is such a wonderful guy, and we worked really well together.”

Sustic learned the art of bonsai from many people, but he most prominently drew inspiration and learned from bonsai master John Naka, who visited the Museum every year to work on trees, especially his world-renowned “Goshin.” Sustic also visited Naka in California to work on trees in Naka’s backyard. 

“Looking back now, I wish I had paid more attention,” he said. “It went by too fast, but those were wonderful experiences. I learned a lot from John, so his influence was huge on me.”

Sustic also learned from Harry Hirao and traveled to Saburo Kato’s bonsai nursery in Japan called Mansei En, during which he received one-on-one training from Kato. With their help, he excelled as a leader and friend throughout his years of dedication to the Museum. 

“I distinctly remember telling Bob Drechsler, ‘I don’t know how you can be curator. I could never do it,’” Sustic said. “Fortunately, over time I learned the ropes, and eventually I took it over. I considered it a real honor and privilege to have been the steward of those trees, and I still feel that way.”

Sustic adds the final touches on a trident maple prior to an official state visit by the Japanese Prime Minister in 2012.

Sustic adds the final touches on a trident maple prior to an official state visit by the Japanese Prime Minister in 2012.