San Diego Bonsai Club
  • Home
  • Activities
    • Next Meeting
    • 2023 Calendar
    • 2023 Spring Show
    • Bonsai-A-Thon
    • Bonsai Show Maps
  • Education
    • About SDBC Education
    • Beginner's Classes Overview
    • Beginner's Class Schedule
    • Workshops & Skills Classes
    • Study Groups >
      • Shohin Study Group
      • All About Bonsai Study Group
      • Ficus Study Group
    • Private Lessons
  • Resources
    • Newsletter
    • Club Forms
    • Club Library
    • Vendors
    • Photos >
      • 2020 Winter Silhouettes
      • 2018 Fall Show
      • 2018 SD County Fair
      • Spring 2018 Show
      • 2018 Cal Shohin Seminar
      • GSBF Convention #40
      • 2017 Fall Show
      • 2017 Spring Show
      • 2016 Fall Show
      • 2016 Nisei Week Trip
      • 2016 Spring Show
      • 2016 Bonsai-A-Thon
      • 2016 Winter Silhouettes
      • 2015 Fall Show Photos
      • 2015 Nisei Week Trip
      • Bonsai Stolen from San Gabriel Nursery
      • 2015 Spring Show
      • 2015 Bonsai-A-Thon
      • 2014 Fall Show
      • 2014 Nisei Week Trip
      • 2014 July Bus Trip
      • 2014 Spring Show
      • 2014 Bonsai-A-Thon
      • 2014 Winter Silhouettes
      • 2013 Fall Show
      • 2013 Spring Show
    • Articles >
      • Lime Sulfur
      • Bougainvillea Bonsai
      • Soil: It's What Goes in the Pot
      • 'Lyn's Bonsai Soil Mix
      • Back-Budding
      • REBS 2014 Show
      • 2014 Boxwood Dig
      • Club History
      • Club Logo
      • First Show May 1966
    • Video >
      • 2019-2021 Videos
      • 2015-2018 Videos
      • Video
      • More Video
  • Membership
    • Membership Form
    • Membership Benefits
    • Volunteer
  • Safari Park Bonsai Pavilion
    • Overview and History
    • Bonsai Pavilion Trees
    • Stolen Bonsai
  • Looking Back
    • Time Traveler
    • Remembering... >
      • Remembering Big Dave Rochester
      • Remembering Marty Mann
      • Remembering Ko Tsushima
      • Remembering Harry Hirao
      • Remembering Bob Meyer
  • About
    • Overview of Club
    • By-Laws
    • Past Presidents
  • Contact

Trip to the 2014 Redwood Empire Bonsai Society Show

By Cathy & Mark Edgar
One of the more fun activities in bonsai is visiting bonsai displays in other locations. Cathy and I have followed the online newsletters published by the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS) in Santa Rosa, California for a number of years. The REBS is known for a number of things. For example, Kathy Shaner is the club Sensei, but REBS is also very well-known for their August bonsai show which is one of the largest in the USA. Typically, the club shows more than 200 high quality bonsai trees.  With this in mind, Cathy and I drove to Santa Rosa for the REBS show on August 23 and 24. It was a long drive, but the show is easily one of the best shows we have attended.


Bob Shimon is the show chairman and he does an outstanding job organizing the show. Bob also sells redwood bonsai trees and Sara Rayner bonsai pots at all the bonsai shows. I spent a significant amount of time talking with Bob and buying bonsai pots (when Cathy wasn’t looking). Bob had about 20 trees in the exhibit, the most impressive being the Sierra juniper in the entry way of the show.  This tree was truly magnificent.
Picture
Bob Shimon's Sierra juniper, REBS 2014
Jim Gremel also had many trees in the exhibit. Jim, you may know, sells bonsai pots, high quality bonsai trees, and excellent copper wire at bonsai shows. Jim was kind enough to take Cathy and me around the exhibit for a tour of his trees. Jim is an entertaining guy and told us of the time many years ago when Fred Miyahara was visiting Jim’s house near Santa Rosa. During the visit, Jim remembered that Fred looked at a juniper that Jim was working on and suggested that grafting with shimpaku foliage would be the best course for the tree. Jim took this to heart and spent several years grafting this juniper (his success rate was somewhat low while learning to graft). The same tree was at the exhibit and now has mature shimpaku foliage.
Picture
Jim Gremel's grafted shimpaku, REBS 2014
Another interesting tree was linked to John Naka. One of the REBS members purchased this juniper during a fundraiser at the Lake Merritt Bonsai Pavilion. He subsequently found that the tree’s original owner worked on the tree with John Naka and John drew a picture of the tree in 1979. Shortly after purchasing the tree, the new owner made several design changes with Ryan Neal during a 2012 workshop. The tree and John Naka’s picture were on display at the exhibit.

Picture
Juniper worked on by John Naka, REBS 2014
Picture
1979 drawing of the juniper by John Naka
Other trees displayed included many redwoods, trident maples, boxwoods, blue atlas cedar cascades, grapes, and pines. This was truly a worthwhile show to attend.
Updated: March 7, 2023
All images © 2010-2023.
All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Activities
    • Next Meeting
    • 2023 Calendar
    • 2023 Spring Show
    • Bonsai-A-Thon
    • Bonsai Show Maps
  • Education
    • About SDBC Education
    • Beginner's Classes Overview
    • Beginner's Class Schedule
    • Workshops & Skills Classes
    • Study Groups >
      • Shohin Study Group
      • All About Bonsai Study Group
      • Ficus Study Group
    • Private Lessons
  • Resources
    • Newsletter
    • Club Forms
    • Club Library
    • Vendors
    • Photos >
      • 2020 Winter Silhouettes
      • 2018 Fall Show
      • 2018 SD County Fair
      • Spring 2018 Show
      • 2018 Cal Shohin Seminar
      • GSBF Convention #40
      • 2017 Fall Show
      • 2017 Spring Show
      • 2016 Fall Show
      • 2016 Nisei Week Trip
      • 2016 Spring Show
      • 2016 Bonsai-A-Thon
      • 2016 Winter Silhouettes
      • 2015 Fall Show Photos
      • 2015 Nisei Week Trip
      • Bonsai Stolen from San Gabriel Nursery
      • 2015 Spring Show
      • 2015 Bonsai-A-Thon
      • 2014 Fall Show
      • 2014 Nisei Week Trip
      • 2014 July Bus Trip
      • 2014 Spring Show
      • 2014 Bonsai-A-Thon
      • 2014 Winter Silhouettes
      • 2013 Fall Show
      • 2013 Spring Show
    • Articles >
      • Lime Sulfur
      • Bougainvillea Bonsai
      • Soil: It's What Goes in the Pot
      • 'Lyn's Bonsai Soil Mix
      • Back-Budding
      • REBS 2014 Show
      • 2014 Boxwood Dig
      • Club History
      • Club Logo
      • First Show May 1966
    • Video >
      • 2019-2021 Videos
      • 2015-2018 Videos
      • Video
      • More Video
  • Membership
    • Membership Form
    • Membership Benefits
    • Volunteer
  • Safari Park Bonsai Pavilion
    • Overview and History
    • Bonsai Pavilion Trees
    • Stolen Bonsai
  • Looking Back
    • Time Traveler
    • Remembering... >
      • Remembering Big Dave Rochester
      • Remembering Marty Mann
      • Remembering Ko Tsushima
      • Remembering Harry Hirao
      • Remembering Bob Meyer
  • About
    • Overview of Club
    • By-Laws
    • Past Presidents
  • Contact