@Smoke that is
this Itoigawa Shimpaku.
@JudyB I can’t say that I agree with the best in show selection either, but I was not the judge. I can tell you that the judge’s comments about the tree itself included, “this is what a maple looks like, I could sit under this and read a book, and that normally a laceleaf Maple has really large leaves, and not much ramification, but this one has been worked well.” She thought the pot was ok with the leaf color, but wished the stand was taller so the tree would be elevated.
@-norwegian_blue- I don’t know which tree won People’s Choice. Usually it’s one of the blooming azaleas. Were you there?
@Ruben Bouwmeester yes, there is a small Bonsai nursery near Dothan, but each time I’ve been there, it‘s been closed. It didn’t look too impressive the one time I stopped and looked in the windows and through the fence.
@cmeg1 yeah, the ginkgo was a last-minute grab in case we didn’t have enough trees. The show would have been just fine without it or the ume, which is good.