2026 contest ideas?

[Dav4]

I have a few junipers that I've done nothing with; I could easily take cuttings, but I've not been successful with juniper at this point. Is there a trick to getting them to produce roots? Timing, soft/semi-hard/hardwood, medium, rooting hormone, etc? Even if I don't join the contest, it would be helpful to have a starting point.

Honestly, shimpaku cuttings have proven to be the easiest of all the species I've attempted. In both GA and MI, cuttings taken late winter through spring- approx 4 " long, both with or without rooting hormone and put right into a commercial potting soil mix and placed in the shade under a bench- have a 75+% success rate for me. According to Dirr, taking cuttings after a freeze increases your success.

 

[Ozz80]

I agree that a 7 year contest is going to produce a significantly better end product, but I am not sure where the curve of interest starts to die off. How many other contests have we had that are over 5 years, or is there a way to start with slightly older materials? (it seems harder to start with older materials, if the point is to bend and twist them young, IMO)
I am happy to be part of organizing a X year juniper shohin contest. It think we should start with rooted cuttings, so we take away the issues associated with getting cuttings to take and root well. So I think it should be "established cuttings that are smaller than a pencil" as the starting point.
They are fairly easy to produce, or there are retailers that have materials available.
Am I excluded from participating as a professional grower? It does not seem that contests have made that sort of exclusion in the past, but I am happy to step aside or participate on the side as an organizer.
John

There was a 6-year JBP contest:

The 2018 Six Year Japanese Black Pine Contest

This forum will be for contest participants to track and report on their progress.

www.bonsainut.com

Some of the results achieved there by the contestants, especially @Ryceman3 thread, has been and still continues to be inspirational for other users even after the contest ended. (Including me, I will be starting some JBP seeds this season, imitating techniques used by @Ryceman3 and other contestants). JBP contest seems to have lots of entries as far as I see, so I hope and believe that a few additional years would not cause too much loss of interest.

But it is just my two cents of course, as far as my view counts since I am active in this forum less than a year only. I only wanted to state that after we make the final styling and put the tree in a bonsai pot, that tree will not easily develop anymore and we will still be looking after it in the following years. I'd prefer to get at the end a product worth of filling a place in my yard and to be looked after, not a stick in a pot. Any condition that gives such an end result is OK for me. If that is possible to do in 5 years, then it is OK as well.

As for the professional grower's entry; as a newbie and an amateur, I will be happier if professional growers would enter a contest, because this will mean that I will be able to learn the best practices from them through the process.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Thank you for your responses! It seems I will need a fairly loose, (at least) slightly organic mix to start semi hardwood cuttings that are not more than 4" long, and thinner than a pencil, with (or possibly without) rooting hormone in (for me) early March through April. Shimpaku is best (for SO many reasons), but any other suggestions for a more common species? I think I have a gold point and a blue chip, and then some other nursery juniper. I also have permission to collect cuttings from an Alligator Juniper a couple houses down from me.

What about air layering? Is this a viable option for juniper, regardless of contest?

 

[leatherback]

Thank you for your responses! It seems I will need a fairly loose, (at least) slightly organic mix to start semi hardwood cuttings that are not more than 4" long, and thinner than a pencil, with (or possibly without) rooting hormone in (for me) early March through April. Shimpaku is best (for SO many reasons), but any other suggestions for a more common species? I think I have a gold point and a blue chip, and then some other nursery juniper. I also have permission to collect cuttings from an Alligator Juniper a couple houses down from me.

What about air layering? Is this a viable option for juniper, regardless of contest?

I once documented the whole process in video. It is straightforward tbh. Just ensure they do nto dry out, by for instance keeping it in semi shade in a humid spot under a bench.
Airlayering works very well too.

YouTube

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world.

studio.youtube.com

 

[Ozz80]

I once documented the whole process in video. It is straightforward tbh. Just ensure they do nto dry out, by for instance keeping it in semi shade in a humid spot under a bench.
Airlayering works very well too.

YouTube

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world.

studio.youtube.com

I could not open the link. Is there a problem with my internet or can it be due to it is being a studio edition link only accessible to the uploader?

 

[Russ1]

I could not open the link. Is there a problem with my internet or can it be due to it is being a studio edition link only accessible to the uploader?

Wants me to sign in as well.. To Google.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

If you click the link to @leatherback channel below his post, go to playlists under juniper. I'm watching one now, tried to post a link above. There is another video detailing juniper cuttings as well.
Here is the other one:

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Just ensure they do nto dry out, by for instance keeping it in semi shade in a humid spot under a bench.

What is this "humid spot" you speak of?
I've heard about such a condition, in wonderful places where such things occur where water falls from the sky. Sounds magical.

I have a fairly dense grapevine on the north side of a fence where I can keep it shaded and somewhat humid.

 

[JoeWilson]

That's fair. Precise language is always a good thing.

Based on the feedback received so far, here is the updated contest information:

2026 Native Collected Broadleaf Challenge

This five-year competition celebrates native broadleaf trees. Participants will collect locally sourced material and transform it through thoughtful design and horticultural skill. By focusing on progression rather than completion, this competition aims to cultivate appreciation for regional tree species, encourage sustainable collecting practices, and showcase the artistic journey of developing raw material into bonsai.

Competition Rules

1. Participants are allowed a maximum of 2 entries.
2. A minimum of three photos of each tree should be posted each year, one in the Fall before leaf drop, one in Winter silhouette, and another in the Spring after leaves emerge.
3. Tress that do not survive can be replaced with a different tree, but a photo of the dead tree should be posted.
4. Each tree must:
   • be native and collected in the participant's region, identified to at least the genus level. Collection from wild areas and urban environments are both acceptable, but all collections should be legal and ethical.
   • have been collected between November 1, 2025 and January 1, 2027.
   • be a broad-leafed tree (no conifers)
   • be raw material not originally planted for bonsai (trees planted from seed in bonsai grow beds do not count)

Timeline and Voting

• The competition will last for 5 years, ending on May 15, 2031, upon which participants will vote for the best tree progression (cannot vote for one's own tree)
• The top three winners will win prizes (TBD)

Voting Recommendations

Because this competition only last for 5 years from collection, it is not expected that participants will have "finished" bonsai at the end. Apart from smaller trees, most will only be partially developed and quality should be judge based on the tree's progression and the artist's decision making in the design from collection to its current state. The choice of pot should not be a consideration in the vote, as many trees may still be in training pots at the end of the competition.

I'm very excited for this!

I will probably do a mountain mahogany. I have a handful that I've planted as shrubs in the yard over the last few years. They haven't been pruned or trained for bonsai. I assume these would qualify? (If I can get permission from my wife to dig one up, that is).

How about nursery stock? I have a little leaf mountain mahogany that I bought this fall that is still in the pot (buried in mulch in a raised bed for winter). I had been planning to do something with this one, but I haven't pruned or trained it yet. Grown somewhat locally (from a small grower in Colorado, I forget where) if that matters.

 

[leatherback]

What is this "humid spot" you speak of?

well.. You know you water your trwees daily till it drains out of the pot? That water goes somewhere. In my garden that results in a humid spot. Then again.. In normal year we rarely go more than a few days without rain, so humidity is everywhere. In dry climates maybe use a humidity dome?

 

[leatherback]

I could not open the link. Is there a problem with my internet or can it be due to it is being a studio edition link only accessible to the uploader?

ah shoop, I hate it when I do that!

below

Thx!

 

[souvik1811]

Sorry, maybe the thread got diverted a little? Do we finally have a contest for 2026?

 

[DeepSouth]

Sorry, maybe the thread got diverted a little? Do we finally have a contest for 2026?

There was an official Raft contest that was created.

I also submitted a new thread to finalize the collected broadleaf natives contest after discussing it here, but it has not been made official by @Bonsai Nut. Not sure why.

 

[leatherback]

Sorry, maybe the thread got diverted a little? Do we finally have a contest for 2026?

the raft contest has started: https://www.bonsainut.com/forums/the-2025-raft-5-year-contest.96/

and @DeepSouth is starting one on Native Collected Broadleaf

 

[Wulfskaar]

Sorry, maybe the thread got diverted a little? Do we finally have a contest for 2026?

the raft contest has started: https://www.bonsainut.com/forums/the-2025-raft-5-year-contest.96/

and @DeepSouth is starting one on Native Collected Broadleaf

There is another one cooking regarding turning a single ugly bonsai into 2 better bonsai.

 

[Brain Treez]

There was a 6-year JBP contest:

The 2018 Six Year Japanese Black Pine Contest

This forum will be for contest participants to track and report on their progress.

www.bonsainut.com

Some of the results achieved there by the contestants, especially @Ryceman3 thread, has been and still continues to be inspirational for other users even after the contest ended. (Including me, I will be starting some JBP seeds this season, imitating techniques used by @Ryceman3 and other contestants). JBP contest seems to have lots of entries as far as I see, so I hope and believe that a few additional years would not cause too much loss of interest.

But it is just my two cents of course, as far as my view counts since I am active in this forum less than a year only. I only wanted to state that after we make the final styling and put the tree in a bonsai pot, that tree will not easily develop anymore and we will still be looking after it in the following years. I'd prefer to get at the end a product worth of filling a place in my yard and to be looked after, not a stick in a pot. Any condition that gives such an end result is OK for me. If that is possible to do in 5 years, then it is OK as well.

As for the professional grower's entry; as a newbie and an amateur, I will be happier if professional growers would enter a contest, because this will mean that I will be able to learn the best practices from them through the process.

I definitely agree that 5 years from a cutting is pretty short, and I'd be interested starting with an already rooted whip ~1/4" or so in size.

@JEads, you're right that the first bends at the beginning really do set the journey for the whole tree. Also, please DO participate if we get this going.

 

[DeepSouth]

I'm very excited for this!

I will probably do a mountain mahogany. I have a handful that I've planted as shrubs in the yard over the last few years. They haven't been pruned or trained for bonsai. I assume these would qualify? (If I can get permission from my wife to dig one up, that is).

How about nursery stock? I have a little leaf mountain mahogany that I bought this fall that is still in the pot (buried in mulch in a raised bed for winter). I had been planning to do something with this one, but I haven't pruned or trained it yet. Grown somewhat locally (from a small grower in Colorado, I forget where) if that matters.

Nursery stock would not count because the tree is already in a pot. Part of the challenge is ripping the tree out of the ground and basically developing a stump and a new root system. The ones in your yard would count though as long as they don't have any training! mountain mahogany is an interesting species .

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Sorry, maybe the thread got diverted a little? Do we finally have a contest for 2026?

You can always join the celtis contest (again) - no start or end date. The more entries the better.

 

[JEads]

I definitely agree that 5 years from a cutting is pretty short, and I'd be interested starting with an already rooted whip ~1/4" or so in size.

@JEads, you're right that the first bends at the beginning really do set the journey for the whole tree. Also, please DO participate if we get this going.

Ok
Let's do a 7-year juniper from rooted cutting. Pencil girth or less.
Any sized final tree, but the goal is styled and in a pot on that period.
I will work to procure prizes.

Should we start soon (now)? Winter is the best time to make cuttings for us, so we would start summer 2026.

Any thoughts?

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

So, would we take multiple cuttings and select one once rooted, or wait till the end of the growing season? Or multiple entries? I can't enter every contest, but this one could give me plenty of experience that I am seriously lacking with conifers.