2026 contest ideas?

[Charlo]

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?

I am in. I have over 10 types of junipers, so lots of choices. I don’t like Kishu. Spider mite magnets.

 

[JEads]

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.

I think the idea would be to start with an established cutting, so that you remove the risk of early death.
I think it would be normal to have multiple plants being developed concurrently since they will not look any different for many years and then reduce the 'herd' to a final tree to present at the end.
That seems to be how the "pine from seed" contest was done.

Also, since it is a 7 year long contest, a few months different on the front shouldn't matter much.
We can start in January or February of 2026, but if people can't start till April, it shouldn't matter.

I can start the thread once we have some guidelines and timeframe.

John

 

[leatherback]

We can start in January or February of 2026, but if people can't start till April, it shouldn't matter.

And starting open whenever after the starting date.

 

[n8]

Juniper whip contest sounds great.

I'm co-leading a club workshop in January to repot juni whips (from Left Coast John!) and wire initial movement, so I'll encourage club members to join BNut and enter our contest, too.

 

[Charlo]

I think the idea would be to start with an established cutting, so that you remove the risk of early death.
I think it would be normal to have multiple plants being developed concurrently since they will not look any different for many years and then reduce the 'herd' to a final tree to present at the end.
That seems to be how the "pine from seed" contest was done.

Also, since it is a 7 year long contest, a few months different on the front shouldn't matter much.
We can start in January or February of 2026, but if people can't start till April, it shouldn't matter.

I can start the thread once we have some guidelines and timeframe.

John

I sent to your site to look for whips that are not kishu. I did not see any, do you have some that are not on your website? If not I found a JBP that may be coming to my house.

 

[n8]

I sent to your site to look for whips that are not kishu. I did not see any, do you have some that are not on your website? If not I found a JBP that may be coming to my house.

Itoigawa juniper whips- 2 years old

Itoigawa juniper whips in 4" pots. 2 years from cutting This photo is a representation of what you will be receiving, but will not be the actual plant. Plants will ship on the Monday after the order is placed. If you want to combine shipping with other orders, or delay shipping, please let us know.

leftcoastbonsai.com

 

[Brain Treez]

I think the idea would be to start with an established cutting, so that you remove the risk of early death.
I think it would be normal to have multiple plants being developed concurrently since they will not look any different for many years and then reduce the 'herd' to a final tree to present at the end.
That seems to be how the "pine from seed" contest was done.

Also, since it is a 7 year long contest, a few months different on the front shouldn't matter much.
We can start in January or February of 2026, but if people can't start till April, it shouldn't matter.

I can start the thread once we have some guidelines and timeframe.

John

I like it!

Instead of a hard start date, maybe we just establish that it ends at the start of Winter 2032? That's 7 full growing seasons from now. That way folks can still jump in at any point before then with the understanding they're maybe a bit behind but can still participate. Do we want to establish that the end goal is the best bonsai at that end point, or the tree best set up for the future? Require initial styling in Spring 2032 so it fills out a little by Winter or let each of us decide how to present it and when to make those "final" cuts?

 

[JEads]

I like it!

Instead of a hard start date, maybe we just establish that it ends at the start of Winter 2032? That's 7 full growing seasons from now. That way folks can still jump in at any point before then with the understanding they're maybe a bit behind but can still participate. Do we want to establish that the end goal is the best bonsai at that end point, or the tree best set up for the future? Require initial styling in Spring 2032 so it fills out a little by Winter or let each of us decide how to present it and when to make those "final" cuts?

Great! Lets do Feb1st 2033 as the final date. That gives the northern hemisphere one last winter styling and the southern hemisphere one last summer of growth.

I think the "winner" should be the tree that is the tree that is furthest along in becoming a bonsai. No one is expected to get a show tree by then, but we also need to see more than an interesting trunk in the ground. IDK, it is a hard choice between polishing a mediocre tree and getting it into a nice pot or having a tree that is only 75% there in that time, but has much more potential. I think I would favor the tree with more potential but might not photo as well for the judging.

I will lean on my network and get some 'star' judges to do the final, and I think they will be more inclined to favor the same thing.

I will work up a post and get it published.

Thanks for the help everyone

 

[Ozz80]

I think the idea would be to start with an established cutting, so that you remove the risk of early death.

Is it required that the cutting is taken by us, or can we start with a cutting bought from a bonsai store, as long as it is thinner than a pencil and shorter than 4 inches?

 

[leatherback]

Is it required that the cutting is taken by us, or can we start with a cutting bought from a bonsai store, as long as it is thinner than a pencil and shorter than 4 inches?

should not matter.

 

[JEads]

Is it required that the cutting is taken by us, or can we start with a cutting bought from a bonsai store, as long as it is thinner than a pencil and shorter than 4 inches

As @leatherback said, it does not matter where you get your cutting, and length does not matter either. I think any juniper that was previously not worked on and is smaller than a pencil qualifies as a starting point.
There are a few online sources, like myself, that have good materials, or you can get something locally.
I will get the post made soon.
Thanks

 

[JEads]

ok. here is the 2026 7 year shimpaku juniper contest post. start your engines!
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/the-2026-seven-year-shimpaku-juniper-contest.70592/

 

[JEads]

ok. here is the 2026 7 year shimpaku juniper contest post. start your engines!
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/the-2026-seven-year-shimpaku-juniper-contest.70592/

@Bonsai Nut can you turn this post into a real contest? Thanks!

 

[DeepSouth]

The 2026 Native Collected Broadleaf contest is up! https://www.bonsainut.com/forums/the-2026-native-collected-broadleaf-challenge.97/

Good luck everyone, this will be fun!

 

[Gabler]

ok. here is the 2026 7 year shimpaku juniper contest post. start your engines!
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/the-2026-seven-year-shimpaku-juniper-contest.70592/

Wait a second. Why is this suddenly a shimpaku juniper contest? I was all ready to go with my Juniperus horizontalis.

 

[Gabler]

I think a 5 year juniper from cutting contest would be great also! lets organize something

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

No prior mention of a shimpaku-only requirement.

 

[Bolter]

No prior mention of a shimpaku-only requirement.

Some people define shimpaku junipers as scale junipers - not just Juniper Chineses. Juniperus horizontalis looks scale like to me...

Also:

No need to verify varieties. No need to get into those weeds.
I just would like it to be as close of a competition s possible.
So if it looks kinda like a shimpaku, grows kinda like a shimpaku it will work for the competition.

Final determination might be on your initial contest post where you submit photos of your starters.

Cheers

 

[Gabler]

Hmm. Well, at least I have the collected broadleaf contest.

 

[Gabler]

I have an idea for 2027. (We already have two contests for 2026, and that's plenty).

The Apples to Oranges Contest!

Your final entry will be a photo of a single bonsai tree bearing fruit, so start with a cutting or an air layer. Your final entry will be judged on the following criteria:

• Nebari
• Trunkline
• Branch structure
• Ramification
• Pot selection
• Bounty (How fruitful is the tree?)
• Truthfulness (How closely is it related to a true apple or orange, i.e. Malus or Citrus?)

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

I have an idea for 2027. (We already have two contests for 2026, and that's plenty).

The Apples to Oranges Contest!

Your final entry will be a photo of a single bonsai tree bearing fruit, so start with a cutting or an air layer. Your final entry will be judged on the following criteria:

• Nebari
• Trunkline
• Branch structure
• Ramification
• Pot selection
• Bounty (How fruitful is the tree?)
• Truthfulness (How closely is it related to a true apple or orange, i.e. Malus or Citrus?)

I have 2 crab seedlings received from ADF this year. They're not cuttings or air layers, but...