American Bonsai Society Convention, Hershey PA, 1992

Taxus cuspidata

Japanese Yew

Collected in April 1990.  

       This tree, pictured above in 1996, grew as an enormous multiple-trunked monster alongside Kurtis Smith's driveway near Monroe, Michigan.  We believe it was originally planted there around 1910.  Our first thought was to style it in the ground, but after further consideration I was able to convince Kurtis to let me remove it for bonsai purposes.  It now stands 30 inches above its container.

One of the other trunks was also turned into a bonsai.  Click here to see it.

For a detailed discussion of this tree and the ensuing demonstration see the July/August, 1993 issue of Bonsai Magazine, the official publication of Bonsai Clubs International.  It was also pictured in the fall 1996 issue of International Bonsai.

       --Bruce