This year’s Taikan-ten featured a special display area devoted to an impressive collection of Korean hornbeams. Hornbeams are a favorite variety of mine as they can show great character in the trunk and develop very twiggy branches.
Cascade Korean hornbeam – unglazed hexagonal pot
It’s rare to see so many old specimens together so it was fun to compare the different styles and pot selections. The trunks are gnarly enough to work well with unglazed pots, and bright enough to work with different glazes.
Korean hornbeam – glazed oval pot
The five trees on display were good exemplars of their respective styles and provide a good look at the diversity one can find in the variety.
Korean hornbeam – unglazed oval pot
Korean hornbeam – glazed oval pot
Korean hornbeam – glazed oval pot
Trunk detail – cascade
Trunk detail – twin trunk
Trunk detail – triple-trunk
Special hornbeam display
A second special display area featured trees styled by Shinji Suzuki – more on that later this week.
