Imagine for the moment that you are a lady and you have been invited to the opening night of the opera. You know that the occasion is where the top one percent strut their stuff and you need to dress accordingly. After much searching for just the right gown at a fashion house you select a gown from a famous designer which has many yards of beautiful silk damask. Of course, you will wear the diamond necklace which has been in your family for generations even though it doesn’t compliment the gown very well. The big night comes and, on the way out the door you suddenly realize that you need shoes, so you grab an old and dirty pair of tennis shoes. You are good to go, right? Well, not exactly. Your overall composition leaves something to be desired.

So why is this relevant? Surprisingly, it is not unheard of for bonsai enthusiasts to treat the tree entered in a show the same way. A lot of time is spent fussing with trees to get them just the way they will show their very best. They are in a pot and what ever pot works just fine. On the way to the show, we grab something to put the tree on and we are good to go, right? Just like the hypothetical lady who selected with great care the gown for the evening and lost track of the rest of the outfit for the occasion, we sometimes lose track of the fact that we are not displaying a tree, but we are presenting a composition and all parts of the composition are important.

Putting the point in another way, you frequently hear people talking about the tree that they are going to display in an upcoming show. As a matter of fact, no one has ever shown a tree. Taken in its most literal sense displaying a tree means taking the tree out of the pot and plopping it down roots, dirt and all on the display area. Of course, no one does this. Trees are always presented in a pot. The addition of the pot makes the display a composition. Trees shown in a show are shown on a stand, another addition to the composition. The merit of the composition depends not only on the tree but also the choice of the pot and the stand.

Think of the stand as a picture frame. It completes the presentation of the picture by setting the picture apart from the surrounding area and yet does not compete with the picture for your attention. Stands come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes and the stand that we select should reflect the features of the tree. A stand with straight legs will show a formal tree such as a pine to best advantage. A stand with curved legs is a good choice for a delicate maple. A low stand works for a tall tree. A taller stand might be used to elevate a short, twiggy Yamadori juniper so the fine details of the tree can be more easily seen and enjoyed. The criteria for a good stand is a clean and simple design that does not complete with the tree. A quality stand can be compared to fine furniture. Quality stands are expensive but don’t despair. There are several alternatives to an expensive stand. Bamboo mats are frequently used as an informal summer display stand in Japan. They are available in import stores. Very simple stands can be made from short sections of hardwoods. A bit of sanding and finish is all you need. Three boards which are sanded and finished can be arranged in a staggered formation and this presentation is particularly useful for trees in a large pot. Each of these boards should be about one third the width of the pot.

What should you look for when purchasing a stand? Beware of stands with deep scratches. Minor blemishes can be subdued by Old English scratch Remover (available from your local grocery store) but deep scratches into the raw wood can never be satisfactorily fixed. Slabs of wood cut from a tee are often seen at local shows. If you purchase a slab, select one that is less than one half an inch or less. Thicker slabs tent to visually dominate the tree. Vendors of stands will sell at many of the bonsai sales and are a source of fine stands. When shopping for a stand for a particular tree, be sure to measure the pot. To ensure the new stand is a good match for the pot, the pot should comfortable fit is the stand. If the stand has a panel in the center, the pot should fit within the panel. For a fifteen-inch-wide pot the stand should extend two or three inches beyond the pot and about an inch in front of the pot. This ratio of pot size to stand size holds for different pot sizes.  

As a parting thought, when show time comes, remember that you are presenting a composition consisting of tree, pot and stand. What ever you choose for a stand give it a coat of wax to buff it up and show it at its very best. Pledge (also available from local grocery store) works but there are many other wax products that work just as well. A dirty and dusty stand not only seriously downgrades your composition but also sends the message that you just don’t care.