September Special Meeting - Monday 4 September Demonstration Fui Ferreira September General Meeting - Monday 11 September Demonstration Don Deluca

Transcription

1 GEELONG BONSAI CLUB INCORPORATED MONTHLY NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER NEWS 2017 September Special Meeting - Monday 4 September Demonstration Fui Ferreira September General Meeting - Monday 11 September Demonstration Don Deluca Rui Feirrera Demonstration 730pm 4th September 2017 I'll keep my facebook page with a mix of private and work life with Bonsai. If you have a problem with that look me up on Instagram where its only Bonsai (jardim-de-bonsai). Master Hotsumi Terakawa was my first Master, I've continued my studies with Master Salvatore Liporace whom I consider my Hoyakata! I'm an instructor of the European Bonsai School of Master Salvatore Liporace. I am the owner of Jardim de Bonsai in Tavira Algarve, a nursery specialising in Bonsai and in teaching all the necessary techniques related to this Art form. I am very eclectic in my work and choices. I'm used to working with Japanese species but also Northern and South European species as well as tropicals. Deciduous trees and evergreens are my passion, but I also work all kinds of coniferous trees. The material I usually work is from Yamadori (collected in nature) to nursery stock. A reminder to continue to prepare your trees you intend displaying in our show in November. As you know its been decided this year to allow anyone to display a tree and there will be three tables set up for our beginners. If you are considering putting a tree into the show this year, please speak to Jason Show Bench this month is Olives and Style of the Month is Root over Rock Coming events: NURSERY CRAWL - 15th October JOE MORGAN-PAYLER WORKSHOP Saturday 21 October 9.30am and 1.30pm at our clubrooms. AUGUST MEETING AUGUST GENERAL MEETING - QUENTIN VALENTINE DEMONSTRATION MEETING PICS WITH QUENTIN

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3 AUGUST 2017 SHOW BENCH SEPTEMBER 2017 SHOW BENCH Tree of the month Olives Style of the Month Root over rock/rock planting-rock plantings Your Choice, --anything that looks especially good to you at this time of the year. HOW THE SHOW BENCH WORKS Each month there will be a Tree of the Month and this can be any style. There will also be a Style of the Month this can be any species. The section Your Choice can be any species and style. There will be three sections. Novice, Intermediate, and Open. Judged as follows: 1 point will be awarded for every tree shown. 2 points for the second tree. 3 points for the best-judged tree in that section. 1 point for the third. The Your Choice of tree is open to all sections. All trees presented must be in show condition, i.e. clean pots, trimmed etc. At the A.G.M. in December, there will be a prize for the Winners of each section. Please be aware to display trees at the show bench they need to be in bonsai pots. Others to be placed elsewhere. Check with Jason who does the monthly judging for more information. MEMBER PROFILES We'd like volunteers to be a part of this program. Thanks to Tom for getting us started again. Who will put their hand up to be next? Tom Cockram's Profile I started my bonsai journey in Feb I was helping my mother pull out the dying spring border plants when I discovered a small seedling plum of Prunis Japonica at the drip line of it s parent. I potted it up & still have it today. Although it s parent was very double flowered it turned out to be only single although it s fruit is often double or even treble. I didn t know that I was doing bonsai but just collecting plants, putting them into terracotta pots &.keeping them alive.i added one or two plants each year until 1953 when I lashed out &. brought my first shrub at a nursery, a Chaenomeles (Japanese quince var. Apple Blossom.) it

4 took a whole weeks pocket money all of 2/6 or 25 cents in today s money. By then I had a couple of native plants in my collection. In 1960 I went overseas for 3 yrs to study Landscape design in London &. my mother looked after my plants for me. On returning home at the end of 1962 I started my own Landscape gardening business hence a connection with lots of plant nurseries picking up lots of damaged or free sick plants as bonsai starters. Later in 1963 I acquired very pot bound Port Jackson figs &. turned them into bonsai starters, they were growing in 9 lb. prune tins &. their drainage holes had rusted over. I started selling them in1966 for between $50 &. $110 each. In 1970 I sold my business &. moved to Brisbane & started a 3 yr. course in studio pottery. I moved back to Melbourne in 1974 &opened Potters Croft Pottery &. Bonsai at Red Hill South, it was the right place at the right time being part of establishing the Red Hill Market that spread all over Australia All this time I had been doing my bonsais solo. I found out that there was a bonsai club in West Rosebud so I joined in It seemed that they didn t want new members, because every time I took along a bonsai I wasn t even allowed to have them in the meeting room even as a novice. Time to move on &.in 1988 moved to Daylesford Hepburn Springs & opened The Old Billiard Hall Gallery & Bonsai Nursery. With Ballarat close by I joined the Ballarat Bonsai Club in early 1990 s. I enjoyed my time there &.was president for a number of years & treasurer also,they made me a Life member. In Daylesford I was very involved with tourism &. established the first co op tourist map which has gone all over Victoria as part of Tourism Victoria Jig Saw map. I was a foundation member of the Chill Out Festival. In Hepburn Springs and we also started The Swiss Italian festival. In 2002.my mother came to live with me & it became a bit too much running my gallery, making pottery, keeping house &.looking after my mother. So I retired, sold everything in Hepburn Springs &. moved to Castlemaine with my mother until she died in 2007 aged 93. There they had just started the Central Goldfields Bonsai Society, a great little club, good friends &. lots of kids. I didn t want to move but the weather was getting to me over the winter months. I looked at places to go to that I could afford but picked Geelong because I also have family here.over the years I have become interested in mame, or mini bonsai & some think me a bit of an expert (maybe, I am), and also accent plants. I also have a great interest in Australian Native figs & Wisterias &. have given a number of talks on the subjects. It seems that the more you are involved with bonsai the more clubs you belong to so now I belong to Bonsai Northwest, Vic. Native Bonsai, and Geelong Bonsai Club and am still a Life member of Ballarat. Anyway at 79 I m still going strong. P.S. I still make various types of bonsai pots &. trays in various different clays.

5 BONSAI HAPPENINGS for the DIARY The South Australian Bonsai Society Inc Bonsai Exhibition 8 th -9 th October 2017 Our October 2016 Annual Show open 10.00am to 4.00 pm both days Admission: $4.00 for Adults-Children under supervision Free. Goodwood Community Centre, 32 Rosa Street Goodwood, behind the Goodwood Library NURSERY CRAWL - 15th October JOE MORGAN-PAYLER WORKSHOP Saturday 21 October 9.30am and 1.30pm at our clubrooms. Ballarat Bonsai Club Annual Show on 4-5th November 2017 (Cup Weekend). GBC Annual Show 111 th -12th November th -12 th November 2017 at the Masonic Hall, Regent Street, Belmont. A magnificent display of Bonsai and a well stocked trading table that offers Bonsai requisites for sale, including pots, tools, wire, books ncluding trained and semi-trained Bonsai and nursery stock. Continuous demonstrations of shaping and repotting of bonsai each day. Meet and talk with Geelong s top Bonsai exponents. Light efreshments available. GBC AGM Critique and Break Up 11 December 2017 BONSAI ACTION FOR SEPTEMBER The busiest time of the Bonsai calendar is now upon us. Spring is the best time for re-potting and root pruning. Ideally this is done as buds are swelling and about to open. As the weather will be fairly windy and warmer days are more frequent it is a good idea to increase watering as pots will dry out very quickly. Deciduous trees particularly Liquid Ambers are the first trees to attend to then proceed with conifers and other evergreens. Do not prune spring flowering trees such as Prunus, Apple, Pyracantha, Wisteria, etc. until after the flowers appear. Most trees are top pruned in conjunction with root pruning. Soak newly repotted trees in water trays with the water up to the rim of the pot, add a plant hormone such as plant starterr to the water, and leave for a few hours then place the tree into a sheltered position without to much sun for a couple of weeks. After this time move your potted tree into a more sunny position. Don t forget to place some moss onto the soil as it will take hold quickly at this time of the year but remember to protect it from birds. It is not recommended to fertilize until a month or so after repotting as new feeder roots will not have developed until then. Keep a record of your fertilizing program (date, type used) so that you will know when to re-feed and can vary the type of fertilizer for a balanced ratio of nutrients. It is recommended to stay with organic fertilizers as they are less harmful to the soil and plant and do not build up a residue of salts on the pots. Try Dynamic lifter, cow manure, seed meal, Blood and Bone, and sea weed emulsions.

6 Study your trees now to decide which ones may be suitable to go into the spring show and if they need repotting pot them into a good display pot. Remember the show is not that far away. Start preparing your plants now! Spring Spring is when our dedication to Bonsai must be maintained buy continuous attention. Our trees will quickly grow and get out of hand if we do not continually monitor and maintain them. Our trees require continual tip pruning to keep compact growth and develop ramification. Pines are actively growing, and the candle reduction must be performed to balance the growth around the tree. ( only for trees under maintenance). Tropical trees can be worked on now that the weather has warmed up. Once the overnight temps get above 15 Degrees C you can start on them. When Planning on re-potting Natives a good method is to prune as necessary, and then leave for a week or two. The buds get a head start on regrowth and then re-pot. As the overnight temps increase, Return Tropicals to your benches from winter protection Start Fertilizing Evergreens again heavily Evergreens can be lifted from the ground and be potted up, or Root pruned and Replanted for further growth collection of Yamadori, Many of our Natives are in flower so place them in Prominent positions to enjoy them ( Acacia, Grevillea) airlayer cuttings dig fertilise growth leaves potting pots prune repot roots seeds show sun water wire now keep potting up cuttings taken last January last chance to lift deciduous trees planted in the ground, before bud break; can lift evergreens until October rootpruned repots not for 3 months; others now, including old ones trees come into new growth burst repot before they open,just as new buds are beginning to swell new ones now give them space on benches for air circulation & light do not prune spring flowering till after flowers appear deciduous & flowering now; soak with plant starter in water, put in shelter and leaf spray; spring flowering - repot only after flowers appear check before repotting, if tight and filling pot, time to repot stratify and sow deciduous seeds Check stands for show; plan stands for trees rotate pots regularly to encourage growth all over increase watering as soil dries out in warmer weather faster check - must not cut in SEPTEMBER PLANT PROFILE Alnus cordata, Italian Alder A fairly large deciduous tree with a slender straight trunk. The bark is grey-green with whitish streaks and is fissured when mature. The leaves are simple and alternate, stemmed and heart

7 shaped with a finely serrated edge and pointed tip. The flowers are unisexual, the males arranged in drooping catkins, which appear before the leaves, and the females in oval cones similar to small pine cones. It originates from the central southern Mediteranean region, including south-western Italy, Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia. Alders are exceptionally well adapted to growing in wet soils near lakes and on river banks. The wood has the unusual characteristic of hardening in contact with water and of being particularly resistant to it, which is why it was used for pilings for the foundations of the City of Venice. Position:- Semi-shade and avoid hot summer sun. Feeding:-Once every 20 to 30 days at the beginning of and during the growing period. Watering:-Daily and generously throughout the growing season and mist spray the foliage frequently to encourage high humidity but do not leave them in standing water. Water less in winter. Never allow the soil to dry out completely. Repotting:-Every two to three years in early spring or autumn. Use a mixture of 70% potting mix, 20% coarse sand and 10% peat or equivalent. Pruning and Wiring:-Major work on the root system should be done gradually, especially with older plants, in late autumn or winter. The branches can be shortened during the winter also, preferably leaving a few buds. Reduce the new shoots in the growing season when they are still tender retaining a pair of leaves. Alder respond well to pruning. Wire in spring taking care to protect the trunk and branches. Propagation:-By seed sown in autumn, and by softwood cuttings in spring or summer. THIS N THAT SUGGESTION BOX Let s reintroduce the suggestion box. Please take the time to consider your ideas of how to improve the way we do things to make our club even more than what it is today. Ideas also about topics during the year you would like discussed, speakers to invite, number or workshops versus speakers etc. Additionally what are the reasons you regularly attend and what would be the reasons some of our members only occasionally attend and what are the contributing factors why some only remain members for a short time. GBC Website - BONSAI TIP OF THE MONTH Sieves: Soil-sieving screens can be constructed from 1x2 wood (furring strips) and several sizes of screen, available from hardware stores. Use a 1/4" and 1/2" "hardware cloth", and 1/16" window screening. The 1x2s are cut and glued/nailed together to form a tray about 1'x2' wide and 1 1/2" deep (1x2's are actually about 3/4" by 1 1/2"). The screens are cut to the 1'x2' dimension to fit, and stapled to the bottom of each tray. These hold a couple of handfuls of soil, and can be stacked. The standard keeper soil is too large for the tiniest, "shohin" pots, and the soil which does pass through the 1/16" screen contains too much dust for any pot. A plastic re-usable drip coffee filter

8 with a small, nylon mesh which does a good job of sifting out dust from what passes thru the 1/16" screen. THOUGHT OF THE MONTH To be no ego 1. Be humble. Understand you are a (small) part of the world. Service and patience should be your top priorities. 2. Be teachable. Focus on what you can learn, rather than what you know. Remember that almost everything you learn comes from the work of someone else. 3. Listen more. Make every effort to truly understand what others are saying (beyond just words). Allow a gap of silence before responding. Ask questions (and listen, again). 4. Appreciate people. Enjoy others contributions. Don t squelch ideas or defend territory. Encourage more. 5. Relax. Let go of the need to be right or win every time. NURSERY OF THE MONTH The Master s Apprentice Bonsai School and Nursery The Master s Apprentice Bonsai School and Nursery Mark Ludlow runs The Master s Apprentice Bonsai School and Nursery in Mill Park. Class is always on each Wednesday evening from 7 pm until 9 pm, $25. Or you can phone Mark and make another time for a class with him. Want a tree? Mark has plenty of stock in varying sizes and ranging from bonsai to pre-bonsai, rom tiny material grown from cuttings, to hefty field-grown stock, Mark has a great range. Ph WEBSITE OF THE MONTH A Guide to Growing Bonsai and Making a Bonsai for an Amazing Bonsai Experience BONSAI TRIVIA OF THE MONTH Find the tree names hidden in these sentences (1) So then I begged Ma: "Please, please help me!" (2) "Whoa, Kramer, nice entrance," mused Jerry. (3) That rec room is a night-mare in pastel, Mom! (4) "Eve, I believe we're made of carbon," said Adam. (5) Mozart excites me, but Chopin eludes me. (6) Our very own doubting Thomas penned a winner! (7) From the pit he yelled, "I, Jacob, am booming!" Answers in next months newsletter! HOUSEKEEPING Meeting setup/tidy-up The hall will be open from about 7pm to set up tables and chairs. As is the case for each of our meetings, extra hands to help set up are always welcome, as is help appreciated at the end of each meeting to pack away afterwards. Those who regularly assist would very much be pleased if more of us lent a hand. GENERAL BUSINESS GBC Library An extensive library of bonsai books, magazines/journals, DVDs are available (as part of membership benefits) for use by members. Borrowed items must be returned in the month following their removal for loan. Non-financial members aren t eligible to borrow from the library

9 and borrowing privileges may be revoked for members who do not respect the borrowing process. See John and Steph Dearnly our Librarians Memberships Due annually at our December Annual General Meeting Individual $20.00, Family $30.00, Students & Pensioners $15.00 To win the door prize one needs to wear their membership badge. Meeting setup/tidy-up - Confucius says many hands to make light work The hall will be open from about 7pm to set up tables and chairs. As is the case for each of our meetings, extra hands to help set up are always welcome, as is help appreciated at the end of each meeting to pack away afterwards. Those who regularly assist would very much be pleased if more of us lent a hand. How the Show Bench Works? Each month there will be a Tree of the Month, Style of the Month and Your Choice and this can be any style. If required please request which detailed notes sheets you require. Wearing of Badges Reminder to please wear your badge at our meetings. It is a requirement to be able to claim the door prize if you are the winner. Mentors:- If any club member would like to volunteer their time as a mentor to other club members, please put your name down on the mentors list at the next meeting. Likewise if any club member would like to like to have the help of another person outside of club meetings. NEXT MEETINGS Special Meeting - Monday 4 September Demonstration Fui Ferreira General Meeting - Monday 11 September Demonstration Don Deluca

10 GBCI CLUB DETAILS Established 1980 Registered 1984 (#A2342S) Please address all correspondence to: The Secretary Geelong Bonsai Club Inc. P.O. Box 1175, Geelong, Victoria, 3220 President Paul Buttigieg Vice President: Karen Van der Lee karen Secretary: Susan Abhikair-Zampatti - suzie170@gmail.com/ Treasurer: Graeme Kelleher - gramare@optusnet.com.au/ Committee: Nathan Rhook Website - nmrhook@gmail.com/ Committee: Jason De Vries jasonde@dodo.com.au/ Committee: Phil Wall p.wall@cfa.vic.gov.au/ Show Managers: TBA Librarian: John & Steph Dearnly: dearnley1@bigpond.com/ Newsletter Editor: Sales Table: Paul Buttigieg geelong@bonsai.org.au TBA Meetings are held at Grovedale United Services Memorial Hall, Reserve Road Grovedale at 8pm on 2 nd Monday of the month. No meeting in January. Meetings in 2012 on the second Monday of the month except November which is the first Monday because of the show. PO Box 1175 Geelong VIC 3220 President: Paul Buttigieg Vice President: Karen Van der Lee Secretary: Susan Abikhair-Zampatti Treasurer: Graeme Kelleher 2017 EVENTS CALENDER Saturday 12 August Workshop - Joe Morgan-Payler Monday 14 August General Meeting Demonstration Quentin Valentine Sunday 20 August Workshop Batesford Monday 4 September Special Meeting - Demonstration - Rui Feirrera Tuesday 5 September AM & PM Workshops -Rui Feirrera Monday 11 September General Meeting Demonstration Don Deluca Tuesday 19 September Committee Meeting Monday 9 October General Meeting Workshop Sunday 15 October Nursery Crawl Saturday 21 October Workshop - Joe Morgan-Payler Monday 6 November General Meeting - Show Workshop Sat Sun November BONSAI CLUB ANNUAL SHOW Saturday 25 November Scott Martin Training Program - Batesford Tuesday 28 November Committee Meeting Registration No: A S Monday 11 December ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (Critique/Christmas Pizza Party) ANNUAL SHOW BENCH ACTIVITY DATE TREE OF THE MONTH STYLE OF THE MONTH August Any Evergreen Windswept or slanting September Olives Root over rock/rock planting October Flowering or Fruiting Literati or Broom November Maples and Liquid Amber Shari s Jin s and Driftwood December Composite Leaves (Ash, Wisteria) Your Choice (Anything)