Bonsai Society of Dallas

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1 Bonsai Society of Dallas Monthly newsletter September 2009 Message from the President IN THIS ISSUE: Message from the President September Program Auction update Upcoming workshops September Bonsai Tips Link of the Month August in Review Calendar of Events BSD BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chuck Talley, President, Program Chair Ravi Sharma, Vice President, Program Chair Diane Lowe, Treasurer James Bonney, Secretary Jerry Riley, Member Relations John Miller, President Emeritus Sylvia Smith, President Emeritus Has your address changed? Comments? the editor at Would you like to get this newsletter via ? Become a member. August certainly was a busy month for our club. Ray Hernandez did a great job styling a twisted pomegranate that had been field grown at his nursery. Ray is maintaining it for us and continuing to develop it into a fine bonsai for our convention in a couple of years. A few weeks later we enjoyed a weekend of tropical styling demonstrations and a workshop with our LSBF visiting guest artist, Roberto Martinez. Roberto worked his magic on a Ficus Nerifolia at our meeting in Dallas. Lori and Gary Stone were the lucky winners of the raffle and they are now the proud owners of that beautiful Ficus. The next day, Roberto joined our friends at the Ft. Worth club for their demonstration on a Brazilian Raintree. He also conducted a workshop where participants brought a tree from their collection and received wiring and styling advice. A lot of work goes into hosting a guest artist so special thanks to James Bonney for creating the marketing brochure, to Mark Bynum for coordinating the workshop facility, to Ravi Sharma for taking care of Roberto on workshop day, and to John Miller for getting Roberto to Longview, his next stop in his tour of Texas. Please see more details and some great pictures of these events as you read further in this newsletter. Our club is continuing to grow and we would like to welcome our two newest members Prasad Polamraju and Lee Elms. We are glad you found our club and we look forward to sharing our passion for bonsai with you. We have an exciting fall events calendar. Our September program is a hands-on wiring demonstration led by long time club member and former club president, Howard Smith. This is a great way to learn wiring for the first time or simply brush up on your wiring skills. Be sure to bring at least one tree and your wire/tools to this meeting so you can actually practice what Howard is teaching us. Bringing a tree or two will also make for a nice show and tell before we get started. In October we have our annual club auction as our program. This is always a member favorite event since we see and have an opportunity to purchase a lot of bonsai material at various stages of development. We ll actually be in a larger room at North Haven Gardens so it will make it easier to review and see the material prior to bidding. Start saving now for some great deals. Now is also the time to start thinking about what you may want to donate or sell at the auction. Don t leave it to the last minute! In November we will have Andy Smith from Deadwood, South Dakota as our guest artist for the weekend. He will present a program on successfully collecting conifers and will also conduct a separate workshop on styling conifers. Don t forget to read John Miller s great September tips and I look forward to seeing you at our next program. Chuck

2 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 Get Wired with Howard August Program by Howard Smith of BonsaiSmiths No, this isn t an invitation to an evening of espresso chugging; it s an invitation to join Howard Smith at North Haven Gardens on Saturday, September 5 th for a wiring lecture and wire-your-own-tree workshop. Howard will start the program by discussing the Hows and Whys of wiring. Members are encouraged to bring wire, tools and a tree from their collection because in the second part of the program, members will be wiring their own trees under Howard s watchful eye. Some say that wiring is the single most important development in bonsai in the last hundred years. Whether you re a beginner to wiring, or an old pro looking to learn a few new tricks, don t miss this opportunity to learn from an expert and make some significant progress on your trees! BSD October Auction Update by Sylvia Smith Time to start thinking about your collection and looking to see if there are any items that have lost your interest or if you re in the market for new ones. Yes, it s almost time for BSD s Annual Auction. Sept. 5 th, 9AM Get Wired with Howard North Haven Gardens Sept th FWBS Club Show Ft. Worth Botanic Gardens October 3 rd, 8:30AM to Noon BSD Club Auction North Haven Gardens (see more info in this newsletter) November 6 th, FWBS Conifer styling demo with Andy Smith November 7 th, 9 Noon How to Collect Conifers with Andy Smith NHG (see more info in this newsletter) November 7 th, 1 5PM Bring-Your-Own-Tree-&-Tools workshop with Andy Smith NHG (see more info in this newsletter) This October the auction will take place in the new classroom at NHG. To get there you must enter through the greenhouse. The doors are located all the way in the back. We should have enough space here to accommodate all of our auction items up front so that the work of the runners has been lessened to walkers. All joking aside, it should be a better fit for us. Here is how the auction works: 1. You may bring any bonsai or bonsai related item for donation. 2. Items may also be sold for a 20/80 split. Meaning 20% goes to benefit BSD and you get to keep the other 80%. These items must have a starting reserve price of $50; items under $50 will be considered donations. (No items may be sold prior to or after the auction unless you have worked this out with the auctioneer.) Link of the Month This month s link is the website of Andy Smith, collector and seller of fine conifers from the mountain regions of the North. If you plan on making his workshop in November and need a tree, he s got some great material.

3 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 Cont. from pg All items to be brought to the auction should be delivered between 8:30-9:30am. If you cannot bring your items at this time please make arrangements with a friend to bring them for you as we do not have a place to house items before the auction. Items will be checked in at this time and no item will be accepted after 9:30am. 4. Everyone must sign in and get a paddle. Please return these when you are done bidding or when you are ready to check out. 5. At this time we can only take cash or checks. If you are selling items, you will be mailed a check from BSD at a later time and please be patient with us. It takes time to coordinate schedules with our volunteers so that we can count up the totals after the auction is through. Every year we have had a successful auction and the members of the board as well as the auctioneer strive to correct or improve this event. Last year we had a very last minute idea to have telephone auctioning, with somewhat awkward results as this had never been attempted or thought out much. Although it is impossible to regulate phone usage during an auction, we do ask that everyone bidding have a paddle and if they are bidding for a friend, that they establish a maximum bid ahead of time as to not disrupt the flow of the auction. Volunteers helping with the auction can and are encouraged to bid on items for themselves. We would like everyone to be able to enjoy this event! This workshop will take place after the usual monthly program. Andy is recognized as one of the premier collectors of conifers in the United States. He also lectures and has released a DVD. The afternoon workshop is a hands-on styling of conifers open to the first 10 members (5 BSD/5 FWBS). The cost to attend the workshop is $45. This fee does not include a tree. You may either purchase a tree from Andy s website at (Andy is offering a 10% discount if you mention DFW November workshop in your order), or bring your own conifer (pine, spruce or juniper). If you order a tree, it has to be ordered early enough to be shipped no later than November 2 nd. To reserve your spot at this workshop, please RSVP to Diane Lowe at (972) or diane_lowe@tx.rr.com and mail your $45 payment. Photo courtesy of Andy Smith In order to run our auction more smoothly, we need volunteers to fill the spots of runners (those who bring items up for auction), registration, checkout, and auction logging. Please contact Sylvia Smith at slysmith@earthlink.net or (972) if you are able to fill one of these posts. Save the Date Andy Smith Conifer Workshop Join us Saturday, November 7 th from 1 5 PM at North Haven Gardens for a hands-on workshop with American Bonsai Society board member and Deadwood, South Dakota bonsai collector Andy Smith. Black Hills Spruce, literati style. Estimated age 100 years. Photo courtesy of Andy Smith

4 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 It Was Soooo Hot Well, How Hot Was It? by Mark A. Bynum, FWBS It was so hot that you could fry eggs on that bonsai pot! I recently completed the construction of a 3-tier bonsai display table in the sunniest part of my yard. This is the new home for my sun loving, better junipers, but within days of placing them, the air temperature jumped up to 104 degrees. Not wanting to lose any of my best trees, I purchased a laser/infrared thermometer* to see just how hot the pots were getting. I was shocked at what I learned. In the 103 degree temperature the next day, I was getting pot readings of degrees! Needless to say, I immediately went out and purchased a patio cover framework and placed shade cloth over my precious little trees. The new information was so revealing that I thought I would do further investigation and share it with my fellow bonsai enthusiasts. The following statistics were taken on a still and sunny day of 95 degrees F.: Pot, unglazed ceramic in sun 123 after watering 109 White terry-cloth pot skirt 106 after watering 89 Pot, under skirt 106 after watering 100 Pot, dk. blue glazed, on wood bench 129 ", white glazed, " 125 ", unglazed, shade cloth," 105 ", ", dappled shade, " 98 ", unglazed on ground, dappled shade ", common clay training 102 ", black plastic nursery 143 Soil, bonsai aggregates only, in ceramic pot, surface 130 ", ", 1" down, moist 110 Tree, bark in sun 131 in shade 104 ", foliage in sun Bench, new wood 131 ", weathered wood 138 Clay tile, on ground 111 " ", on top of 2' post 112 Interesting, yes? Now think of how hot bonsai tree pots and benches get when the temperature is 100+ degrees! Here are some conclusions that I have formulated from this data: As generally accepted, if pot temperatures of 120 degrees can damage tree roots, then at 95 degree ambient temperature roots close to the edge of glazed or unglazed ceramic pots in the sun are being destroyed and the trees will suffer. Pot skirts are a considerable deterrent to heat. Better to have skirts in place as the temperature begins to reach 90 degrees consistently. Wood benches are extremely hot. After the shock of learning how hot pots can get, this was the second biggest surprise. We must find a way to insulate the pot from the bench or just move the trees to the ground. Stone or clay tile surfaces are cooler than wood surfaces. Pots on moist earth are much cooler. Shade frames and shade cloth should be in place before the temperature reaches 95 degrees. Move trees to dappled shade or under the bench on the ground before 95. Do not leave prospective bonsai trees in the nursery pot! Transplant into clay training pots or bonsai pots as soon as possible. The highest temperature reading in the stats above is the black plastic nursery pot. Some kind of misting of the bench and tree pots will greatly reduce the heat. You may, of course, draw your own conclusions from this data, or better yet, make a laser thermometer part of your bonsai tool set and take pertinent readings from your own bonsai environment. You will be surprised with your results and I think a better bonsai horticulturist for your efforts. Happy styling to all, Mark *The laser/infrared thermometer is an instrument developed by the space program to quickly gauge the temperature of items that may be hard to reach. Shaped much like a tazer, simply point and shoot and the digital readout will give you an accurate reading from -50 to 650 degrees. A Ryobi tool, it is available at The Home Depot for $30. The tool is most often used to locate leaks in window seams but has a wide variety of other uses and is well worth the money. It is also a lot of fun to play with! (Copyright Mark Bynum. All rights reserved. Article reprinted with permission.)

5 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 5 SEPTEMBER IN BONSAI By John Miller That was an interesting weekend we had with the LSBF touring artist. Using the Ficus subulata (used to be nerifolia) in Dallas and the Brazilian raintree in FTW, he taught a lot about doing tropicals like tropicals and not like temperate deciduous trees. During our trip to East Texas, I was able to find that they can grow pines (especially JBP) successfully without any cold weather. Being a tour guide to a visiting artist can broaden your bonsai experience in many ways. What do you think about while you are watering your trees? Is this just a mindless chore or are you thinking about how that tree is developing and what will need to be done in the future? Good observation will let you plan ahead and obtain materials you need. A different pot perhaps or you may notice the start of an insect problem or the need to get them ready for winter. It pays to make a habit of doing more than just applying water. Help your trees go into dormancy. Withhold fertilizers from those outdoor trees now. They will need less water as they quit active growth but on warm days trees with green foliage will still transpire and need that water. Most tropicals have a dormant season also, but it is caused by dry conditions rather than cold. These types need to be hardened also by cutting the fertilizer to halt active growth and lighter watering. This will enable them to withstand the transfer to the greenhouse better. The latest issue of International Bonsai has a good article about the minor elements needed for good plant growth. In addition to the big three N-P-K there are 13 more that are important. The article cites the author s experience with applying them to a chlorotic white pine and some deciduous trees. The deciduous responded with improved leaves on the new foliage and the white pine opened the next year with good green needles. He suggests that the proper time to apply is at bud break. Check your fertilizers that you use. Many will list the minor elements included. Most organics will have them. (My Hollytone has all 16 elements listed.) Check the trees you still have wire on. When the cooler days get here some trees will expand their branches and get wire cuts rather quickly. You need to check them periodically over the winter also. Winter growth will usually be pretty slow but can occur, especially on the evergreens. When removing wire, I suggest cutting the wire off. You can easily break the branches trying to unwrap the wire and it s just not worth trying to save the wire. But you must do it with care, it s too easy to leave one coil on the branch. You should start at the tip of the branch and cut and REMOVE each coil back toward the center. If you need to reapply some wire take care. Two other things you can do now. You should prepare your winter quarters and you should study your evergreen trees to determine if you need to do any restyling later on this fall. 1. Check on the place you expect to winter your bonsai. Make sure that it is clean. Debris harbors insects and other plant pathogens. A strong limesulfur spray can be used to disinfect the area as well as your growing area after the trees are removed. 2. Also be sure that you will be able to check the water needs of the trees during the winter. 3. It should be somewhat protected from winds but should have some air movement to help prevent molds from developing. 4. Having it in a location where you can see the trees will allow you to enjoy the winter silhouette; i.e., the branch structure and twiginess that is a great part of deciduous bonsai. There is not too much to be done on deciduous trees at this time. Bugs and other problems are usually not a matter of concern since the foliage will be dropping soon. Evergreens and tropicals will still need to be watched for their insect problems, especially the spider mite, which will be active into fall and on your greenhouse plants all winter. Use the organic spray formula to control them. If we have a stretch of damp weather you should watch for fungal problems, leaf spot, mildew, etc. Treat fungal issues with potassium bicarbonate. Baking soda sodium bicarbonate will work about as well. I would be okay with using a 1% hydrogen peroxide solution at this time of year for fungal control.

6 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 6 The organic spray formula is one tablespoon each of liquid seaweed, fish emulsion, 5% apple cider vinegar, and molasses in one gallon of water. This once was used as a foliar feed but I only consider it an insecticide. Pruning and trimming can be done any time that there is not a lot of sap flowing but is usually advisable to do it during dormancy. Sap flow is indicated by the foliar activity of the plant like in the spring. If your tree went into summer dormancy which occurs during hot weather then the cooler weather might result in a larger sap flow in late summer or early fall. If your plant gets a flush of new growth it would be advisable to postpone large pruning cuts for a while. Basically let you tree tell you when it is ok to operate. Check nurseries for possible bonsai material. When the season is over they usually put everything on sale to clear it out so they can fill up with Christmas trees. August in Review What a month it was. Our first program saw Ray Hernandez from Bent Tree Bonsai and his assistant Se Sihongheune give a wonderful styling demonstration on a twisted pomegranate. During the demo, Ray relayed interesting facts about pomegranates, from its natural pests (pomegranate butterfly, borers and thrips) to its edible fruit, to its significance in certain religions. While repotting, Ray was queried about what looked like ordinary dirt that he was adding to his soil mixture. It turns out Ray is a big supporter of worm castings for use as an organic fertilizer. Ray and Mary are blessed with a yard that has lots of worm activity and Mary jokes that Ray lets her do all the poop collecting. Ray brought along some of his nursery wares and even donated a can of his fantastic volcanic soil as a raffle item. Thanks Ray! Ray cleaning a rotted spot in the trunk. Photo courtesy R. Sharma. More power tool work from Ray s demo. Photo courtesy R. Sharma. Ray & Se start the repot. Photo courtesy R. Sharma.

7 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 7 Mid-month the LSBF s guest artist Roberto Martinez Acosta of Puerto Rico visited. Both the Dallas and Ft. Worth clubs shared Roberto for two styling demos and a workshop. The first demo took place at North Haven Gardens. Roberto worked on a Willow Leaf Ficus (Ficus nerifolia now being classified as a subulata). Roberto stressed his philosophy that nature is your best teacher. Tropicals do not grow like pines, and you ll not find one that looks like a formal upright in a natural habitat either. Although he says one must know the rules of bonsai, he also said that if you take your inspiration from nature, you can t always follow the rules. Roberto says that the willow leaf likes to be pot bound and can take defoliation very well. In his country, you can defoliate this species many times throughout the year; although he says that our climate would not support that type of treatment. This species of ficus is a very malleable tree and can take significant bending as long as it s done with care. Roberto likes to use high-voltage self-adhesive electrical tape for major bending. The tape sticks to itself when stretched (the tape can be seen in some of the pictures). After the demo, the tree was raffled off and Lori Stone was the lucky winner. Congratulations! On Sunday, Roberto was in Ft. Worth working on a Brazilian Raintree (BRT). This was another eye-popping demo as Roberto took a 6-ft-tall tree and turned it into a semi-cascade! Many cuttings were given out and Roberto even sketched out the tree s future design as he saw it. The reason a cascade was picked is because the tree had a bit of inverse taper that he could hide better with a cascade. Roberto says that BRTs do not make good taper usually because of the swelling of the collars on branches is more pronounced than on other trees. He also prefers to use guy wires whenever possible with this species. When working on ramification, Roberto says to count two leaves and then cut. Interestingly enough, he says that the Brazilian Raintree is a somewhat invasive species in the tropics. The BYOT workshop was held Monday evening with participants getting some very good one-on-one styling help and advice. A big thank you to Roberto for coming to our clubs and to all the people who helped make this event a successful one. Roberto discusses the potential of Ficus. Photo courtesy J. Bonney. Mark helps Ray with wiring. Photo courtesy J. Bonney. Roberto s design if the tree were his. Photo courtesy J. Bonney. Tree fully wired. Photo courtesy J. Bonney.

8 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 8 Major branches have been defined. Photo courtesy J. Bonney. Roberto puts on the finishing touches. Photo courtesy J. Bonney. Brazilian Raintree originally 6 ft. tall! Photo courtesy J. Bonney. Shari on a BRT? You bet! Photo courtesy J. Bonney. Roberto dives in. Photo courtesy J. Bonney. Completed first styling and Rob s vision. Photo courtesy J. Bonney.

9 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 9 Pegasus Pot tery By Sandi McFarland Specializing in carved stoneware Cups, plates, bowls, etc. And now creating small bonsai pots! Let me make something special for you! 1405 Limetree Ln. Irving, TX potter@pegasuspottery.com 10% Discount to BSD Members! Howard and Sylvia Smith Cultivators of fine trees bonsaismiths@earthlink.net Collection maintenance Tel# (972) Private instruction Fax# (972) Classes, lectures & demos Generous Businesses Give Discounts to BSD Members Present your BSD membership card at the following participating businesses for a 10% discount on merchandise: The Bonsai Smiths Ray Hernandez s Bent Tree Bonsai Pegasus Pottery Sanderson Creek Bonsai We are so grateful to these businesses for their generosity to BSD members! If you have a business and would like to offer a discount to club members, please contact James Bonney at amy.james@gte.net.