The Bonsai News H of ouston

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1 The Bonsai News H of ouston A Monthly Newsletter of the Houston Bonsai Society Inc. Volume 46 Number 1 January 2017 IN THIS ISSUE Upcoming Events Kusamono with Soon Cheah Showcase of the Month Bonsai companion plants January Bonsai Care John Miller President s Letter Little Plate Plantings Dallas 2017 State Convention Soon Cheah Shares Her Secrets. Kathy Shaner Seminar Sooncheng Cheah s saikei at the Houston Chinese Bonsai exhibit 2016 ( Photo: Shawn Nguyen) The next meeting of the Houston Bonsai Society will be at the Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion in Hermann Park, 1500 Hermann Park Drive, Houston, TX Refreshments at 7 PM, meeting starts at 7:30 PM. Wednesday, January 4 th, HBS Monthly Meeting: Accent plants, Kusamono and Saikei workshop with Sooncheng Cheah. We all have admired Soon s work over the years but this will be HBS first chance to see her in action, on the big screen. Upcoming Events Saturday, January 7 th, Saturday Study Group at Timeless Trees Bonsai Nursery in Rosenberg, TX, 9AM 12 Noon. Free, refreshments provided. January 5-8, 42 nd Gafu-ten at Miyako Messe in Kyoto, Japan. Includes the 3rd World Shohin by Japan Shohin Bonsai Association Gafu-ten. January Kathy Shaner s Seminar in Austin area. Please see ad for details. Friday January 20, Bring your own Tree Workshop with Rodney Clemons at Timeless Trees, 9 AM 4 PM, $75. Rodney will assist styling conifers and deciduous. Saturday January 21, Japanese Black Pine Class, Rodney Clemons at Timeless Trees. Morning workshop 8:30 AM 12 Noon, and afternoon workshop, 1 4:30 PM. See Calendar of Events for details. Saturday, January 21 Shohin Society of Texas meeting at Persimmon Hill Bonsai, Red Hawk Cove, Austin, TX featuring Little Plate Planting. Seedlings planted through holes in a ceramic plate will grow and fuse into an impressive base. Sunday, January 22 Juniper workshop with Rodney Clemons, 9AM 4 PM, Workshop focus on styling and wiring Foemina Junipers. Cost of workshop depends on tree sizes: $60, $125 and $200. See Calendar of Events for details. January Bay Island Bonsai Annual Bonsai Exhibit at the Lakeside Garden Center, Oakland, CA.

2 Bonsai accent plants January Bonsai Care I recommend you read a very good series that Jonas Dupich on Bonsai Tonight started on December 6 th, on his blog ( It covers minute details on selection, watering, difference between healthy growth and vigorous growth, etc. Often, an article like this one is very limited in the amount of details on a subject, but this one is written so well that you can see the recommendations work in your backyard, not with calendar dates (usually useless in other areas), or just like he does in California. It is written with a lot of pictures of the details, especially great for beginners, but most of the experienced people would still appreciate. It would be nice to sort your trees into 2 or 3 groups - outdoor trees, indoor trees and flowering trees, but nature has not done anything that simple. Some outdoor trees survive the cold and others need dormancy yet can t have their roots frozen. Your job is to learn their foibles and work around them. In general, you start by remembering that deciduous trees will go dormant and stay that way until something awakens them. Some are temperature sensitive, so they go dormant when the temp drops in the fall and awaken when it gets warm. These should be kept in a shady area to keep them cool. Others are sensitive when day length changes: They go dormant when daylight gets short and will break buds when they sense the days are getting longer. These are not so hard to care for. Evergreens do not go fully dormant. They slow their processes but still use sunlight and some nutrients. However they still need their roots protected to prevent alternate freezing and thawing. All outdoor trees, both deciduous and evergreen, need to have their soil moisture maintained and their roots protected from deep freeze. Since their sap flow is diminished, they cannot replace moisture lost to strong winds, so protect them accordingly. The plants can be also protected by ground heat to minimize the low and high temps, so set them on the ground then cover their pots with mulch. For tropicals, care at this time depends on your facilities, and the heat and light conditions, the two things usually in short supply in January. I merely try to keep mine alive with the greenhouse at 50 degrees. Watch your greenhouse for too much sun, excessive heat, for aphids and other problems. When the mame sized shohin elms have had a month of dormancy, I bring them into the greenhouse before the temps get to the lower twenties. They respond by starting growth, so I have them for soul food through January. Styling can be done at this time but no repotting, unless you are going to keep the tree from freezing after that. Repotting initiates new root development which is usually not very hardy. Repotting is best done when the tree is waking up, indicated by buds swelling before they show any green. A better approach would be to study one or two thoroughly each day, making notes on what needs to be done. January is an excellent time to start any remodeling projects. While the trees are dormant, you have a better view of the branch structure. Do any twig need to be moved or removed? Do any large branches need to be cut back to a smaller side branch for refinement? Do any long straight branches need wiring to give them motion? Does the tree really need a drastic redesign? You can also trim the twigs back while you have them in front of you. Also decide if that tree will need to be repotted this spring, is the

3 pot good or should you find a more appropriate one for it? Tender or tropical trees kept indoors will need more water to offset the lower humidity. Soil will also be losing water faster through its surface. Be sure to watch the indoor trees for insect problems for most of them love a controlled atmosphere. Spider mites seem to get the most advantage indoors because they thrive in low humidity and the lack of foliage spraying. There are usually more severe problems with plants that have been kept outdoors in the summer then brought inside, without any treatment. Scale often can be an easily overlooked source of trouble. The flat green kind are hard to spot, especially on the underside of leaves or tight against the stem. Indoor trees need to be fertilized regularly and will require periodic trimming as they continue to grow through the winter. John Miller John Miller, who writes a monthly column for the Bonsai Society of Dallas and Fort Worth Bonsai Society, has agreed to share his column with us. We need to make adjustments for our warmer and damper climate, with earlier springs, longer summers, late fall and erratic winters. President s Letter I m writing this in front of our fireplace, having just come in from making sure all of my freeze protections are in place. The tropical plants are in the greenhouses with the heaters on, all of the exposed piping has been insulated, anti-siphon valves covered, and sensitive plants in the landscaping covered with plastic. Now that plants are safe and I am somewhere warm, there is an opportunity to reflect on HBS, what we should be thankful for, and what we have planned for this next year. I m particularly thankful for the leadership that Hurley Johnson has provided us for the past four years. We all owe Hurley a huge thanks for his tireless efforts to keep HBS moving forward. Our club remains the largest and most active bonsai society in the state. HBS is financially sound, backed by a great group of enthusiastic volunteers, and have exciting plans for the upcoming year. Scott Barboza, our First Vice-President has an excellent slate of programs set up for us this starting year with our own, award winning kusamono artist, Sooncheng Chueh, who will show us how she assembles her works of art at the January meeting. We have moved the club auction up to February this year, so start thinking about what plants and pots you are ready to let go to someone else. If you have not yet paid your dues for the year, please do it soon. You have to be paid up in order to bid at the club auction. Dan Barton, a famous bonsai artist and potter, is also well known for his accent plants and kusamono. Through the remainder of the year, Scott has arranged for several outside artists including Bjorn Bjorholm, Suthin Sukosolvisit, Mauro Stemberger, and Danny Coffey.

4 The LSBF Convention will be in Dallas this year from April 6-9. They have put together an excellent set of artists (Bjorn Bjorholm, Juan Andrade, and Daisaku Nomoto) as well as top-notch workshop material. I was so excited with what Sylvia Smith, the chairperson, showed us in Corpus Christi that I registered while we were still in Corpus. For more info and to register go to: content/uploads/2016/11/registration- Form-and-Workshop-Listing-2017.pdf. Brian Gurrola has agreed to lead a club dig on his family s farm again this year, sometime in February. More information at the January and February meetings. You will plant seedlings through holes in a ceramic or wooden plate so that, as they grow, they will form clumps or fuse into an impressive base. At some point, the plate will be broken and removed, so avoid using treated wood or hard ceramic. The plate may be scored for easy and safe snapping and removal, so neither tree or root are damaged. Plan your clump or forest carefully, and drill the number of holes, plus 2 just in case extras (in case some seedlings don t make it). It is easy to remove the unwanted extras, so plant more than you need. I look forward to seeing everyone at the January meeting and at all of the activities in the coming year. Stay warm!!! Pete Parker Little Plate Plantings The Shohin Society of Texas invites you to meet on January 21, at Persimmon Hill Bonsai, Red Hawk Cove, Austin, Texas to create Little Plate Plantings with your favorite seedlings. Trim the roots, wrap them for protection then fish them through the holes in the plate. Roots go below the plate, but the trees remain above the plate. Pack bonsai soil in between the roots before putting the arrangement in shallow bulb pot. Cover the plate with a thin layer about an inch of soil so new surface roots will form above the plate to hold the trees together. These trees are allowed to grow wild for the first 3 years and swell at the base, with light trimming and styling. In year 4, the plate will come out and the roots reduced. Once planted in a shallow container, care for the planting like any other bonsai. Elms, Japanese maples, hornbeams and ficuses do well as clumps or forests, so start looking now. You will need 7-10 seedlings with one larger main tree in the middle. Please contact Steven Hendricks at or or stevenhendricks@sbcglobal.net for details or directions, or to let him know you ll attend.

5 DALLAS LSBF 2017 Convention April 6 th 9 th included), Bring Your Own Tree with Daisaku Nomoto, or a Ponderosa Pine with Bjorn Bjorholm. For this Ponderosa Pine workshop, you can either bring your own Ponderosa or purchase and work on one of the many trees that will be there for you to select from. Our first fun raffle drawing happens after the workshops are over. Lunch follows and will feature our guest Michael Ryan Bell discussing the second part of his series on Japanese bonsai pottery during our group lunch. Ryan has quickly become one of the foremost experts on bonsai pottery and their history and appreciation. In case you are new to one of these, it is a 3-day funfest for all you bonsai nerds and potential nerds. Our venue is the Sheraton Dallas North Hotel ( located very near the Galleria shopping area. It is a 4 -star hotel and the all rooms feature flat screen TVs, coffee pots, Internet access, and Sheraton s Sweet Sleeper bed. The food is great and the hotel lobby is bright and open with a comfortable bar right off the main area. With a nightly rate of $99 per night, it is just right! Here is the line-up of what we have planned. The convention unofficially begins on Thursday evening with our vendor preview night where all our vendors will be set up and ready to share their merchandise. This gives you a first look and opportunity to buy before the actual convention starts. We will have hors-d oeuvre, a cash bar, and a little light music to enjoy while you shop. Also happening next door will be the LSBF Club Challenge where teams from each club will be invited to participate in the initial styling of a tree to be later judged by our guest artists. This night is not open to the public, but only to full registrants and/or LSBF member club members. Friday Friday begins with morning workshops and the vendor area opens early, in case you need any supplies for your workshop. You have your choice to participate in either the initial styling of a mighty and old Yaupon Holly with Juan Andrade (tree After lunch, our exhibition hall opens for you to visit and admire over 50 beautiful display trees and companions. Look, study, photograph. You may even want to draw a few of them to practice your artistry. The afternoon continues with three other workshops. Bjorn will do a Bring Your Own Tree (note: only 1 seat left as of this writing), Daisaku will conduct a Japanese Black Pine initial styling which includes the tree. These have a substantial base and are conducive to a literati style. And Juan will also lead an initial styling of a Taxus Densiformis (Yew) which also includes the tree. If you aren t part of the workshops, there will be a docent led tour of the exhibition that afternoon with an explanation of how trees were selected and the thought process behind each display. Of course our vendor area will be open throughout the day and a new round of raffle items will be available for viewing. Another raffle drawing happens early that evening to coincide with the cocktail hour. Soon thereafter, Bjorn will be in our exhibit area doing a critique of the highlights of the exhibits. Our welcome dinner follows and after dinner the three guest artists take center stage and each work on an initial styling of some great material. You won t want to miss seeing them in action, as well as the interaction between them. It will be a fun and informal night with opportunity for questions and answers. Saturday There is another round of workshops you can attend on Saturday. The morning provides two

6 options; Juan is leading the initial styling of a Brazilian Raintree and Daisaku will lead the initial styling of a Japanese Maple Kashima. Both include the trees. Unfortunately Bjorn s Shimpaku juniper workshop is already sold out. Three other options are available for the afternoon as well. Juan has a Bring Your Own Tree workshop and David Kruetz will lead an azalea workshop featuring a beautiful exposed root azalea. At the same time, John Borusheski will be conducting a scroll making workshop which is sure to be fun. It includes a background on the history of scrolls and all the materials to make your own scroll. You will leave with your scroll and the knowledge of how to make more scrolls to enhance your bonsai displays. That same afternoon, we also have another demonstration scheduled for full registration participants only. Bjorn and Daisaku again will take the stage together for an interesting rock planting demonstration. It will be in a smaller room and Q & A is welcome. Both the vendor and exhibit areas are open during the day and two fun raffle events will also take place. Daisaku s exhibit critique begins in the early evening and it is always interesting to get a different perspective of our exhibit. Our Saturday evening auction begins after dinner and is sure to be a fun time. It is great to see what material is brought in for the auctions and also fun to see who goes home with which trees. The four trees from Friday night s and Saturday afternoon s demos will be a part of the auction and will surely generate a lot of interest. Sunday Our last day begins with the last exhibit critique by Juan Andrade followed by a lovely brunch and the final demo by Bjorn. Bjorn s material will then be added to the final raffle drawing for the excitement of who will be the lucky winner of his creation. A Message from The Texas State Bonsai Exhibit Hello Bonsai friends, Below is the link to the Winter 2016 newsletter of The Texas State Bonsai Exhibit: _ed.pdf As usual, we always try to reach all our supporters. Please share with friends who may want to read more about the Exhibit. We wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year and look forward to seeing you in 2017! Thank you! Joey McCoy At the Houston Chinese Bonsai Society exhibit in May 2016, greeting the visitors at the door was Soon Cheah s collection of accent plants, Kusamono and Saikei. For simplicity, most of those beautiful works are often grouped as kusamono. With a little help from Mother Nature and Father Time, this extremely creative artist can make magic combining the most mundane weeds, grasses, ground covers and even vegetables in whimsical pots and rocks to create the most marvelous works of living art. The convention officially closes at noon as we bid our guests a fond farewell. As you can tell, it will be a fun and busy weekend so we hope you will join us. The registration form can be found at Workshops are filling up fast so don t delay. Send your form in quickly and we hope to see you in April in Dallas. Some fabulous pieces made with shells or broken pots are exquisite stand-alone works of art.

7 On that weekend, Soon conducted a lecture/demo and workshops on how she whipped up such cute living plants with every day finds. She generously shared collected plants, grasses and weeds with the students in her workshop. As seen in her varied and extensive collection, Soon emphasizes on portraying the natural in design and execution, while simulating wild life often found in the South with plant species likely to be found in any backyard. Unlike bonsai, austerity or Wabi Sabi is not an important principle in Kusamono or Saikei. She scattered whimsical pieces around the exhibit. With a briefer time frame to grow and simpler aesthetic rules than bonsai, these grassy works are more accessible to everyone, seasoned bonsai aficionados or amateurs alike. Each piece whether rich in vegetation or simply made with just one kind of grass, is beautiful and complete. They all deserve to stand alone and be admired in their full splendor within days or weeks of creation.. Each strongly evokes a season, a location in nature, by the seashore or up high in the mountain. The viewer's pleasure arises from the ingenuity of the designer in creating such living treasures. Soon s husband, Dr. Hoe Chuah who retired after a lifelong profession as a chemist, started a blog to share the couple s bonsai journey and experiences with the bonsai communities. Many more of his articles can be enjoyed on his blogs at Bonsai, Penjing & More ( besides this delightful article he recently posted on November 9, A Landscape Kusamono on Lace Rock This is my wife, Soon s landscape kusamono. It was shown in the 2014 Houston Chinese Bonsai Society show. Our friend, Shaulin Hon, an architect turned professional photographer, took these photos. She named this landscape planting: A World Beyond the Cave ( 别有洞天 ). The fisherman found a cave. This landscape kusamono is an allegory to a Chinese fable, the Peach Blossom Spring ( 桃花源记 ), written by Tao Yuanming ( 陶渊明 ) in 421 about a fisherman who came upon a grove of blossoming peach trees growing along the river banks. He was captured by the beautiful peach blossoms and kept rowing until the river ended at a spring. There was a cave on the hill side of the spring, he ventured into it. After passing through a narrow opening, he emerged and saw a scenic village with cultivated fields and fine houses. The villagers were living happily and in harmony with each other. They produced everything they needed. The villagers told him their ancestors settled in this secluded place after escaping ravages of war during the Qin dynasty (around 200 BCE). For hundreds of years, they lived in peace without outside contacts. After spending several days there, the fisherman left and marked his route so he could find his way back. However, the villagers erased all traces of the markings and the fisherman could not find this Shangri la again. Don t we all wish we could find our Peach Blossom Spring village on the other side of the tunnel? Soon likes to create a mixed planting of herbaceous plants and weeds, the end result is a kusamono that looks like a natural meadow juxtaposed with plants of different colors and textures. I am not surprised there are more than ten species of plants on this lace rock. Coming out the other end of the cave and finding an Utopian village.

8 JAN 1 Calendar of Events 2017 Happy New Year! JAN 4 HBS monthly meeting - Kusamono workshop with Sooncheng Cheah An overgrown Ilysanthes floribunda nearly covers up the cave entrance. Photo taken November, Following are a few more photographs of Soon s kusamono I have taken from a few exhibits over the years, for you to enjoy. Don t miss this upcoming rare chance in seeing Soon share with the club her beautiful work on the big screen at our January meeting. Shawn Nguyen JAN 7 HBS Saturday Study Group at Timeless Trees. Rosenberg, 9 AM 12 Noon. Free, refreshments. JAN nd Gafu-ten at Miyako Messe in Kyoto, Japan. Includes the 3rd World Shohin. For more info: Japan Shohin Bonsai Association Gafu-ten Executive Committee at sunsyouen@shirt.ocn.ne.jp. JAN Kathy Shaner s Seminar in Austin area. Please see the full advertisement for details. JAN 20 (Friday) Bring your own Tree Workshop, Rodney Clemons at Timeless Trees, 9 AM 4 PM, $75 per person. Rodney will assist you with refining your trees. Focus on conifers, deciduous, since it s winter. JAN 21 (Saturday) Japanese Black Pine Class, Rodney Clemons at Timeless Trees. Morning workshop 8:30 AM 12 Noon, and afternoon workshop, 1 4:30 PM. $100 per person, for everything: inches tall Japanese Black Pine tree cultivated as bonsai for 2 years with 1-1/2 trunk, pot, soil, wire. Focus on repotting and initial styling. These wired-once JBP have had ½ of the original soil changed out to the Akadama and pumice lava blend. So they can be repotted into a bonsai ceramic pot.and wired again. JAN 21 Shohin Society of Texas meeting at Persimmon Hill Bonsai, Red Hawk Cove, Austin, TX featuring Little Plate Planting. Seedlings will be planted through holes in a ceramic plate so that, as they grow, they will fuse into an impressive base. Bring your own seedlings, so start looking now! You will need 7-10 seedlings with one a bit larger for the middle hole that will become the main trunk. Details from Steven Hendricks at stevenhendricks@sbcglobal.net or JAN 22 (Sunday) Juniper workshop with Rodney Clemons, 9AM 4 PM, Workshop focus on styling and wiring Foemina Junipers. 3 sizes to choose from: Cost of workshop: $60 for a small FJ, $125 for a medium sized one, (6-8 of these) or $200 for a large one (3 large available). These FJ are great trees that you don t see often in this area, but they grow very well here and bud back profusely. This is the species that John Naka s famous Forest Goshin is made of. Come and pay for the class early so you can pick your trees. You may also choose to make a forest. JAN Bay Island Bonsai Annual Bonsai Exhibit at the Lakeside Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave. Oakland, CA, 10AM - 4PM, Saturday and Sunday. Auction on Saturday: Preview at noon, auction at 1PM.

9 Make sure you go to Timeless Trees website and get your name on the mailing list for weekly Current Events. Never miss another class, workshop with the masters, pot or bonsai shipment, especially Special Event sales. The Lunar New Year is upon us and JRN II is ready to help you greet the Year of the Rooster with thousands of exotic flowering plants and bonsai, especially orchids and narcissi, quinces, camellias, citrus and azaleas. Quality Feed & Garden and Ken stand ready to help you with bonsai selection, bonsai care, pots and supplies. He will also personally have free classes for HBS every 3- month to help you start with your first bonsai. Check the Calendar of Events for dates. Ask for 10% HBS discount. Visit artist Andrew Sankowski at the Mossrock Studio & Fine Art Gallery for the finest gifts and most uniquely beautiful bonsai pots in every shape, form and color. Personalized pots or gifts can be commissioned year round. Weekly pottery classes are also available. Andrew Sankowski Oak Ridge Drive Direct (281) The Woodlands, TX Fax (281) Come stock up on bonsai soils, pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers and other supplies. The plant doctor is always on duty, so bring your unhappy or unhealthy bonsai for a free check up. Don t forget to ask for a 10% HBS discount.

10 Houston Bonsai Society, Inc. P. O. Box , Houston, Texas HBS Board Members President Pete Parker 1 st Vice President Scott Barboza in charge of Education 2 nd Vice President Hoe Chuah hoe.chuah@gmaill.com Secretary Barbara Adams adams.barbara1@embarqmail.com Publicity Ken Cousino krcousino@yahoo.com Treasurer Eldon Branham elmo4635@aol.com in charge of Membership Webmaster Anthony Cutola acutola@gmail.com Member at Large - O Nandita D Souza ndas27@gmail.com Member at Large - O Vern Maddox vmaddox1@comcast.net Member at Large - O Clyde Holt cmholt11@comcast.net Member at Large E Sharon Barker barkersharonr48@gmail.com Member at Large - E Ray Gonzalez raygonzalez47@yahoo.com Member at Large E Brian Gurrola bgurrola@gurrolareprographics.com Delegates Past President Hurley Johnson hurley@all-tex.net LSBF Delegate Terry Dubois tdubois1@comcast.net LSBF Alternate Pete Parker peteparkerbonsai@yahoo.com BCI Ambassador TTSBE Representative Alan Raymond amraymond@suddenlink.net Refreshments Website/ Gary Teeter houstonbonsai@gmail.com Newsletter editor Shawn Nguyen hbs.news@yahoo.com The Bonsai News of Houston is a monthly publication of the Houston Bonsai Society, Inc. Copyright The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the editor or a member of the Board of Directors. Exceptions exist, however, for certain not-for-profit and non-profit bonsai organizations or associated bonsai and bonsai nursery newsletters, including without limitation the American Bonsai Society. HBS participates fully with reciprocation of contents and material between other LSBF member organizations and others. Authors who submit articles for this newsletter thereby give permission to such organizations to reprint, unless they expressly state otherwise. Space for advertising in The Bonsai News of Houston can be requested by contacting the newsletter editor or a member of the HBS Board. The rates for a business-card-size ad (approximately 3 1/2" x 2") are $6 per month, $30 for 6 months and $50 per year (12 issues). A full-page ad is $25 per month. Rates are subject to change without notice. 3½" x 2" classified ads are run free of charge for one month once per 12-month period for non-commercial members. For special requests or questions related to The Bonsai News of Houston, contact the newsletter editor or a member of the HBS Board.

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