Bonsai Society of Dallas

Transcription

1 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 Bonsai Society of Dallas Monthly Member Newsletter July 2017 Message from the President In This Issue Message from the President July Program Upcoming Events July Bonsai Tips and Advice Tip of the Month Feature Article Fall Japan Tour June Program in Review Board of Directors Sylvia Smith, President sylvia3smith@gmail.com Kyle Downing, VP Program /Membership Chair flattrack75081@yahoo.com Diane Lowe, Secretary diane_lowe@live.com Jerry Riley, Treasurer & LSBF Delegate jafa625@gmail.com John Miller, President Emeritus bonsaimiller@aol.com Todd Hang, Webmaster tqhang@gmail.com Mary Polk, Member at Large doggiedigs2@att.net Bill Muto, Member at Large bmuto@aol.com Howard Smith, LSBF President bonsaismiths@tx.rr.com Remaining scheduled 2017 board meetings: July 10 and October 16. Any member is welcome. Please contact Sylvia Smith in advance for location if you plan to attend. Thank you all so much for your patience at last month s meeting. You would think that with two of us in the room we would have enough time to circulate through the room faster, but there were lots of good and sometimes challenging trees that came in. We would appreciate keeping it to a limit of two trees so that everyone gets a chance at some feedback and work on their trees. This is a great opportunity for some initial styling tips as well as basic work to be started and we appreciate your eagerness to learn and enjoy teaching you! This coming month our program chair has taken the lead with a new idea (check the next page for details). Please attend and be ready to give us your feedback, we'll even bring back the "suggestion box". Your feedback will help us determine which programs you like and what formats you prefer, plus we're always looking for new ideas! In August, we have an exciting meeting planned. We have Suthin Sukosolvisit visiting us! He is one of our favorite guest artists returning after many years. If you are new to bonsai and have never heard of him, you are in for a treat. He is not only an amazing artist, but a good friend as well and I know you will enjoy his visit to Dallas. In addition to our regular program, we will have a Bring-Your- Own tree workshop later that afternoon. This workshop will be limited to six participants and details will be in next month's newsletter. We have yet to work out his fee schedule, but if you know you want a seat in the workshop, please Diane at diane_lowe@live.com. One last thing, please note that I have changed my address, as someone hacked into my old account. The new one is sylvia3smith@gmail.com. Please delete my old address from your contact list. If you receive an from me from the old address, be suspicious and do not send me any money unless you talk to me personally, even if there is mention of trees. The bad guys did a little digging and tried to be very convincing. Have a great summer! Sylvia

2 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 July Program What the Heck Should I Do? 9:00 AM to Noon, July 1 st - North Haven Gardens Join us as we help members evaluate the trees that they have previously collected from the wild (yamadori) and give them styling ideas about some of the many possibilities for its development into a future bonsai. It will be an informal discussion, led by Kyle Downing, with input from the owner of each tree, as well as several of our more experienced members. In Kyle s words, My subject is for members to bring their trees from this or last year s dig. I will bring a few trees from past digs and give tips on what to save and what to cut off. It is not a style or profile class; just a discussion on what comes next after collecting a tree and having it survive the transition from ground to pot/box. In addition to bringing a tree or two that you have collected, bring tools and wire in case you decide to place major branches for future growth. June Program in Review Study Group with the Bonsai Smiths It was another great study group with Howard and Sylvia. We had over 45 members attend and as Sylvia mentioned in her message on page 1, there were too many to get to. We finally had to leave the room by 12:30 to accommodate the next group. Too many trees and too little time, but it was great fun to see them all and get such good advice. Upcoming Events July 1 st What the Heck Should I Do? Kyle Downing August 5 th Guest Artist Suthin Sukosolvisit September 2 nd Study Group with Bonsai Smiths Events Elsewhere July 15 th 16 th Columbus Bonsai Society Show Columbus, OH August 25 th 27 th Ann Arbor Bonsai Society Show Ann Arbor, MI September 15 th 17 th The International Bonsai & Suiseki Meeting Crespi Cup Milan, IT October 6 th 8 th New Zealand Bonsai Convention Dunedin, NZ October 7 th 8 th Conejo Vally Bonsai Exhibition West Thousand Oaks, CA October 14 th 15 th 22 nd Annual Carolina Bonsai Expo at The North Carolina Arboretum Ashville, NC October 25 th 29 th GSBF 40 th Convention Riverside, CA Above Sylvia consults with Ngoc and one of our newest members Megan Right Howard consults with Todd October 14th 15 th The 5 th European Bonsai-San Show Saulieu, FR April 19 th 22 nd, 2018 ABS/Bonsai Society of St. Louis Gateway to Bonsai 2018 St. Louis, MO

3 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 July Bonsai Tips and Advice By John Miller You need to know the timing of whatever species of bonsai you have. Know when they break dormancy, when they set buds for fruit and flowers, how much cold the roots can take which is usually a lot less than their tops, etc. For example, some azaleas will be setting buds for next year s flowers during the end of July so a lot of pruning should not be done. Going into July and August and usually later you will need to keep your bonsai as cool as possible. That means no sun on the pot and soil where the roots are. Without going into a lot of detail some considerations you will be looking at. 1. Shade cloth. 40% for pines, junipers, tridents. 50% for less tough plants. 60% on the west side. 2. Water schedule. At 2pm to cool the soil, at sundown to cool soil and refresh overnight, morning as necessary. This is optimum. You must adjust that schedule and soil mix to work with your schedule. 3. Soil covering. Chopped long fiber sphagnum to retain moisture also helps keep soil cooler. 4. Protect from the mean late afternoon sun. Low humidity lets the full force of the heat come through. 5. Consider foliage misting especially on junipers. Many species in the wild open stoma at night to take in dew. Some broadleaf plants do foliage feeding, usually for localized needs in the area of the leaf. 6. Keep insects under control especially the sucking ones like mites and scale. 7. Pot protection. Shade sides of pot. Use old cloth, shop towels, make boxes to fit. Some air circulation around the pot should be allowed. We usually do not fertilize our bonsai enough. However during these hot days, you need to exercise care. Slow release organics are best. Chemical fertilizers may burn roots if the soil temperature (remember the sun factor) gets too warm, probably like upper 90s or more, be sure to read the label for Organic Foliar Spray To one gallon of water add one tablespoon each of: Fish Emulsion Liquid Kelp Molasses Apple Cider Vinegar guidance. Most recommendations are to feed the trees with organic fertilizer balls. Many are available commercially or you can make your own, depends on how many bonsai you have. Even with the fertilizer balls I like to give a feeding with a liquid fertilizer every other week also. Also watch for signs of insect problems. The spider mite will always be near. Others to look for are scale of various forms, aphids, bagworms, and mealy bugs. Preventative medicine is best, spray on a regular schedule. By the time you see signs of bugs, the damage is already done, especially from spider mites. I use the organic foliar feed (1 Tablespoon each of fish emulsion, liquid kelp, molasses and 5% apple cider vinegar per gallon water) applied weekly to control all these. You can use some of the other organic controls or a chemical according to label directions. Read the label directions carefully. Do not apply oil based chemicals to buttonwoods. A hose end sprayer does not work very well; its droplets are too large and you have little control over where it goes. Use a pump sprayer with a fine spray and cover both top and bottom of leaves, trunks and all twigs. Most controls, whether chemical or organic, must be done on a regular schedule for good control. If you wait until you see damage it is usually too late. When checking the results on your plants after spraying remember that the spray usually will not remove the evidence of problems. The webs will still be there after the mites are killed, the shells of the scale will be attached to the leaf or stem. These will have to be removed by hand, by a jet of water, or some other way. A soft toothbrush works good on some scale shells. There is no damage from this leftover evidence but it prevents you from seeing any new infestation that may occur. Be careful when pruning the spring flowering species. They will set buds for next year s flowers in the fall. The Kurume azaleas set their buds in July Continued on the next page

4 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 July Bonsai Continued and the Satsuki a little later in August. You need to find out if your particular flowering tree blooms on new or old wood and when it sets buds so you can keep it in shape and yet will not prune next year s flowers off. Tropicals like buttonwoods, fukien tea, serissa, fig, etc., should be repotted during the summer while they are growing strong. When the humidity is low, I mist my junipers in the evening. I believe the story that in the wild junipers open their stomata in the cool of the evening absorbing any dew that may occur and close in the heat of the day to conserve moisture. The other species may get a foliage spray in the morning. The humidity in summer varies quite a bit but when it sticks around for a few days look for fungal problems to appear, mildew being the most prevalent. Black spot will show up if the foliage stays wet very long. Foliage watering in the morning will usually not be a problem because it dries pretty quickly. Treat with potassium bicarbonate which you can find at any nursery with a decent organic section. Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) works too but not as well. There are several chemical sprays available too. If you use the Boon technique for growing twoneedle JBP pines, now is the time for removing the candles, earlier on bigger trees later on smaller ones. Tip of the Month Wiring Technique Use an extra wire as your guide Now is the time to be wiring all types of trees. Effective bonsai wiring is a skill that takes a lot of practice and patience to master. The goal is to apply the wire so that it effectively allows you to position branches where needed. It should also be aesthetically pleasing with no crossed wires. That can be the hardest part; to think ahead and decide on the path each wire will take before applying it. When applying a second wire along the same path, which side should it rest on so that you don t cross wires as it goes to a side branch? One way to help is to keep a short thin length of scrap aluminum wire handy to serve as your guide. Before laying that second wire on, try it with the scrap piece to determine which side of the wire it goes against so that you can transition it to a side branch without crossing wires. Simply unwrap it, straighten it, and use it over and over.

5 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 5 Fall Japan Tour by Bill & Carol Muto and Diane Lowe This article is long overdue, as our trip was late last year, but there was so much to do and see it has been difficult for us to figure out how best to share the highlights. It all started for us in late 2015 when Bjorn Bjorholm was our guest artist. During his fun and engaging program, he briefly described the bonsai tours he and his wife Nanxi do in Japan. Months passed and we thought, why not? Bill and Carol got the ball rolling and before we knew it, we were all in. Flight arrangements were made, our deposits were wired to Bjorn in Japan, and off we went. It was their November 2016 tour which is organized around the Taikan-ten exhibition in Kyoto. When starting in bonsai, the Kokufu-ten tour is the one that was spoken of most often, so this gave us an opportunity to understand the various exhibitions that are held each year and of course, experience one firsthand. Little did we know, it would be so much more than that. The Exhibition Taikan-Ten is one of three major exhibitions held each year in Japan. Actually the official name is The Nippon Bonsai Taikan Exhibition. Tenjinkai is the Japanese word for exhibition so that is why most of the major shows are shortened and end with ten. It is held in the ancient city of Kyoto and is unique in that professional bonsai artists select trees from those they maintain for their clients who want to display. We were told that it is somewhat easier to have a tree accepted for this exhibition than some of the other exhibitions, but that is no reflection of the quality of the trees. All the trees were spectacular and many of the top winners for the famous Kokufu-ten were displayed. The entry fee is similar to the other shows, $500 and $1,000 depending on the size of the tree. We were there on the last day of the show so the crowds had thinned out a bit, but there were still many people there. We spent almost the entire day there; it was that big. Bjorn gave us plenty of time to roam around and take it all in. We had lunch together at the exhibit, then in the afternoon Bjorn took us to the various trees that interested us or him and he talked about them. It was great to get his perspective on the trees and species that were displayed, as well as pot selections and the overall display elements. We viewed all the award winners and the Best in Show tree as well. What was noteworthy was the age of many of the deciduous trees. Their trunks were enormous yet they had beautifully proportioned taper and fine ramification that can only be achieved from multiple generations of bonsai work. In addition to having row after row of magnificent bonsai trees, there were some unique exhibit areas featuring antique bonsai pottery, suiseki, trees from a private collection from S-Cube, a well established bonsai web store, and also an area where vendors were invited to display their most important and prized bonsai trees. Speaking of vendors, there was a vendor area at the exhibition hall that was on a grand scale. Row after row of bonsai and bonsai related items were for sale. The nursery where Bjorn works was one of the vendors and just before we arrived, they had sold a beautifully refined Japanese maple for about $35,000. What we learned is that this exhibition can be a nice way for nurseries to bring in some revenue. Not only can they sell trees in the vendor area, but their clients who want to enter their trees pay nursery fees and expenses to get the tree ready, transported, and placed for the display. This is in addition to the entry fee. Much of the high end bonsai market in Japan is fueled by wealthy clients who buy a tree(s) from the bonsai professional nursery and then pay them to continue to maintain and support its ongoing development. According to Bjorn, the bonsai business is declining in Japan. Although still appreciated, the younger people are less interested in bonsai. The number of weathly clients is declining, although the Chinese market has expanded for them. So much so, that many bonsai professionals develop very large bonsai specifically targeted at the typical Chinese buyer.

6 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 6 Fall Japan Tour The Nurseries Another key element of our 7-day trip was visiting various bonsai nurseries. We spent the first few days in and around the areas of Osaka and Kyoto, which are easily linked by train. The first nursery we visited was Koju-en which specializes in shohin bonsai and their inventory was extensive. It was quite small, nestled into a side street in Kyoto, but they maximize every inch of space as you can see in the picture. Most of the nurseries we visited had an upstairs area for their trees in development. These tiny trees were all so beautiful and were tempting to think about bringing home. However our agricultural import laws make it impractical. All trees coming into the U.S. must be bare rooted and placed in quarantine for an extended period of time. They were still fun to look at and admire though! Another day while in Osaka we visited the Kouka-en nursery where Bjorn apprenticed for all those years and continued on once his aprenticeship was done. His bonsai master is Fujikawa-san who greeted us with warmth and a bit of fatigue, having just gone through the rigors of the Taikan-ten. His family home was nestled right next door which made for a lovely entrance to this small, but very high quality nursery. The trees were magnificent and there was a large area that was dedicated to the maintenance of customer trees which were equally beautiful. Bjorn was his first apprentice and their mutual respect is evident. It is safe to say that Mr. Fujikawa misses him now that Bjorn is back with us in the U.S. The remaining nurseries we visited were all on a much larger scale. The next on our itinerary was Aichi-en in the city of Nagoya. This is where many of our recent guest artists aprenticed. The two that come to mind are Juan Andrade and Peter Tea. While we were there, at least 6 to 7 apprentices were busy at work. They had hundreds of trees, mostly large specimens. However many of their trees on the benches seemed to be in need of seasonal work. When chatting with Juan recently while he was in town for our convention, he said they were always very busy doing extreme technique work (grafting, airlayering, etc.) for client trees, rather than keeping their inventory show-ready. It was clearly a large and well established nursery so it makes sense to pay the most attention to client trees. Our next visits to nurseries were closer to Tokyo. The first of which was part nursery, part museum. It was Shunka-en, the bonsai operation of the well known and highly respected Kunio Kobayashi. Of all the nurseries, this was the most breath-taking in that it sat on quite a large piece of land (perhaps a square block) and was laid out with more of a focus on display as you entered. As you can see in the pictures, the prominent trees are placed on stands in somewhat of a garden setting. A koi pond is part of the landscape, as are more traditional benches of trees along the outer edges and the upper level. The main building houses his Shunka-en Bonsai Museum that is exquisitely built and furnished with multiple display areas, as well as a collection of priceless antique bonsai pottery. The displays are changed almost daily by the apprentices to feature trees at their peak of perfection. The nursery of the world famous Mashimo Kimura did not disappoint. Having seen many of his famous trees in photographs, it was exciting to actually see them in person. Interestingly enough, one of the most memorable trees we had just seen days earlier at the Taiken-Ten show, a very large white pine, sat in a prominent spot in his nursery. Clearly it was owned by one of his clients who had entered it into the show. What a surprise it was to see it just days later at this nursery. He had many beautiful rock plantings on display, similar to the one he created during the recent World Bonsai Convention in Saitama, Japan (video available on YouTube). He greeted us briefly but was busy with a buyer from a European museum who had come to buy.

7 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 7 Fall Japan Tour The Gardens/Museums Bjorn and his lovely wife Nanxi selected some beautiful gardens and museums for us to visit while we were there. The time we spent in Kyoto allowed us to visit Byodoin Temple (featuring a beautiful garden and museum) which was built in the 11 th century and is the oldest surviving wooden structure in Japan. Another beautiful location was the Tofuku-ji Temple that included multiple buildings and an expansive and beautiful landscape. We were there at the perfect time to witness leaves in their beautiful autumn color, mostly maples, but we even saw a massive ginko nearby with bright yellow leaves. On another occasion we visited the lovely Shimuku-ji Temple high upon a hilltop near Nagoya which also houses a private bonsai collection. The head monk is a bonsai enthusiast and has his collection on display. One of his trees was even an award winner at a previous Kokufu-ten. We caught his eye as he was leaving the temple and he came to greet us. Bjorn must have charmed him because before we knew it, he had invited us to his home on the property and into his backyard bonsai area. Imagine row upon row of hundreds of bonsai on benches with the scenery beyond it a breath taking view looking down upon the pristine countryside. We later found out that the folks at the Aichi-en nursery we had previously visited in Nagoya take care of many of his trees. And finally while we were in the famous Omiya Bonsai Village not far from Tokyo, after seeing several lovely nurseries, we also visited the The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum which opened in Omiya Bonsai Village was established in the early 1900 s as a self governed community of bonsai gardeners. It attracts tourists and bonsai enthusists from around the world. The museum is designed to educate the general public about the art of bonsai. An interior museum leads the guest through a series of displays including pictures and art work depicting the history of bonsai. It also has indivdual bonsai displays and signs educating the viewer on the various elements of traditional bonsai display. However outside is where we found a beautifully laid out bonsai garden filled with spectacular trees. One was more beautiful than the next and we became a bit weary, thinking of our respective collections at home compared to what we were seeing here and elsewhere throughout the trip. However it was inspiring at the same time. Everything Else So this is the part where we can say we had a wonderful time. We were a relatively small group of seven so we had plenty of time with Bjorn. Nanxi was the superb organizer and they both made sure we were well taken care of. Bjorn met our flight into Osaka and navigated us through the train system thereafter, getting us just about everywhere we needed to go. When he was busy with set up/tear down for Taiken-ten, Nanxi took over and made sure we had what we needed and could relax, knowing that the language and navigating the very efficient train network would not be an issue. Our schedule had us intially staying in Osaka for three days, with a few back and forth trips to Kyoto for the day. Kyoto is a lovely old city and while there we had an afternoon to ourselves to explore, shop, and dine. We then moved to Nagoya for day or two, then on to Tokyo for the last two days via the famous and fast Shinkansen bullet train to Tokyo. Every day was different and fun. It was fascinating just to observe their details of life in Japan. Bjorn took the time to educate and answer questions along the way, but at the same time giving us plenty of space to absorb it all. In terms of the food, breakfast at the various hotels seemed to pose the biggest challenge for us, lunch was included each day for the group, and for the evening meals we were on our own to explore and select a restaurant of our choice. The last dinner in Tokyo was included as a group dinner and was one of the most memorable. It was a restaurant in Tokyo that included free drinks (beer, wine, and cocktails) with the meals. Hmmm, maybe that is a concept that will make its way to Texas. It was a great way to end the trip and a fun time celebrating with Bjorn and Nanxi. We highly recommend their tour if you get the chance to go!

8 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 8 Bonsai Trees Bonsai Pots Pre-Bonsai Material (Shown by Appointment) Bonsai Wire Bonsai Tools Potting Mediums Now Open Thursday through Saturday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM 404 Southwestern Blvd., Coppell, TX Contact information: deepforestgallery@gmail.com or Place Your Ad Here! Business card size is $5.00 per month Half page size is $20.00 per month Full page size is $35.00 per month For more details contact: Jerry Riley jafa625@gmail.com

9 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 9 July s To-Do List This is a simple monthly checklist for those enthusiasts who have the knowledge and skill required to perform the tasks listed. It is intended to tell you what to do, not how and why to do it. Want to know more? Send in any questions you might have or come to any monthly program to discuss further. All Species Begin to reduce fertilization regimen except on Tropical and Subtropical Continue to protect from extreme heat which may include increasing your watering times Treat for insects as needed; avoid using insecticides or chemicals during the hottest time of the day. Deciduous Cut back shoots and rewire branching as needed Feed lightly; do not let shoots become too strong unless you are thickening a branch. Light defoliation on trees in tertiary ramification. Evergreen/Conifer JB Pine decandling can be done on medium to large trees through July 4 th ; Shohin JB Pine can be decandled from July 7-10; wiring can be done within one week after decandling. Junipers can be thinned and wired as needed; "pinching" to maintain shape only. Flowering/Fruit Cut back if desired to maintain shape and structure Azaleas can be worked on through early July Tropical Fertilize 4-6 weeks after repotting Leaf prune for ramification (if not recently repotted) Link of the Month Our good friend Ryan Neil has started a series called Mirai Live. It is an online teaching platform where you can gain new knowledge and learn new skills to better understand bonsai elements. The live part is you can access his lesson real time and, depending on your level of participation, even submit questions for him to answer on air. Check it out at While there you can see some of the previous episodes in the archive for free. They are all really good! Are you a Facebook user? Our club has a Facebook page and so does our Lone Star Bonsai Federation (LSBF) organization. Please consider using them to post pictures, comments, and questions for our group. Let s get active and let more people know about our great organizations. Beginner s Bulletin Board There are no dumb questions when you are a beginner at any new endeavor. However sometimes beginners are reluctant to ask a question in a monthly meeting. Got a question? Send it to Diane at diane_lowe@live.com for an individual response. Your question may also appear anonymously here in a future issue so that others can learn. Question: I am fertilizing a lot more this year than last, but I m not seeing that much more new growth. As a matter of fact, I haven t gotten much new growth in the last several weeks. Am I doing something wrong? Answer: The type of tree(s) isn t mentioned, but do not worry. The flush of new growth in spring comes from the stored energy in the tree from last year. The effects of the fertilizer you are using now will be seen next year. Additionally, as our hot Texas summer sets in, growth naturally slows. Think of us as having two growing seasons - spring and fall. Most of our trees, except for tropicals, go into a summer dormancy about this time of year. They generally do not put out new growth, instead putting most of their energy into surviving the heat of summer. High nighttime temperatures don t give them much of a chance to recover from hot, sunny days so they go dormant and conserve stored energy. That is why we have to baby them in order to keep them alive. We need to shield their pots from direct sun, use shade cloth to protect the foliage from desiccation, and be mindful that when any plant Bonsai is Society in stress, of it Dallas, naturally P.O. attracts Box , pests. Richardson, We also want TX to reduce fertilization at this time so we don t add to the stress by over feeding. As noted above in July s To Do List, we reduce fertilization during summer dormancy, except on tropicals.

10 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 10 Timeless Trees Education, Success, and Fun Hurley Johnson Trees, Supplies, and Workshops Fri & Sat 9AM 4 PM 2707 David Street Rosenberg, TX