Bonsai Society of Dallas

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1 Bonsai Society of Dallas Monthly newsletter July 2009 Message from the President By Dave Schleser IN THIS ISSUE: Message from the President July Bonsai Tips Link of the Month Upcoming Events June in Review Upcoming Workshops First and foremost please note that there will be no BSD July meeting since the meeting day falls on the 4th of July. To make up for this there will be two meetings in August. One will be our regular first Saturday meeting, the other a presentation by guest artist Roberto Martínez. More on this in August s newsletter. Here in Texas the bonsai buzzword for July and also August is water. Numerous bonsai unnecessarily succumb each summer due to insufficient watering. While many bonsai planted in large size containers that dry out more slowly due to their increased amount of soil might survive on once daily watering, it is a different matter with smaller pots or species such as willows, maples, buttonwood and bald cypress that are water hogs. BSD BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dave Schleser, President ranchu39@yahoo.com Chuck Talley, Vice President, Program Chair Chuck_Talley@tandybrands.com Ravi Sharma, Second Vice President, Co-Program Chair texasravi@gmail.com Diane Lowe, Treasurer diane_lowe@tx.rr.com James Bonney, Secretary amy.james@gte.net Jerry Riley, Member Relations jafa999@yahoo.com John Miller, President Emeritus bonsaimiller@aol.com Sylvia Smith, President Emeritus slysmith@earthlink.net Has your address changed? Comments? the editor at amy.james@gte.net Would you like to get this newsletter via ? Become a member. There are many ways to deal with this potential problem and I will mention a few. The most obvious is to water your trees two or even three times daily depending upon their individual needs. Constructing an automatic drip system of the type so well described at Mark Bynum s April club presentation is another option. A help for very small pots is to partially bury several of them in a tray (with drainage!) filled with an absorbent granular material such as haydite. When the trees are watered this material will absorb quite a bit of moisture that is slowly released into the soil within the pots via the pots drainage holes. As the season progresses roots may grow into the haydite, but I would not worry about that as they can always be clipped off with the onset of cooler weather. Species that normally grow in wet or marshy conditions (buttonwood, willows, many Ficus ssp.) benefit from being placed in shallow trays of water. Kitty litter trays work quite well. If you try this I recommend that you drill a hole in the side of the water-filled tray at a height that equates to the amount of water the tree will absorb during the day. This will prevent the roots from being constantly water logged and possibly rot. An exception is the bald cypress. Not only does it prefer to be partially submerged in a tray of water, but when kept this way its growth rate is nothing short of phenomenal. This year I have been experimenting with watering wicks. This is an old technology that was formerly used more frequently for house plant culture and is still popular with growers of African violets. So far I have tried it on a slab forest planting of Korean hornbeams belonging to Garrett Larson that always Hornbeam forest with wick. Photo D. Schleser

2 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 seemed to dry out within hours of watering, and for several other smaller bonsai. The results have far exceeded my most optimistic hopes. Just make certain that the container being used as the water reservoir is large enough to hold enough water to last at least until your next regular watering. You can either buy commercially available wicks, or according to member Diane Lowe, make them out of old pantyhose. Close-up of wick. Photo D. Schleser Another important watering issue concerns vacation care. I will not enumerate the number of sad stories I have heard from people who have lost valuable trees while they were gone on vacation. The reasons vary from improper watering, a caregiver who slacked off on the job, or an automatic watering system that failed. I am extremely fortunate to have a good friend who is an expert horticulturist and reliable a rare combination. As a matter of fact, my trees generally look better when I return from my mid-summer Amazon trips than before I left! If you will be using a friend, neighbor or family member to do the watering take the time to thoroughly train them. Explain that overwatering is a non-issue because of the excellent drainage inherent in bonsai soil mixes. (Non-plant people have constantly heard that more house plants die from overwatering than underwatering). If you opt for an automatic watering system get someone to come by at least every other day to make certain it is functioning properly, and that if it fails, this person knows how to hand water your collection. And if you have a few trees that really mean a lot to you think about bringing them over to another club member s home to be expertly cared for while you are gone. That s enough for now; Cheers! Dave S. 4 th of July NO PROGRAM THIS MONTH. Happy holiday! 6 th World Bonsai Convention July 7 13 th, 2009 San Juan, Puerto Rico com August 1 st BSD club meeting (TBA) August 15 th LSBF Traveling Artist Tropical Workshop Roberto Martínez Acosta Sept th FWBS Club Show Ft. Worth Botanic Gardens October 3 rd BSD Club Auction North Haven Gardens Oct. 24 th 25 th Japanese Fall Festival Ft. Worth Botanic Gardens Special News Concerning Bonsai Focus Magazine at the 2010 Cowtown Bonsai Convention by Mark Bynum, Convention Chairman Many of you already know that Peter Warren from the United Kingdom will be a guest artist at the 2010 Cowtown Bonsai Convention hosted by the Fort Worth Bonsai Society and the Lone Star Bonsai Federation. Take a look in at least the last 12 issues of Bonsai Focus Magazine and you will find that Peter is a frequent contributor of a variety of articles and special projects. In a visit to the Fort Worth/Dallas area in 2007, Peter showed interest in our Texas native trees and expressed how fortunate we were to be able to gather potential bonsai specimens from the wild. Link of the Month This month s link highlights the talents of Austrian, Wolfgang Putz. This bonsai artist is World-known for both his bonsai and kusamono. Although most of his site is in German, it is not that hard to negotiate, and his gallery of work is incredible well worth a look. (Cont. pg 3)

3 Recently, I pitched to Peter to write about our native Ashe juniper from the field to finished bonsai. I sent along photos of the Fort Worth and Dallas Clubs last dig in Glen Rose, Texas, February, During this dig two Ashe junipers, 12 trunk width at 1000 lbs. and 15 trunk width at 1900 lbs., were dug and loaded by tractor. We do things in a big way in Texas and it is not often that bonsai trees are dug with a tractor. By their response, I think we got their attention! Our next steps will be these: From the Fort Worth and Dallas Clubs, I would like to know the size and survivability rate of your junipers from the 2009 Glen Rose dig. Please me at mark.bynum@tx.rr.com 2010 Convention for photographing and viewing by Peter. Be sure and start working on these trees now to get a refined look by June, Only LSBF member trees are invited. Currently, we have 4-5 possible trees to be included as finished trees in the article. I know that there must be more specimen Ashe junipers in collections throughout Texas. It may help to send along a photo to the address above before you transport a tree all the way to Fort Worth. Please realize that this is not a firm deal yet, but I give it about an 80% chance of happening. Peter Warren will be in full charge of the article and have final say as to its format, text and photos. After that it must to be submitted to the editors of Bonsai Focus magazine for approval. At the Glen Rose scouting expedition in November of this year and the dig in February of next year, we will take photos of mature junipers as well as potential bonsai specimens in their native habitat. If anyone has outstanding photos of Ashe juniper from other field locations, please send them along to me. For all LSBF members, we will be asking for finished Ashe juniper bonsai to be brought to the This is how we dig trees in Texas. Photo M. Bynum Overall, the possibility should bring some excitement to the convention and if we do get an article in an international bonsai magazine, it will put Texas bonsai and artists on the world map! We will do everything possible to make this happen. I will pass along more details as I learn of them. Happy styling! July in Bonsai By John Miller July and August are the two most stressful months for bonsai in our neck of the woods. Most healthy trees can take the full sun on their foliage. But the high ambient temperatures and the heating effect of the sun on the pots and soil create temperatures on the roots that they are not designed to cope with. Trees with thin leaves like the Japanese maple, Acer palmatum, will probably scorch in full sun. They can also suffer from chemical burn from some fertilizers and insecticides which can be more damaging in the heat. I cannot give you a precise to-do list since your backyard is different from mine but you should be sure that the sun does not hit the pots directly. If you use a cover of any kind be sure that the side of the pot is protected also. A loose weave cover that allows air flow is preferable to solid paper or foil. A solid cover or box over the pot would create an oven type enclosure. There should be room for air flow around the pot. A 30-40% shade cloth over pines, junipers, and elms and maybe 50% over maples would be ideal. And don t forget to provide protection on the west side from that mean afternoon sun. Check your water practices. I prefer to water heavily in the evening (in normal weather). That gives the plant all night to renew itself without losing most of its water to evaporation. Then in the early morning, they get a quick foliage spray and wetting the surface of the soil which may have dried out overnight. Very porous soil may need

4 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 more morning water. This was what I did while working since the morning task only took 10 minutes or so. Now I still prefer to water heavily in the evening but the morning watering is more done more slowly and trees given a little more individual attention as some of them will not need water in the soil. Be sure to do the double watering bit water thoroughly so that the dry soil particles will get moistened and then after a few minutes water again so that they will soak up fully. Also watch for signs of insect problems. The spider mite will always be near. Others to look for are scale of various forms, aphids and mealy bugs. Preventative medicine is best. By the time you see signs, the damage is already done, especially with 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) 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 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, and 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 well on the scale shells. There is no damage from this leftover evidence but it prevents you from seeing any new infestation that may occur. 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 carbonate which you can find at any nursery with a decent organic section. There are several chemical sprays available too. Water soluble fertilizers will be quickly washed out. The best rule I have heard was given by Matt Ouwinga who primarily grows trident maples. Matt s rule: A. Apply organic fertilizer balls each 6 weeks. Discard old balls. B. Apply fish emulsion every two weeks. C. Apply liquid plant food on alternate weeks. Many spring flowering plants will be setting buds for next year s flowers. Azaleas will set theirs toward the end of July. If you prune tips after that you remove the new buds. If you use the Boon technique for growing pines, now is the time for removing the candles, late June on bigger trees later on for smaller ones. Now that night temperatures are staying above 60 degrees you should think about repotting some of the tropicals. Most tropicals do well with an annual repotting. I would emphasize to check the wires on your trees and also see that the drains are not blocked in any way. Especially check them after a rain to be sure that your pots have drained properly. Keep the tropicals trimmed as they will be growing like crazy. However, if you want flowers on those that produce on the end of the twigs bougainvillea, pomegranate, crape myrtle you will have to forgo the bonsai shape to let them flower. These species should be pruned more drastically before the growing season starts so they can still be in a pretty good shape. Some more words on protecting from the sun. Dappled shade would do nicely because the sun will not shine on one spot very long but partial shade (such as morning sun and afternoon shade) will not suffice when the morning sun is as hot as it is here in Texas. When you put some kind of sun screen on remember to shade the sides of the pot as well as the soil. A light mulch on top of the soil will work great. Covering the pot with foil or putting it in a box made to fit is of doubtful help but if used there should be room for air to flow around it. Old rags work fine also if they do not blow off. Try to find a cover that will let you monitor your watering easily. As a rule we do not feed our trees enough. Since the mix we use has very little nutrient value, we must make up with our fertilizer practice. 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

5 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 5 conserve moisture. The other species may get a foliage spray in the morning. Your trees keep growing and need their periodic beauty treatment. Keep the ends trimmed and the stray shoots cut out. It s not that bad when you can sit in the shade with a big lemonade and really enjoy being with your bonsai. That way you will have your tree ready for the fall show or you will be ready to enjoy it when the change of seasons give it pretty colors. Save the Date for Club Sponsored Workshops LSBF Travelling Artist Join us Saturday, August 15th from 1-5PM at North Haven Gardens for a hands-on workshop with the Lone Star Bonsai Federation guest artist Roberto Martínez Acosta. Roberto is a professional artist who has studied bonsai abroad and worked under Pedro Morales. He is a member of the Puerto Rican Bonsai Federation, registered as a teacher for Bonsai Clubs International, and was recently selected as VP of the Latin-American & Caribbean Bonsai Federation. His creations have won awards including 1st Judge Winner of the Certré Award International Most recently he released a DVD on tropical bonsai and finished his first year of the European Bonsai School with Master Salvatore Liporace. Roberto will be a guest artist in the upcoming World Bonsai Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico in July More details to follow. Andy Smith Workshop Join us Saturday, November 7th from 1-5PM at North Haven Gardens for a hands-on workshop after our monthly program The Natural Roots of Bonsai by Andy Smith. The morning program will feature American Bonsai Society board member and Deadwood, South Dakota bonsai collector Andy Smith presenting on the natural conditions and environmental impact on the growth of specimen trees including Ponderosa Pine, Rocky Mountain Juniper, and other conifers. The afternoon workshop will include hands-on styling of conifers open to the first 10 members. Members share of the cost is $45 for the workshop plus they will need to bring a conifer. Members may purchase trees from Andy s web-site ( for $75 to $125 plus shipping, or bring their own conifer (pine, spruce or juniper). To reserve your spot please RSVP to Diane Lowe (diane_lowe@tx.rr.com) and mail your $45 payment. June in Review Hack it back! Make it move! Shrink it down! One thing s for sure when you have three experts in a panel format, you get lots of opinions! But we ll get back to that in a moment June s meeting opened up with some club business. Vice President Chuck Talley discussed the upcoming schedule of events. He says that we re firming up the details for having LSBF artist Roberto Martínez in for August. He also said, our November guest artist workshop has been confirmed as Andy Smith from Golden Arrow Bonsai. Dave S. suggests we avail ourselves of Andy s trees for the workshop; they re fantastic material. Some trees awaiting critique. Photo J. Bonney Mark Bynum, the 2010 Texas State Bonsai Convention chair, stated that Peter Warren has committed to the convention for next year. Peter has been all over the bonsai scene as of late and is quite the hot commodity. The FWBS is happy to have him onboard! Mark also described an interesting new way to water very small pots using the drip system he demonstrated at the April program. Basically, it involves extending a small length of the ¼ soak-hose from the emitter and capping the end off afterward. This allows the entire pot to be under the drip as opposed to the emitter just watering one spot.

6 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 6 Then, Moe, Larry and Curly (aka Dave, John and Howard) jumped right into it with a large number of member trees to work through. This was a very good turnout. Trees of all kinds were brought in: cedar, ficus, juniper, serissa, pyrocantha, boxwood, Brazilian raintree, taxus, and crepe myrtle to name a few. We ran later than usual and barely got out before our allotted time. Programs like this are so great because instead of watching one expert work on a plant you may or may not have in your collection, you get direct input from three experts about what you have in your own backyard! Sometimes it s easy for us to set the autopilot when it comes to our trees. We see them a certain way and, generally, that s what we continue to see. I think many of us were shown a fresh perspective for some of our trees this month. Curly wants it more open. Photo J. Bonney Larry wants to remove a branch. Photo J. Bonney Moe has concerns about some roots. Photo J. Bonney Moe, Larry & Curly put their noggins together. Photo J. Bonney

7 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 7 Howard and Sylvia Smith Cultivators of fine trees bonsaismiths@earthlink.net Collection maintenance Tel# (972) Private instruction Fax# (972) Classes, lectures & demos Pegasus Pottery 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! 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. For more information, visit