Bonsai Society of Dallas

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1 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 Bonsai Society of Dallas Monthly Member Newsletter April 2017 Message from the President In This Issue Message from the President April Program Upcoming Events April Bonsai Tips and Advice Tip of the Month LSBF Convention 2017 March Program in Review Club Dig 2017 Board of Directors Sylvia Smith, President slysmith@tx.rr.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 Scheduled 2017 board meetings: April 24, July 10, and October 16. Any member is welcome. Please contact Sylvia Smith in advance for location if you plan to attend. The convention is almost here and I can t begin to tell you how excited I am. Our convention board has been working diligently to provide a fun and educational event for you. Please sign up to volunteer and help us run the event smoothly. As a club member, you do not have to pay to have access to the exhibit area, vendor marketplace, and participate in the fun raffles. The schedule of events was sent out last week so take a look and plan when you can be there to both enjoy the event and lend a hand. We need you to sign up in advance to volunteer. Please reply to Diane Lowe with your availability. I would still encourage you to purchase meal tickets so you will not miss out on our lunchtime and evening events. The food is always great at the Sheraton but seating is limited. Print our form from the website, select your meals, and bring it to our April meeting. Auction night is a great way to pick up some quality trees and Friday night s demo will be fantastic. Additionally, if you have a tree to display and have not sent your submission along with the picture of your tree, please do so now! Send the information to Howard Smith at bonsaismiths@tx.rr.com. I'd like to thank everyone at last month s meeting for their assistance in making kusamono for our convention table centerpieces. I hope you had fun creating those little jewels and learning more about accent plants. This month s program should be fun as well. It is a team event where we work to come up with various ways to do an initial styling of a tree. It helps you develop your eye to take a rough piece of material and envision the design to make it into a bonsai. I'm sorry I will miss out once again, but my anniversary only comes along once a year. See you at the convention! Sylvia Raffles, Raffles, Raffles Please don t forget to bring raffle items to the meeting on April 1 st or to the convention. Look at your collection to see what you might be ready to let go. Look in your garage or junk closet for something to share. If you are coming up short on both, then go shopping. Just about anything at North Haven Gardens would be perfect for our raffle, particularly plant material. Please give back to your club by donating items and participating in our raffles at the convention.

2 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 April Program Finding the Bonsai Within 9:00 AM to Noon, April 1 st - North Haven Gardens We are bringing back a popular program from previous years; a fun one that challenges us to visualize the best design style. One of the biggest challenges we face with bonsai is to decide the most suitable style for any piece of material. Our April program helps us do that by challenging us to come up with all the different styling possibilities for a never been styled before tree. In this case it will be a very mature juniper. We will start with a quick review of the generally accepted bonsai styles. After that we divide the group in half and work in teams to come up with the various options. Each team then ultimately agrees on which one they want, capturing a rough drawing of how the tree will potentially look. They will then present their ideas and recommendation to everyone. It is a great way to learn to develop your eye to find the best potential bonsai for future trees you acquire. At the end of the program one lucky winner from each team will go home with the tree and design ideas to match. So be sure to join us for this month s program! Parking at North Haven Gardens This is the busiest time of year at North Haven Gardens so please be sure to park either in the Jewish Community Center parking lot next door or in the lot on the far right. The folks at NHG let us use their room each month at no charge, so thank them by shopping a bit too while you are there. Thanks! Upcoming Events April 1 st Finding the Bonsai Within April 6 th 9 th LSBF Convention Dallas May 6 th Pot Selection Guidelines & Member Swap Meet June 3 rd Study Group with Bonsai Smiths Events Elsewhere April 27 th 30 th 8 th World Bonsai Convention Omiya, Japan May 6 th 7 th Sacramento Bonsai Club 71 st Annual Show Sacramento, CA May 13 th World Bonsai Day Pacific Bonsai Museum Federal Way, WA May 13 th 14 th Albuquerque Bonsai Show BioPark Botanic Garden Albuquerque, NM May 25 th 28 th Brussel s Rendezvous Weekend Olive Branch, MS May 25 th 29 th BSF/ABS Convention Orlando, FL June 3 rd 4 th Sei Boku Bonsai Kei Exhibition San Mateo, CA June 23 rd 25 th US National Shohin Bonsai Exhibition Kannapolis, NC

3 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 LSBF Convention / Dallas 2017 by Sylvia Smith, Convention Chair Convention time has arrived!!! We are less than two weeks away from our big event so here are the highlights and last minute helpful hints. Thursday Evening Reception (Full Registrants Only) - Visit with friends, vendors, and watch the LSBF Team Challenge Competition. There will be music, hors d oeuvres, and of course a cash bar will be close at hand. Vendors will be all set up by opening time at 6:30 p.m. to showcase their wares and maybe make a few early sales. And meanwhile right next door, our club teams will be getting ready to start their styling team relay which is sure to be great fun to participate in or watch! Workshops - Didn't sign up for a workshop and wish you had? Don't fret, there are still a couple of workshops that have a few open seats. Bring your tools just in case and check in at the registration desk for a sneak peek at the open workshops available. Full registrants and Observation Only registrants have full access to silently observe any workshop, but space is limited so this is on a first come first serve basis. Remember that silent observation means just that. Anyone disrupting a workshop will be asked to step out, so please don't lose your chance to observe and learn. Raffle Items and Donations - As you probably know, raffles are the core of all convention fundraisers! We encourage everyone who attends this convention to contribute items towards our raffle sales. There will be two daily raffles on Friday and Saturday then our big raffle will take place near the conclusion of our events on Sunday. Donations will be accepted at the April meeting and throughout the weekend at the hotel. Thank you ahead of time for your kind generosity. We obviously prefer that these items be somehow related to bonsai or gardening (i.e., bonsai pots, books, magazines, turntables, tools, tool bags, plant material, and gardening tools) but it can be almost anything that can be raffled. The funds gathered are used to cover expenses for the convention and LSBF traveling artist and other educational events for all members of LSBF. And in case you didn't know it, all Texas based clubs are automatically part of LSBF, making YOU an automatic member! available at bonsaismiths@tx.rr.com or call if you have any questions at All displays will be given a 6' space. If your display is not large enough to fill this space, it will be paired up with others to make a two- or three-point display. We encourage you to bring all of the items you might need for your display such as bonsai stands, accent plants or scrolls. Some will be available for loan to offer the best fit for each display. Please make sure you discreetly label your stands and scrolls with your name. Exhibit trees should arrive at the hotel on Thursday between 2pm - 6pm. Please contact Howard Smith with arrivals after 6pm. Exhibit trees will not be allowed on Friday morning, unless arrangements have been made previously with Howard. Exhibit Critiques by Featured Artists. All three featured artists will conduct a critique of the exhibit area throughout the weekend. Attendees will follow each artist as he moves throughout the exhibit pointing out the aspects of display including but not limited to tree design, materials on display, and overall flow and feel of the display area. This is an excellent opportunity to learn what to do and not do when displaying your tree plus invaluable information on improving your tree design. Space will be limited to these so plan accordingly. Sylvia Smith will also be conducting a docent tour on both Friday and Saturday afternoon to explain the basics of bonsai display. Please check your schedule of events to plan your visit so you can attend one or all of these events. Saturday Night Auction. The auction follows our Saturday dinner. Bonsai trees (in bonsai pots) and other related items worth at least $100 will be available for bidding. The auction will be conducted by our very own Howard Smith, who is also president of LSBF. Are you ready for the fun and entertainment? This is an excellent way to support LSBF and to sell some of your bonsai trees and related items. Is it time to add a special tree and improve your collection? The proceeds from each auction item will be split 80% to the item owner and 20% to LSBF Convention. So look in your bonsai collection, select some items that you are ready to sell, bring them to the convention, and put them up for auction. Registration of auction items will be take place on Saturday afternoon at 4:30, just outside the banquet area. Bonsai Exhibition - As always, our goal is to feature an outstanding bonsai exhibit to be enjoyed by all. If you are planning to bring a display but have not submitted your paperwork with a picture of your tree, please contact our exhibit chair, Howard Smith to determine if space is still So be sure to come for the weekend, a day, or just a half day; whatever your schedule permits. Don t miss it!

4 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 April Bonsai Tips and Advice By John Miller There has been another excellent group of articles from Jonas Dupuich at bonsaitonight.com. The pictures (especially of pinching growing tip of maples) is worth ten thousand words. The ones in March that are especially good are: Mar 7 - First spring work on Japanese maple. The pictures clearly show how to develop short internodes and smaller leaves on all maples. Leaves and nodes will both grow until the tip is pinched. The same technique is used on almost all opposite leafed trees. As a general rule this applies to alternate leafed species also. He was very lucky to have all buds open in one week but you will need to keep pinching during the growing season. Mar 10 Work on an ume. Saving the tree and developing a way to go in future. Never quit looking for a better front or way to go. Mar 21 - How to fertilize JBP. Different techniques for growing trunks and developing branches. The same fertilizer is used but applied at different times Repotting of deciduous trees should be pretty much over. Broad leaved evergreens, such as the hollies, usually start growth a little later and may still be repotted when their buds swell. Conifers and other evergreens should be in active growth and therefore not repotted. Newly repotted trees should not be wired until they show they have recovered. Organic Foliar Spray Any trees that have wire on them should be watched very closely during the spring flush of growth. Branches and twigs can expand pretty rapidly and result in the wire cutting into the branch. Watch especially the junction of the branch with the trunk or a larger branch. Remove the wire if it is cutting into the branch and rewire if needed. To one gallon of water add one tablespoon each of: Fish Emulsion Liquid Kelp Molasses Apple Cider Vinegar General care for all species is pretty much the same at this time. Feed, prune, and look out for insects and other pathogens. What kind of fertilizer you use is not as important as that you use it right. Plants would like a small amount of nourishment to be available all the time. For bonsai, the best way to supply it is by using organic fertilizer cakes on the surface. They release nutrients each time you water and are held by the particles such as pumice to be used all day. Water soluble fertilizers are fairly good but the next watering will wash the remaining nutrients out. You would have to water with it daily using a very dilute solution. Some organic fertilizers like bat guano or chicken manure release too much nutrients at once (are too hot). Many lawn and garden fertilizers are the same. Whichever you use be sure to follow directions. Feeding needs to be done judicially. A lot of nitrogen will push the new flush of growth too much but with no fertilizer you will get foliage with poor color that lasts all year. The organic fertilizer balls are the best solution. You can add a few at the start and increase them as the foliage matures. (See Jonas s tech on the pines). If you use chemicals be sure to follow directions and too use them lightly at first. Also, be sure to get a brand with the minor elements listed. Commercial water soluble fertilizers wash out with the next watering and result in poorly fed pale bonsai. Most trees will do well in the full sun at this time of year. However, if you have had them in partial shade be careful about giving them full sun. They probably should be acclimated gradually. Whether you use the organic or chemical spray, the trick is to be sure to thoroughly cover the plant including all the leaf axils. Use a hand or pump up sprayer to get a fine mist spray to cover all surfaces, a hose-end sprayer does not cover good enough. Continued on the next page.

5 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 5 April Bonsai Continued Fungal diseases develop during warm humid weather. Too much foliage misting can do it also if the leaves stay damp very long. One of the most prevalent fungus is leaf spot which will hit several kinds of plants especially elms, hollies, and roses. Control consists of spraying with baking soda. A 1% solution of Hydrogen Peroxide (diluted 1 part HP & 2 parts water) can be used except on very young foliage which may be sensitive to it. Remember when pruning that there is no one-sizefits-all, even on the same species. First of all, formation pruning is when you are doing the initial styling of the tree. In most cases, you are trying to grow new branches requiring you to have the branches grow long. After the tree has been styled, you then need to do ramification pruning to develop twiginess and a patina of old age. To properly prune you need to know how they grow and to remember that new twigs, even in the far future, break from the internodes so keep them short. For formation pruning on opposite leaved species, you must work to get short internodes near the trunk then later let the branch grow for thickening. After the first set of leaves emerges, pinch the tip of the next set of leaves before they actually become leaves. Pointed tweezers are the best tool for this job as you want to get the growth when it just starts to emerge. Use this same technique through three sets of leaves, after which you can let the newly created branches grow to thicken. Each pinch results in two new leaf sets, creating shorter nodes to generate future branches. When the desired primary and secondary branches have been grown, the ramification is achieved by pinching the tip from each set of leaves as it grows thereby doubling the number of twigs each time. This can be a big job on a large maple, but is necessary to get the desired result. Be sure to check your soils each day for proper water content. It is easy to assume that the soil has plenty of water when the days are cool or there has been some rain. It is too easy for a tree with full leaves to shed water outside of the pot or a good sun and low humidity after a front to dry the soil. I suggest that you remove most of the moss so that you can see and feel the soil in order to determine how dry it is. (Moss growing on the trunk or roots will cause the bark to rot also) An automatic watering system will be an aid but you should not rely on it to replace hand watering. Hand watering allows you to adjust the watering for each tree individually. Tip of the Month Thread Graft When to Separate New Branch Original branch Have you ever wanted a branch on your tree where there isn t one? A thread graft might be the answer. A hole is drilled through the center of the trunk and a branch from elsewhere on the tree is threaded through the hole and secured. As the wound heals over at least one growing season, it absorbs the tissue of the threaded branch at both the entry and exit of the graft. How do you know when it is time to cut away the branch at its entry? The safest way is to wait until the new branch is thicker. That tells you that it is no longer just growing from the original branch but it is also drawing energy from the tissue within the trunk. Be patient. Cutting it too soon will result in a dead branch. This one still needs a little more time, just to be sure.

6 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 6 March Program in Review Making Kusamono with Soon Cheah WERE THEY CUTE OR WHAT!? By Mary Polk On March 4 th, the tiny world of kusamono landed in our meeting room. The tiny lady named Soon Cheah began teaching us the world of these tiny companions to our larger bonsai. She and her husband both are tiny people with big hearts and the gift of teaching was well observed. Soon had a wonderful presentation with a slide show and taught us her little world of companion plants. There is so much more to kusamono than I realized. Soon and Hoe Cheah (from Houston) brought many wonderful plants to share in the potting up of our recently created pinch pots the members had prepared for the upcoming convention. Soon carefully explained the whys and wherefores of which plants (both weed and non-weeds) would make sense to plant together for spring, summer, fall or all seasons together. Many of us had also brought plants from our own yards to experiment with. She carefully showed us her method and we all watched with amazement at her careful tending to each tiny specimen. She placed each one for a specific reason so it would enhance the other plants in the little pot and complement a larger bonsai it might be a companion to. We all finally had the opportunity to plants our tiny kusamono pots with the time we had left. Our sleeves were rolled up and we dug in. Each of us was engaged in our own little tiny world concentrating on the challenge at hand. Time kept passing and we planted faster and faster and even though we tried to keep in mind what she had taught us, I fear some of us (gulp) may have broken most of her rules! It was so much fun though, and her lessons were heard and taken in mindfully so we can all improve on our kusamono skills with more time. She even shared with us that she talks to her plants and treats them as though they are little tiny children. How sweet she was and how cute were her little jokes. She and her husband recently won bonsai awards and it is clear they know what they are doing and how much they enjoy bonsai. We loved having them with us for the morning and hope to see them again soon at the convention. Speaking of tiny Garrett s tiny kusamono in his arms is making him look like a big, strong, and loving father to his precious little companion. There were other smaller versions of their parents in attendance as well (and getting into this bonsai thing with their hands in the soil). Yes, let s get them appreciating the wonderful world of bonsai early. The quiet concentration of studying each creation is good for us all. It s a small world, after all! Photos courtesy of Mary Polk

7 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 7 Club Dig 2017 Whitesboro, TX We had a great weekend of digging in Whitesboro. On Saturday we were a group of about ten people at our friend George Straw s beautiful home. On Sunday there were seven of us and we were on a nearby ranch for another great morning of digging. George s neighbor runs a pistol range/training facility and his students were expected at 1:00 pm for a class, so were on a mission with the clock ticking. Luckily the soil was a nice sandy loam that was not too wet or too dry so it was relatively easy to dig some great trees. Cedar elms and winged elms where the obvious choices, although a few others were selected as well. Many were the perfect size and had nice fissured trunks. Thanks to Sylvia for scouting the area and setting up the dig, giving us two great options this year. Saturday with Bill, Ben, Emily, and David Judy, Bill, and Steven on Sunday Roseanne and Joe (above) and Clair (right) on Saturday Photos courtesy of Bill Harris

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 April s To-Do List Link of the Month 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 Fertilize 4 6 weeks after repotting Watch and treat for pests Apply wire (if not recently repotted) Remove wire if cutting into branches Deciduous Prune, wire, and style Evergreen/Conifer Prune, wire, and style Fertilize pines heavily Flowering/Fruit Prune sparingly so as not to reduce seasonal flowers Wire and style Tropical Move to spring/summer locations Replenish potting supplies for summer repotting The folks at Bonsai Empire have done it again. They have introduced a new course to their line-up of online courses, Bonsai Fundamentals featuring Michael Hagedorn as the instructor. This course is geared toward the intermediate level student who wants to know more about plan physiology, Japanese aesthetics, and bonsai design. For a single fee of about $40 you get to learn at your own pace. There are 23 chapters in this online course with beautiful and inspiring views of Japanese bonsai nurseries. Check it out. mentals-course Member News Got news to share? Let us know.. Take a few moments to share our link on Facebook to invite your friends to the convention. It is just $5 for General Admission. They get to see the exhibit, shop from the vendor area, and participate in our fun raffles. %20dallas%20bonsai%20convention 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 really like the look of moss on the surface of my bonsai soil but it dies. How do I get it to grow there? Answer: If you think about the conditions in which typical moss thrives (damp, shady, somewhat cool environment) that is not the typical environment we have in Texas, unless perhaps if you have a greenhouse. It is also not the environment that most of our bonsai need to stay healthy. The health of our tree should always be the top priority. Moss growing on the trunk of a tree can actually cause damage. We typically display bonsai in an exhibition with moss placed on the surface because it enhances the overall composition, however it is usually placed there a day before the show opens, and removed soon thereafter. For those who have moss available, perhaps on a shady spot on the north side of a building, keep it happy where it is and use it when needed by placing it on your favorite trees at certain times for your enjoyment. As it fades, return it to its original spot in time for it to survive and spread. If you have some, bring it to the convention for use in the exhibit area.

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