Conejo Valley Bonsai Society Meetings. CVBS Now on Facebook. In This Issue President s Message: Time to Pot Almost Over,

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1 Volume 13 Number 4 April 2016 In This Issue President s Message: Time to Pot Almost Over, So Pick Show Trees Now 1 CVBS Now on Facebook 1 CVBS Programs: The 2016 Schedule 2 Barrett s Bonsai Tips: Deciduous Trees Busy Time 3 Horses Meet Bonsai 3 Refreshments 3 CVBS Membership 3 March Niche: Willow Leaf Ficus Rebuilt 4 CVBS Niche Displays 4 CVBS Program: Pressler Critiques Problem Bonsai 5 Coming Events 8 Library 8 Conejo Valley Bonsai Society Meetings Westlake Village City Hall Community Room Oakcrest Drive Westlake Village, CA rd Thursday of the Month 7:30 PM 9:00 PM April 2016 ur March meeting was a workshop O with Bob Pressler. Bob worked on members problem trees. There were a few major cuts and a few gasps but we all survived and it was a fun evening. It was helpful to get another set of eyes on a tree kicked to the curb! Our April Bonsai meeting will be a workshop so bring your trees to work on. We have confirmed that our Annual Exhibition will be the weekend of October 1st and 2nd at the Gardens of the World. Have a look at your collection and start grooming your show trees. If necessary, put them in a show pot. It is almost to the end of the season to do repotting so give this some thought. The planned trip to Muranaka Bonsai Nursery for April 9th got rained out. Sorry guys we will try again. We need the rain just not on our trip weekends! I have been working with Nat Stein s Elm tree that we donated to the Gardens of the World. Last fall the trunk and the branches were all black with sooty mold. I took it home and have been working on it trying to get rid of the mold. This has been quite a slow process. First I checked the tree for the usual culprits: scale, aphids, and any other critters. I then gave the tree a severe trim so I could get at the branches, and repotted it. There were very few leaves left on the tree when I was done. I sprayed the tree Conejo 2016 Conejo Valley Valley Bonsai Bonsai Society A member of the Golden State Bonsai Federation President s Message Time to Pot Almost Over, So Pick Show Trees Now By Marj Branson Marj Branson with a copper-based fungicide and was washing it with a weak solution of Dawn detergent, lightly scrubbing the branches with a small soft brush. This is a slow process and I have to be careful not to scrape off the bark. I have to return the tree to the Gardens so I would like to be far enough along in the cure stage. The leaves are growing very well in that respect the tree looks very health. If anyone can give me any other suggestions on how to look after the tree I would appreciate it. We are open to suggestions for bonsai field trips or other bonsai activities our members might enjoy. Bring them up at our next meeting. Don t forget this is the season for bonsai shows. Take in as many as possible. And with the warm days and the recent rain, check your wires! See you Thursday, April 21st. CVBS Now on Facebook We have launched a Facebook page and need your pictures, comments, stories, happenings, and input to keep the excitement building about the world of bonsai and our club. Like us and post a comment Facebook is really fun and user friendly, and will give us exposure to all sorts of curious folks. Find us on Facebook when you search Conejo Valley Bonsai Society! Nancy Smeets

2 Contact Us (Click on Address) Officers President Marj Branson Phone (805) Vice President Ann Lofquist Phone (805) Treasurer Ken Fuentes Phone (805) Secretary Ken Martin Phone (805) Advisor Ken Fuentes Phone (805) Committees Membership Chair Larry Kimmelman Phone (805) Newsletter Editor David E. Whiteside Phone (805) Program Chair Al Espinoza Phone (818) Publicity Co-Chairs Guy & Deborah Ervin Phone (805) Refreshments Chair Grace Sy Phone (818) Librarian Larry Kimmelman Phone (805) Field Trips & Activities Rick Naber Webmaster Tom McGuire CVBS Programs 2016 If you are interested in the CVBS Mentoring Program, please see Larry Kimmelman for more information & applications to participate. January 21 February 18 March 17 April 21 May 19 June 16 July 21 August 18 September 15 October 1 & 2 October 20 DEMONSTRATION: Bob Pressler / Tree Critique BRING ONE TREE FOR BOB TO CRITIQUE! DEMONSTRATION: Ann Lofquist / Create a Tanuki Graft Workshop and Swap Meet BRING YOUR TREES DEMONSTRATION: TBA 13TH ANNUAL EXHIBITION Gardens of the World 7:30PM : Brief Meeting followed by November 17 7:30PM : Brief Meeting followed by December 15 HOLIDAY POTLUCK, RAFFLE & AUCTION 7:30 PM 2 Conejo Valley Bonsai Society April 2016

3 Barrett s Bonsai Tips Deciduous Trees Busy Time By Jim Barrett ince our meetings are well past the S middle of the month, we will attempt to include information that is important for the next month as well. This time of year can be a very busy one for those of us with deciduous trees. Deciduous trees need constant attention to keep upper growth in balance with the middle growth and the lower areas. Cut long shoots in the tops of maples, elms and especially zelkova, to one or two nodes or leaves. Rub off unwanted sprouts before they develop into shoots. Prune for shape and remove large leaves that block sunlight to the interior of the tree. From now on our task should be to encourage ramification, shape, and health. Fertilize your trees with slow acting fertilizers or time-release plant food. It is better to feed a little more often than a lot once in a while. Resist candle pruning your black pine bonsai until June or later. Black pine, in growing containers that need more development, can be candle pruned in May. Repotting bonsai pot to bonsai pot can still be done safely, especially pomegranate, most ficus, elms, wisteria, junipers, and azaleas. Horses Meet Bonsai Olives can be potted, or if you Jim Barrett wish, they can be worked on now. Watch for powdery mildew on maples, quince, crabapples, and crepe myrtle. Watch for aphids and spider mites. They will be very active this year. If your trees are infested with black ants, chances are you have aphids or scale. Keep after the trees you want to show in June [at the Descanso Bonsai Society exhibition some CVBS members do this]. A little work often will save a lot of work later on and the tree will look super. Look for stands and accents. L ast month, at the California Coastal Horse Rescue s yearly Night of the Horse Charity gala event in Calabasas, the highest bid in the silent auction went to a bonsai donated by CVBS member Nancy Smeets (that s me). The shohin juniper (potted with a fisherman figurine and pond) went for $150 to the horse rescue. On April 21, Help a Horse Day will be held in Ojai and I will donate another bonsai to this worthy cause. Hopefully the bonsai will again be the highest bid for auction item and will continue to spread the word about Conejo Valley Bonsai Society! Nancy Smeets Refreshments Spring Over? he end of Spring is near, enjoy it T while it s still here! Thank you to the March snacky participants. Cold drinks provided by Ken Martin and Denise Snavely, coffee compliments of CVBS (Marj Branson). Mouthwatering sandwiches by Nancy Smeets, and sweet tooth moment by me (Grace Sy). Please do not hesitate to contact me and join the Refreshments Corner! Contact me at or call (818) Thanks everyone! Grace Sy April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct Refreshments Cold Drinks Sheila Galinsky Denise Snavely Nancy Smeets Eats / Sweets Rick Naber Denise Snavely Richard & Kazue Winston Ken Fuentes CVBS Membership Come Join Us! hether you are a visitor to our website, a reader of our newsletter, a guest at a monthly meeting, or have already decided to join our club, there are effectively no barriers to entry. Annual dues are $25 for one, $30 for couples. W Our monthly meetings are held on the third Thursday of every month, starting at 7:30 PM, in the Westlake Village City Hall (located at Oakcrest Drive, Westlake Village, CA 91361). To join our club, please bring your check (made out payable to the Conejo Valley Bonsai Society) to our next monthly meeting, or mail it to: Larry Kimmelman, CVBS Membership Chair, 2727 Autumn Ridge Drive, Thousand Oaks, CA Larry Kimmelman April 2016 Conejo Valley Bonsai Society 3

4 February Niche Willow Leaf Ficus Rebuilt Editor s note: Ken Fuentes provided the niche display at our club s March 2016 meeting. Commonly known as a willow leaf ficus (Ficus salacaria), here is what Ken says about this bonsai. This banyan style Ficussalacaria (previously known as nerifolia) was a completed bonsai of about 7 years old. After a winter storm 6 years ago the top froze. To save the tree I cut the tree back to about three inches tall. New growth started coming out of the cadmium layer all around the trunk. Because the base was already about 6 inches wide, it would have taken years to find a single trunk line, so I decided to develop a multiple trunk tree. I let it grow bushy out to about 2 feet all around only removing branches that would not end up being part of the tree s design (defoliate at this time) and repeat defoliating as necessary. I continued this process for over 5 years. Two years ago I began refining the branch structuring. Ken Fuentes Photos by Norm Nason CVBS Niche Displays Our Niche Display Program n the Niche Program, club members set up a mini exhibition display. Such a display consists of: I The tree in a nice bonsai pot An accent plant A stand All these items are important to create the balance for a good display. We aspire to present the best display possible for everyone s pleasure and edification, so the niche is often assembled by one of the more experienced members. However, it is also our desire to give less experienced bonsai hobbyists an opportunity to learn by doing. So if any less experienced member feels his/her trees are not ready for a finished display, it is worthwhile to create a display that is a work-in-progress. It will be up to the club member to determine which category his/her display falls into, and then the work-in-progress display can become the talking point of work done, work intended, and suggestions from the floor. We encourage all members to sign up for the niche display! Please have a look at the calendar and let us know when you would like to present your display. Marj Branson April May June July Aug. Sept Niche Displays Larry Kimmelman Marj Branson Norm Nason Nancy Smeets 4 Conejo Valley Bonsai Society April 2016

5 CVBS Program Pressler Critiques Problem Bonsai By Ken Martin he Conejo Valley Bonsai Society s March meeting was a participatory demonstration by Bob Pressler, who is the owner of Kimura Bonsai Nursery and a member of our club. He has demonstrated for us many times. T For this demonstration, members participated by bringing in their problem trees to get some guidance from Bob on how to proceed to make a better bonsai. In addition to wide-ranging and in-depth comments, Bob took up tools and worked on some of the trees. Here s a tree-by-tree rundown of the evening s demonstration: Photos by Norm Nason The first tree Bob looked at was Nancy Smeets Japanese maple. It is about 18 inches tall with two 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inch trunks dividing above the nebari. The dense foliage on top makes it difficult to see what the possibilities are. He suggested Nancy remove the smaller trunk in two stages. First, cut it 2/3 through close to the main trunk. Leave this for a year then finish removing. This process should make the wound heal faster. He suggested thread grafting the main trunk with small long branches looped down from higher up the tree. Pick what branches to leave on top then remove the rest especially the larger, out of proportion branches. Nancy Smeets Japanese maple. Al Espinoza s shohin olive: Bob said it has a lot of branches going up. Some need to be wired and placed down. Cut off the sucker growing out of the nebari as it provides no useful purpose and is just taking up nutrients that otherwise would go to the main tree. It needs a little clipping here and there. Al Espinoza s shohin olive. April 2016 Conejo Valley Bonsai Society 5

6 CVBS Program (continued from page 5) Richard Winston s 20-inch tall juniper: Bob said the top is much too big. He does like the curved and straight trunks near the top. With Richard s permission, Bob did the initial work of making the tree into a bunjin (literati) style. The tree is a good candidate for a bunjin because the trunk is fairly slim and tall with little taper and some curves. Bob performed a how-to-jin demonstration on a lot of the branches. Bob suggested the tree be repotted in the same or similar sized pot now. Bare root and comb out the roots on one side now and do the same to the other side two springs from now. Ultimately it should be placed in a smaller, round pot. Ken Fuentes shohin olive (no photo): Bob suggested bare root and repot. Richard Winston s juniper before (above) and after (below). Ken Martin s Liquidambar orientalis. Ken Martin s Liquidambar orientalis root over rock: Bob agreed with Ken that the tree is out of proportion and air layering the top is a good option. Bob suggested air layering up fairly high now; then the top probably could be successfully removed in the fall. When the top is removed, the large three bottom branches should also be removed. He also suggested cleaning the rock so it could be more easily distinguished from the roots. Tom Davis twisted pomegranate. Tom Davis twisted pomegranate: The trunk is mainly shari (dead wood) as are several large stubs higher up the tree. Bob suggested leaving the deadwood part of the trunk unprotected and let it decay naturally. The stubs higher up could be removed. Sheila Galinksy s very large boxwood: With Sheila s permission, Bob substantially reduced this 15 gallon tree to branches that can be used in its design as a live oak style tree. Bob says there are plenty of options with this tree. It has an unusually nice nebari for a boxwood. Bob envisions three rounded crowns. He cut the top of the pot down with handles and told Sheila the root ball could be Sheila Galinksy s large boxwood before (left) and after (right). 6 Conejo Valley Bonsai Society April 2016

7 cut to about 4 inches deep and put back in a cut off bottom of this pot. Boxwoods will grow quickly if you remove all material not needed in the final design. The leaves at the base of branches of a boxwood should be pulled off to make it look more like a tree. David Whiteside s live oak. David Whiteside s live oak: David brought this tree for Bob to look at because he was having trouble getting rid of a fungus that had infected it. Bob suggested removing all the leaves then, when it buds out, using a Copper-based fungicide treatment on the tree. (David had used Daconil TM, which Bob said hasn t been working well as a fungicide lately.) Bob also suggested removing the tree from its container, bare rooting and combing the roots on one half, repotting in a quality bonsai soil, then repeating the process on the other half in two years. Al Espinoza s shimpaku juniper. Al Espinoza s shimpaku juniper: Bob said this tree should have new shoots all over and it doesn t. He suggested bare rooting and combing out one side of the roots and repotting with fresh soil now and then repeat with the other side of the roots in two years. Rick Naber s bougainvillea before (above left) and after (above right). Rick Naber s bougainvillea: Another one of Rick s finds at a construction site. Bob suggested it could be repotted when the weather gets warmer. Bob felt the branch size was a little too thick. With Rick s permission, Bob made cuts for the future betterment of this tree. Bob said he was not one to advocate specific fertilizers for specific species, but Bougain fertilizer ( with minor nutrients including 5 percent iron) really seemed to make a difference for him on bougainvilleas. Denise Snavely s multiple-trunk Liquidambar orientalis: This clump started out as five trees in Bob s nursery. Denise bought it as a present in December One tree died a year ago leaving four. Bob removed the smallest tree because it was half dead anyway and also four trees in a composition rarely looks right. Additionally, the Japanese word for four (4) and death are the same or similar. Denise Snavely s multiple-trunk Liquidambar orientalis. This evening was an entertaining and educational success, not only for Bob Pressler s very experienced insights into what should be done to make each tree presented a better, healthier bonsai, but also because of the excellent participation by a majority of club members who brought in their trees. Good on you all! April 2016 Conejo Valley Bonsai Society 7

8 Coming Events (click on the hyperlinks to visit Web sites or send s) April 2016 April 23 24, 2016, San Diego, California San Diego Bonsai Club: Spring Bonsai Exhibition at the Casa Del Prado, Room 101, Balboa Park. Show hours are 10 AM 5 PM both days with demonstrations at 11 AM and 1 PM. Free admission. Bonsai pots and trees for sale, as well as other bonsai-related items. For more information visit or contact Janice Hale. May May 14 15, Gardena, California Dai Ichi Bonsai Kai: Annual Exhibit Serenity through Bonsai at the Ken Nakaoka Community Center, 1670 W. 162nd St. Novice to master bonsai exhibited. Hours are 10 AM 4 PM both days with a demonstration at 1 PM ((Saturday) a round-robin and (Sunday) a Saikei demonstration by Mr. Frank Goya will be held). The demonstration items will be in the benefit drawing, which follows each demonstration. On Saturday a beginner s hands-on workshop at 10:30 AM will be held. For more details about our club and show visit our website or contact Doyle Saito at (310) May 21 22, 2016, Van Nuys, California Sansui Kai of Southern California: Annual Bonsai Show at the Japanese Garden at Tillman Water Reclamation Center, 6100 Woodley Ave. Show hours are 10 AM to 4 PM both days, with demonstration each day. Sale table of Bonsai trees and pots. For more information contact: (818) (Garden) or (760) May 21 22, 2016, Santa Barbara, California Bonsai Club of Santa Barbara: Annual Bonsai Exhibition at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1212 Mission Canyon Road. Hours are Saturday 11 AM 4 PM and Sunday 10 AM 4 PM. Demonstrations at 1 PM both days. Plant sale by the Club. Native plants suitable for bonsai in the Botanic Garden s nursery. Books and other gifts in the Garden Shop. For more information, contact Tom Post (805) , tompostart@yahoo.com or visit June June 4 5, 2016, San Mateo, California Sei Boku Bonsai Kai: 33rd Annual Show at the San Mateo Garden Center. 605 Parkside Way (next to Beresford Park). Show hours are 10 AM to 4 PM both days, with demonstration by Dennis Makishima from Noon 3 PM on Saturday (tree will be raffled off at the conclusion of demo). Sunday Dennis will lead an open view workshop from Noon 3 PM. Large club member plant sale, vendors, door prizes and our always popular raffles. Admission is free. Dr. Bonsai will be available to offer styling and care tips. For more information contact Marsha Mekisich at eclectic.gardener@yahoo.com. June 12, 2016, Seaside, California Monterey Bonsai Club: 53rd Annual Exhibition at the Monterey Peninsula Buddhist Temple, 1150 Noche Buena Street. Show hours are from 11 AM 4 PM with a demonstration at 1:30 PM by Katsumi Kinoshita. There will be a benefit drawing for bonsai trees. Silent auction area will include bonsai trees, pots and pre-bonsai material. For more information contact Rich Guillen at richguillen@sbcglobal.net or Dianne Woods at vinca27@comcast.net. October October 27 30, 2016, Sacramento, California Golden State Bonsai Federation Convention 39: A Bonsai Convergence: Gather at the Rivers, Double Tree by Hilton, 2001 Point West Way, Sacramento. For more information, contact Scott Chad at scottchad@lotusbonsai.com. Library Take Advantage of Our Library Offerings! F rom John Naka s classic Bonsai Techniques to Bonsai Boon s DVDs on styling, pruning, and repotting, we offer a wide array of library materials to enhance and improve your understanding of the art of bonsai. We have Bonsai International magazines that date back to 1974 as well as Walter Pall s gallery of 8,000 bonsai tree images on DVD. Interested in suiseki? Take a look at Suiseki Viewing Stones An American Perspective by Melba Tucker. And be sure to check out our novice bonsai books that help newcomers build a strong bonsai foundation. Members can borrow our library materials for a month at a time. There is no charge and all we ask is that borrowed books and DVDs be returned at the next club meeting. Larry Kimmelman 8 Conejo Valley Bonsai Society April 2016