June 2012 Newsletter

Transcription

1 June 2012 Newsletter President Zack Clayton Tree Curator Dan Binder Director Emeritus José Cueto 1 st Vice President Ken Schultz 2 nd Vice President Denny Sackett 1 year Director Jack Smith 2 year Director Ben William 3 year Directors Tracy Freeland Brian Ireland Past President Mark Passerello Treasurer Richard Gurevitz Secretary Sandy Schoenfeld Librarian John Young Web Master Ed McCracken Newsletter Editor Richard Uhrick Education Tom Holcomb A Pinch of this....on your marks. Get Set. I hope that you are getting your trees ready. It is time to select which trees you think will be ready to show. Then you need to send the information requested on page 5 to ruhrick@otterbein.edu so that cards may be printed. In the meantime you might want to be sure and join us on Sunday to learn what is needed to get your juniper ready for showing from last year s popular choice John Hill. See you Sunday! Bonsai=Perseverance Rich Uhrick Inside this issue: Program Info 2 Random Thotz 3 Hinoki Cypress 4 Road Trip 6 Beginner s Class 9 Kelley Adkins Returns 10 Librarian 12 Calendar of Events 13 Join us at Oakland Nursery- Columbus on the 17th. See you there. Columbus Bonsai Society PO Box 1981 Columbus OH ColumbusBonsai@hotmail.com Columbus Bonsai is a proud member of the American Bonsai Society and Bonsai Clubs International.

2 2 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY JUNE 2012 This Month s Program Junipers with John and Asia with Tim J une 17th yes that is right Father s day. Well make it your wish and join us at Oakland Nursery in Columbus for a full afternoons programming. Tim Kuhlman will regale us with the sights and stories of his recent travels in the east and what he learned about bonsai there. John Hill will be providing us with some of his experience and knowledge relating to the care and training of Junipers. He will also lead those who have signed up for it through a critique and future planning of their own trees. So those of you who will be participating, and you know who you are will want to bring tools and wire etc. to implement what you learn. UPCOMING PROGRAMS: The Columbus Bonsai Society receives meeting space and other support and assistance from Franklin Park Conservatory and Oakland Nurseries DISCLAIMER The Columbus Bonsai Society Newsletter, is the intellectual property of the Columbus Bonsai Society. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without permission in writing from the Editor. JULY: CBS 2012 ANNUAL SHOW AT FPC AUGUST: ANNUAL PICNIC FEATURING IRON BONSAI SEPTEMBER: TROPICALS WORKSHOP OCTOBER: PINES (WIRING) NOVEMBER: ELECTIONS/ TROPICALS DECEMBER: HOLIDAY DINNER Rich Uhrick, Editor ruhrick@otterbein.edu

3 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY JUNE AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR PRESIDENT. Random Thotz - now from the President L ast month I said I was a month behind. Some things do not change. I still am behind. I have most of the time sensitive stuff done tho. I know some of you think that it is too late to do repotting and work of a spring nature. Let me tell you, the best time to work on your trees is when you have time to work on them. A case in point is a crabapple I got last fall. I do not think it would have been around next spring to work on. I repotted it tonight. I knew it was pot bound and needed the work, I just did not know how pot bound. I took it out of the pot and roots looked like they were forming a woven basket. I ended up cutting them every 3 inches. This mess extended half way up the side of the pot and across the bottom. This was not worth raking out. Roots do not circle the pot in one direction; they grow interlocking clockwise and counterclockwise. This tree had been repotted once before in a hurried job. About an inch inside the root mess, [sic] I found the outlines of the old pot in another mass of roots as bad as the one I had just removed. These had to come off too. (See Photo of removed roots and the remaining root ball.) Could I have left this second mess? Possibly, the tree had survived it being there, but did I want to leave those roots to thicken for another year before taking them out? No. And what did I find in that mess but the old (aluminum window) screen from the first pot drain holes! The second picture shows the root mass after a thorough spray of water to get out all the old soil, a mix of sand and perlite. This thing was root rot waiting to happen. So, I repotted it with a Hydrocks drainage layer and my deciduous turface and coffee grounds mix. And added a good amount of rooting gel when I watered it in. It is in shade and I expect it to survive if not thrive this year. The last picture shows the repot and some light pruning. The reason I say it was root rot waiting to happen is I did not get to another tree I got at the same time soon enough. It did get root rot and emergency treatment does not appear to have saved it. I usually repot a tree when I get it if only to take it out of the pot and look at the soil and roots. I did not do those two last fall because I did not think it would be good for the tree that late in the season and I trusted the source I got them from. Lesson learned Trust everyone, but cut the cards (check the soil in the pot.) Zack

4 4 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY JUNE 2012 TREE OF THE MONTH: Dwarf Hinoki Cypress Chamaecyparis obtusa I was at a loss on which tree to write about this month, when one of my trees up and died. I thought, Why? It was a Hinoki Cypress that I d had since 1998 and it had shown good spring growth this year. However, it had not been repotted in 3 years and I had recently moved it to a sunnier location. With as many bonsai trees as I have, why would this one die? I had 5 Hinoki Cypress in my collection and had repotted 3 of them this spring. If a Hinoki were to die, I would not have been surprised if it had been one I had recently repotted. Therefore, I did a little research in attempt to determine why this one had died. I pulled the dead tree out if its pot and examined its roots. Root rot?? They didn t look good. Was it because there was a denser soil mass near the trunk? But since the tree was treated as bonsai for 14 years, was this the cause? Was it because I ve started watering in the evenings and not the mornings as I did before I retired? Or was it because I d moved it to a sunnier location? Perhaps it was pot bound no it didn t look pot bound when I pulled it from its pot. Here are the facts on Hinoki Cypress. They are hardy from zones 5 to 8 and are native to southern Japan. In nature the tree grows up to 75 feet tall with a spread. The tree has a broad sweeping conical form. Its branches droop at the tips. New foliage is bright green, mature is dark. The bark is reddish brown and develops texture with age. The foliage turns darker-with a reddish cast in winter. Protect your Hinoki Cypress bonsai from temperatures below -10 in winter. They suffer from drying winds and winter sun. If you don t, you can expect branch dieback. The five sources I checked all said full sun is OK, so my tree s death should not involve moving it to a sunnier location, thought if it were pot bound it could be. The sources warn that without proper light, the lower and inner branches will die. This is a problem because Chamaecyparis DO NOT BUD BACK ON OLD WOOD. This is perhaps the largest factor in keeping this attractive tree from being kept by more bonsai enthusiasts. I had lost the lowest branch, because it was being shaded by the branch above it. Then I read that Hinoki are touchy about their moisture levels, almost to the extent that of Serrisa. During active growth they use a lot of water and should never be allowed to dry out totally. Had I allowed this to happen? Perhaps the sunnier location and the shallow pot this tree was in led to it drying out especially when there are hot drying winds? Then I read that excessive watering easily leads to root rot. One source suggested that Hinoki are best watered in the morning and not the evening. Oops, another strike against my revised schedule. I ve noticed that my trees seem to stay wetter longer with evening watering; maybe this is not a good thing. Fertilizing seemed routine. There are two schools of thought, weekly doses of and much to my surprise, a monthly dose of Epsom salts, 1 teaspoon/gallon to provide Magnesium. It said that you will notice improved foliage color. I guess I d better start this on the other 4. The references say that Chamaecyparis are lime haters and prefer acid plant fertilizer, like Azalea food (Miracid). When repotting use of a transplanting fertilizer is recommended. And, of course, newly repotted trees need to be placed in a semi-shaded area until it begins to actively grow again. Insects and diseases listed besides root rot included bagworms, scale and mites, but I spray regularly with Orchard/Fruit Tree Spray and occasionally Sevin. As for repotting, the sources say every 2 to 4 years in early to mid spring when your tree is les than 10 years old and every 5 years after. It recommends a fast draining mixture to prevent root rot, which I do use. It also says to avoid using pots that are too large as they promote root rot. Up to (Continued on page 7)

5 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY JUNE YOUR TREES THAT IS. FOR SIMPLY SEND THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION FOR EACH TREE YOU WISH TO REGISTER TO ruhrick@otterbein.edu BY 6/18/12: COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME OWNER S NAME YEARS IN TRAINING HEIGHT WIDTH DEPTH

6 6 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY JUNE 2012 Road Trip Report: Schnormeier Gardens By Ken Schultz D an Binder had visited Schnormeier Gardens and recommended it as a road trip for Club members a couple of years ago. Then there was an article about the annual open house at Schnormeier Gardens in the Sunday Columbus Dispatch, so Linda and I put it on our must do calendar. We made the drive to Knox County on June 7, Their annual open house lasts only 5 days each year, when Ted and Ann Schnormeier graciously open their 75-acre gardens to the public. A number of trips the Schnormeirers took to Japan and China inspires the gardens. It ranks as one of the top ten private gardens in the world. Moreover, it is only an hour away. We stopped at the visitor center on the way in and picked up a site map; a docent greeted us. The brochure identifies nine theme areas on the grounds. This part of Ohio has rolling hills and the garden takes full advantage of its topography, dividing areas visually from one another. At the front of the property, there is one large pond and four smaller ones; each has varieties of lotus and water lilies. They were in bloom during our visit. Along the front side of the largest pond, there is a small teahouse and a red bridge to an island. The bridge reminded me of one we saw in Japan near Nikko. Proceeding along the lakeshore, we came to the Waterfall Garden. Reportedly, 3 million gallons of water pump through the water features daily. We then came to the Quarry Garden, which has an artificial cliff face built with 1,200 tons of limestone. And it has a smaller waterfall. We proceeded across the main drive to the Schnormeier house (built in a Frank Lloyd Wright prairie home style) to the lower four ponds. As I mentioned each has its own variety of lotus in bloom. Then we went past one of the major sculptures into the Woodland Garden-- the path through reminded me of a riding trail in northeast Ohio. A stream flows alongside and there is a steep climb up to the high point of the property as you leave the woods. At the top is the Serenity Garden, which features a Japanese garden house and several small ponds. Another waterfall and series of ponds including rapids flow down the hillside. This area's design includes many varieties of conifers. I saw several Hinoki among them. There are another series of small ponds and a mountain stream flowing down the hill toward the Chinese Cup gardens. The pagoda style building features a crystal chandelier. This placed us near the back of the main house. There we enjoyed the oldest garden completed in The ground cover is creeping thyme that was in bloom. This area is the Japanese garden, though the entire property has a Japanese theme. We then went to the Hosta Garden that is behind another home on the property. They planted over 1,200 hostas to create this garden featuring 100 varieties. After the hosta garden, we went along the front of the main house where we enjoyed the many pots of the container gardens. A garden next to the house is where the stream from the Cup garden enters the main pond. This garden featured a number of sedum varieties used as ground cover and a stepable sold as Blue Stars. We proceeded back past the Tea House where our tour had started and back up to the Visitor center. There I purchased a book about the gardens, met the author who signed our book and Ted Schnormeier, who also signed. Both were very enjoyable to talk with. Arrangements already insure the preservation of the gardens for the future.

7 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY JUNE CBS 2012 Bonsai Show Volunteers Needed After months of trying to find a venue that would fit both our Show needs and our budget, we have agreed to have our 2012 Show at the Franklin Park Conservatory on July 21 & 22. The show will be in the lower level classrooms. All four of them. This is only three months away, so sign up sheets for the various committees will be circulated at the May and June meetings. The set-up workgroup will set up and drape the tables on Friday afternoon/ evening. Tree registration and check in will follow on Friday evening and early Saturday morning. This year we will need a Food Coordinator. Security will be scheduled. Volunteers to assist the vendors in bringing in their stock are needed. Then after 3 PM on Sunday volunteers will be needed to check out trees, assist the vendors and help with tear down. But most importantly, you are asked to enter a couple of trees in the show. In the short time-frame between now and our show ALL members are asked to help get the word out to their co-workers, church members, nurseries where they shop and any other place you can get to hang up a show flier. (Continued from page 4) 1/3 of the roots can be removed when the tree is repotted. One source did warn that failure to remove old soil would lead to disaster (root rot), so use a hose to remove old original soil, as it will compact over time! (Bingo!) And when you repot add Mycorhizae. If this is your tree s first repotting wait until the following year to remove unnecessary branches. However, you can remove these branches when you buy the plant and wait until the right time to repot in the following spring. Styling Hinoki seems to be the challenge. Their foliage grows in horizontal clusters. There are literally thousands of growth tips per branch. One source said pinching is not recommended as with Procumbens Nana. However, most sources said pinching is OK. Who do I believe? They say using scissors on the foliage will cause brown foliage. My expert says extra whirls need to be CUT out. This is necessary to open up the structure and allow light in to prevent die back. So be prepared for a lot of up close work, it says that it may take up to 10 hours to thin the foliage on one tree! On the green branches, use a pattern right, left. Because Dwarf Hinoki are slow growers, wire scars need avoidance. So it may take two or three attempts to position a branch. And one source warns that wiring saps the plant s vigor. Three sources say wait 3 months after repotting to wire. Wiring in the fall is recommended by one of the experts. If you do this, the wire can stay on the tree longer (till the following fall?) You may want to protect the bark with raffia in this case. Then there is that whole no back budding on old wood issue. (They will bud on green wood) Cuttings allegedly root easily. No back budding also makes selecting the perfect pre-bonsai critical as you are never going to get a branch to sprout where there isn t one when you buy it. However, you will need to cut out branches to keep them open enough to prevent interior branch die off from lack of light. And the foliage fans are delicate and can be damaged while wiring. On dwarf cultivars, you can break them off by rough handling. Each fan is a future branch and needs to be examined and selected for their growth potential. You may need to use the Craig Coussins curvy branch wiring to shorten branches to create your bonsai silhouette. Other Chamaecyparis include Blue Moss and Boulevard Cypress and we all know what a challenge they can be! There are a number of Hinoki cultivars available, I would avoid those that have yellow foliage as they would make bonsai even a greater challenge. Non-Dwarf varieties grow /year compared to 1-2 with dwarf cultivars. Reportedly non-dwarf is more challenging. The foliage of the dwarf cultivar Nana Gracilis is reportedly the easiest to manage in bonsai culture. Ken Schultz

8 8 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY JUNE 2012

9 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY JUNE DO YOU REMEMBER HOW YOU GOT STARTED IN BONSAI? COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETYGIVES A CLASS FOR BEGINNER S IN CONJUNCTION WITH OAKLAND NURSERY IN MAY

10 10 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY JUNE 2012 KELLEY ADKINS RETURNS KELLEY WORKS ON A MEMBERS ELM KELLEY AND DAN BINDER LOOK AT HIS ELM FROM 2008 KELLEY AND ERIK JUL LOOK OVER HIS TREES

11 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY JUNE KK SOLACOFF AND HIS RESULTS KELLEY AND ZACK CLAYTON LOOK AT HIS TREE KELLEY AND VALERIE NASH DON T FORGET TO JOIN US JUNE 17TH AT OAKLAND NURSERY FOR TIM KUHLMAN AND JOHN HILL.

12 12 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY JUNE 2012 From the Circulation Desk of the C.B.S. Library In an effort to make the C.B.S. library more available to all of our members (since the library cabinet is being stored at Oakland Nursery and since we aren't meeting there every month), I will do my best to fill any requests that you may have to borrow any of the items that we currently have in our collection. I have a complete list of all of the books, magazines and videos that we have in our library; so, no later than the Friday before our monthly meeting, either send me an at jyoungjfy@sbcglobal.net or give me a call at and let me know what items you would like to borrow from our library. I will let you know if we have that particular item in our library or, if it has already been checked out by another one of our members, when it should be available for you to borrow. However, if you are interested in a particular article or topic in one of our bonsai magazines, I will need to know the specific issue you would like to borrow, since I don't have a master index for all of the magazines that we have. And to be as fair as possible to all of our members, you may check out only two books, magazines, CD's or videos at one time for a two month period. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions about these new procedures. After all, it is your library, too! John Young, Librarian (614) jyoungjfy@sbcglobal.net Renewal Memberships may be paid for more than one year at a time.

13 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY JUNE Bonsai Here and Beyond the Outer belt Unless otherwise noted, The Columbus Bonsai Society meets the third Sunday of every month at 1:45 pm. Board Meetings are the first Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm. The board meetings are open to members. 17 JUN 2012 JUNIPERS WITH JOHN OAKLAND 21-4 JUN 2012 ABS/BCI DENVER JUL 2012 CBS 2012 ANNUAL SHOW -FPC 17-8 AUG 2012 MID-AMERICA CHICAGO 19 AUG 2012 PICNIC/ MEMBER SALES/ IRON BONSAI OAKLAND 16 SEP 2012 TROPICALS WITH JOSE OCT 2012 BONSAI EXPO ASHEVILLE, NC 21 OCT 2012 PINES (WIRING) FPC 18 NOV 2012 ELECTIONS/ TROPICALS OAKLAND DEC 2012 CBS HOLIDAY DINNER FPC= FRANKLIN PARK CONSERVATORY OAKLAND= OAKLAND NURSERY, COLUMBUS LOCATION June - Early Summer - 82/59 This is a good month to air layer trees. After you remove dead flowers, Rhododendron and Azalea are ready for pruning. Wiring stiff deciduous is easier now that sap is flowing. Foliage makes this task more difficult though. Continue pruning deciduous and tropicals for shape and to force growth that is more compact. All trees will be in full growth mode, so water usage is significantly increased. White or 5-Needle Pines: Cut stronger/top candles first, then lower/weaker candles a few weeks later. Black or 2-Needle Pines: Cut weak/lower candles first, then strong/top candles a few weeks later. You may completely defoliate strong and healthy deciduous trees to produce smaller foliage and ramification. Do not wait any later than June, or the tree s new growth may not harden up enough in time for winter. This technique should not be completed in successive years, as it is stressful on the tree. This technique is usually reserved for maples.

14 Columbus Bonsai Society PO Box 1981 Columbus, OH Questions to: Regular Club meetings on 3 rd Sunday of the month Meetings Start at 1:45 pm All are welcome to attend CBS Board meets 1 st Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm JOHN HILL OAKLAND