Bonsai Society of Dallas

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1 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 Bonsai Society of Dallas Monthly Member Newsletter April 2018 Message from the Vice President In This Issue Message from the Vice President April program April Bonsai Tips and Advice Beginner Bulletin Board Club Bonsai Show in Review and in Photos Tip of the Month LSBF Convention Highlights April To Do List Board of Directors President, Vacant Emily White, Vice President/Program Chair ewhite82@gmail.com Ben Karlson, Secretary bkarlson@gmail.com Bill Muto, Treasurer bmuto@aol.com Chandra Velmulapalli, Membership Chair csvemula@gmail Haiying Huang, Newsletter Editor Haiying_huang@yahoo.com Todd Hang, Webmaster tqhang@gmail.com Luis Alex Lebron, Social Media Chair luislebron78@gmail.com Brian Myers, Member at Large John Borusheski, Member at Large Howard Smith, LSBF Delegate bonsaismiths@tx.rr.com John Miller, President Emeritus bonsaimiller@aol.com Sylvia Smith, President Emeritus sylvia3smith@gmail.com Our 2018 Bonsai Exhibition was a success! Good job to our members who participated! A special thanks to Sylvia Smith, who chaired the event. Check out Sylvia s article below for more information. I am excited that Spring is finally here. With temperatures consistently above 50 F, it will not be long before I see whether the burr oak collected at our club dig grows buds like a survivor or remains a skeleton. Beware of late freezes. This month will be tripled with activities. Of course, we begin the month with our regular Membership Meeting on the first Saturday. Second, two weeks later, we have the Lone Star Bonsai Federation Annual Convention in Longview, Texas. If you plan to go to the convention, spread the word orally. Anyone who is on the fence about attending might be encouraged to attend just by learning that a familiar face will be there. Which LSBF bonsai will win this year s new Forest or Group Planting award? Third, North Haven Gardens is hosting Spring Club and Society Day on Saturday, April 28th from 9am -12pm. We will need volunteers to talk to members of the public about Bonsai Society of Dallas, advertising our club as a fun place to practice the art of bonsai. Emily White Can You Help? Our friends at North Haven Gardens are holding a Meet and Greet where each club that holds a monthly meeting at their store will be represented at a table. We will be given a table near their Zen Garden just outside the gallery building. We need two or three people to answer questions and hand out our club brochure. It is a three-hour event on April 28th from 9:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. If you can volunteer, please contact Emily at ewhite82@gmail.com Thanks!

2 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 April Program Layering and Grafting Techniques by Dave Schleser 9:00 AM to Noon, April 7 th - North Haven Gardens Club member Dave Schleser will instruct and demonstrate the techniques of layering a tree as a means of propagation as well as techniques to graft new branches and roots to further develop your bonsai. With the use of thread and approach grafts you can easily add a branch or two to a bonsai where it is needed. Mastering the technique of layering permits you to develop a new rootage (nebari) on trees with poor ones or one that has an undesirable graft union you wish to eliminate, as well as creating additional specimens of a tree you want more of or that has particularly nice qualities that you would like to reproduce. After a brief lecture Dave will be demonstrating one or two approach grafts on American beech, followed by base layering to develop a totally new nebari on a Japanese maple with an ugly base and air layering of a beech to shorten the trunk and create a second tree from the original one. Several additional trees will be brought that demonstrate previous layers and approach grafts. Dave will be assisted by Garrett Larson in the presentation of this program. Bring your notebook and be ready to learn and have a fun time! Upcoming Events April 7 th Layering and Grafting Techniques by Dave Schleser April nd, LSBF Annual State Bonsai Convention May 5 th Guest Artist Roy Nagatoshi Jun 2 nd Study group with Bonsai Smith July 7 th TBD Events Elsewhere April 13 15, 2018 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Societies Spring Festival Cromwell, CT April 19 20, 2018 Gateway to Bonsai Convention Collinsville, IL April 23 29, 2018 Bonsai Club International (BCI) Convention Malaysia May 4 6, 2018 European Bonsai Association Convention Arco, Italy May 12, 2018 World Bonsai Day May 18-20, 2018 Alabama Bonsai Society Annual Spring Show Birmingham, AL May 19 20, 2018 VIII International Bonsai Exhibition, Medvode, Slonenia June 2 3, th Annual Sei Boku Bonsai San Mateo, CA

3 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 April Bonsai Tips and Advice By John Miller Warm weather is favorable for having problems from the insects and fungal diseases. Aphids especially are showing up. Mildew usually won t be seen until it warms more but with our Texas weather that could be here before this article gets in print. Leaf spot could be a problem. Fungal diseases can show up with damp weather. Leaf spot can be serious on Catlin and Chinese elms and on hollies. There are organic fungicides available; baking soda is one. Check an organics nursery or publications. A 1% solution of hydrogen peroxide (dilute the standard 3% store bought stuff 2 parts water to each part peroxide) is also recommended but it can injure very new foliage. A good organic program takes care of both the feeding and the insect problems. 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 spray to cover all. A hose end sprayer does not cover well enough. This is also true if you want to use commercial chemical sprays. I recommend the organic mixture of 1 tablespoon each of fish emulsion, liquid kelp, molasses and apple cider vinegar to a gallon of water. I use the mixture both as a foliar feed spray and as a soil drench fertilizer. As a weekly foliar spray, for me anyhow, it keeps aphids, mites, loopers, bagworms and other insects under control. I try to drench twice a month partly because I don t think the plant can absorb all the minor elements it needs thru the foliage. It is a good practice to also use fertilizer cakes on the surface of the soil which feeds a bit every time you water. Commercial water soluble fertilizers wash out with the next watering and result in poorly fed pale bonsai. They are intended for use in soil that retains water for a long period such as commercial house plant mixes. In April repotting for the hardy bonsai has ended and its still too early for the tropicals. Since I like to repot when the plant is just breaking dormancy by showing buds swelling, late March or early April is when I repot things like Dwarf Yaupon Holly and Boxwood. They do well when kept in light shade and out of the wind. Depending on temperature some tropicals may be done by the end of April. If you have early blooming azaleas, you should remove some of the buds. Most azalea have way too many buds to look good when they do not have room to open fully. So what is left to do? Just trimming, feeding, trimming, check for insects, trimming, shows, trimming. You get the idea. Trimming, that is the pinching, plucking or whatever of new growth, is the process that both develops refinement on your tree but is vital to keep it from growing out of that desired state. This is not pruning which is cutting of branches which should not be done when there is a strong sap flow which starts when the tree breaks dormancy and continues until after the leaves harden or later. At the risk of repeating the process too much I repeat it for the beginners. On elms and other trees with leaves appearing alternately down the shoot, do not let more than 5 new leaves appear. Cut back to 2 or 3 leaves, leaving the last leaf on the side that you want the new growth to appear. On maples and others with leaves coming in pairs on opposite sides of the twig, cut the center shoot as soon as you can determine it. Tweezers work best for this operation. Since the shoots do not all open at the same time this could be a daily chore for the best results. 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. A tree with full leaves may shed rain water outside of the pot or a good sun and low humidity after a front will dry the soil. I suggest that you remove some 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 also cause the bark to rot.) An automatic watering system will be an aid

4 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 April Bonsai (Cont d) but you should not rely on it to replace hand watering. Best use might be to use it for a shot of watering in the morning and again at noon, then do hand watering in the evening. Most automatic systems just water a spot or two in the pot. Hand watering covers the entire pot and allows you to adjust the watering for each tree individually and lets you see that the pot is draining properly. A clogged drainage hole can drown some trees in less than a week. 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 moving them directly to full sun. They probably should be acclimated gradually. Too much wind will cause the leaves to burn. Some damage may not show up until hot weather gets here. 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 Haiying at haiying_huang@yahoo.com for an individual response. Your question may also appear anonymously here in a future issue so that others can learn. Question: This is my first time attending the LSBF convention. Do you have any suggestion on getting the best out of this experience? In addition, I plan to get a tree at the convention to start practicing the art. Is there a species that you suggest for a beginner? Answer by Diane Lowe: Our conventions are a great way to learn and also meet other who share an interest in bonsai. Because you will see quite a variety of bonsai, it is also a great way to begin to develop an appreciation for what species you like most. This may help you decide what tree(s) you want to buy to begin or add to your collection. Take the time to look at all the trees in the vendor area, the exhibition, and the demonstrations to see which ones appeal most to your eye. With that in mind, you also need to think about the environment at your home to be sure it can support the needs of the tree. In terms of seasonal care, the trees fall into one of four categories: deciduous, conifer/evergreen, semi-tropical, and tropical. Generally, the first two should be kept outside throughout the year, with the pots protected from freezing. The second two require protection from cold temperatures, potentially inside and/or in a greenhouse. And remember that a tree native to our area will also have a better chance at survival than a non-native species. With all that said, I would recommend a cedar elm is you like a deciduous tree and a juniper if you like a conifer. If your budget allows, get one of each. That way you will build your skills on how to develop and care for each. My last suggestion is to begin a bonsai notebook, in whatever form works for you, and take a few notes each day on your observations and key takeaways. There is so much to learn, we can t possibly remember it all. I bring mine to all meetings and events and have used it often to refresh my memory of techniques or tips I have learned along the way.

5 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 5 Club Bonsai Show in Review By Sylvia Smith First, I'd like to thank everyone who participated in setting up and hosting our exhibition last month. I think it was a huge success and I'm happy to report that we even added some new members to our club! It was great to see how quickly everyone took on a job. This really proves that members are becoming more knowledgeable with the art of display and it helps set up go rather smoothly as well. I'd also like to thank the members who took the time to just come by to see and judge the exhibit. Thank you for putting into practice all of those lectures that have been given at our club meetings. Next year we hope that more members come by the exhibition. We might even turn it into a meeting time to have a formal critique if that sounds like a fun learning experience. So, for the winners of the show. In the category of People's Choice award, EVERY TREE got at least 1 vote! This means all of you should be proud that your trees all made a difference. The winner of this award goes to Dave Schleser's Yaupon Holly. Our Members Choice Award is a bit more time consuming but you will see that overall it really does help us narrow down trees for the beauty in their structure and not just from personal preference. Tied for third place are the following trees: Congratulations to all of the owners! Keep up the good work and after some tweaking, you too might become a Member's Choice winner. Second place was our People's Choice Award winner. First place was a tie between Howard Smith's JBP and Dave Schleser's Korean Hornbeam Forest which was admired by all and stationed in the NHG Gallery. Congratulations to our winners and to all of our members who helped put on a great show!

6 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 6 Club Bonsai Show in Photos By Chris Scholz and John Borusheski Tip of the Month Preparing for a Bonsai Workshop It helps to plan ahead so that you can take full advantage of the workshop. If you bring your own tree, put in some efforts in selecting a tree that is worthy of the instructor s time and effort. You will get a better outcome when you give your instructor an interesting tree to work on. Clean the tree up as much as you can; get rid of weeds, scrape away the soil to expose the nebari, cut out dead branches, etc. If the workshop provides the tree, make sure you do some studies on the tree species before coming to the workshop. Bring all the tools and materials you need to carry out the work planned. Do you need a chain saw for a huge stump, a drill for thread grafting, or raffia for dramatic branch bending? It is not appropriate to borrow tools and materials from other workshop participants as it will slow down their work as well as yours. In addition to your cutting tools and wires, also remember to bring a turntable, an apron, a water sprayer, soap and a towel to clean your hands after the workshop, a notebook and pen to record the instructor s advice, and a camera to record your tree s development. Bring new potting mix if repotting is planned.

7 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 7 LSBF Convention, April 20-22, 2018 Workshop Highlights LSBS workshops offer a unique opportunity to learn from some of the best bonsai masters in North America. Step up your game by following top teachers individual instructions in a friendly group environment. If you have never participated in a bonsai workshop, the convention is an ideal place to get started. With 14 workshops to choose from, whether you are a bonsai beginner, intermediate or master, you will find a workshop that is just right for you. Since all workshops are limited to 8 or 10 participants, make sure that you register early to secure a spot for the workshop of your choice. Here are our editors picks: Friday 8:30 am to 11:30 am. Workshop A - Bring Your Own Trip Kick off the day with a workshop with the renowned Bonsai teacher Bonsai Boon. We like this course because it gives you a unique opportunity to learn everything about your tree, you learn at your pace about things that are important to you. Begin the process of styling your tree now! A unique advantage of this workshop is that LSBF has contracted Bonsai Boon for three years. If you attend one of Boon s LSBS workshops in 2018, you can bring the same tree back to his LSBS workshops for refinement and styling with Bonsai Boon for the next 2 years. You will never have to wonder what do I do next with my bonsai? Do not miss this unique opportunity of nurturing a tree through various stages of their development with the master. Who knows, you may end up with a prize-winning tree by the third year. To get the most out of this course you should have intermediate knowledge in the art of bonsai. Friday 1:30-4:00 pm: Workshop F- Dwarf Barbados Cherry (Malpighia emarginata) (Instructor: Mike Lane) Dwarf Barbados Cherry (aka. West Indian Cherry, Wild Crape Myrtle or Seriz) is a low growing plant tree or shrub. A native to the Yucatan peninsula it grows in South America, Southern Mexico, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and Brazil and can be grown as far north as Texas. The tree has arching dark brown stems with green leaves and pink flowers followed by red berries throughout the year. It is an excellent bonsai specimen. The creeping stems and exposed roots can create stunning shapes. Trees provided by Wigert s Nursery. If you are new to bonsai you must attend this workshop! Saturday 9:00-11:30 pm: Workshop I - Crape Myrtles We love our Crape Myrtles! Rodney Clemons workshop is not just about any crape, but Chickasaw Crape Myrtle, a cross between Lagerstroemia Indica and L. Fauriei! Crape Myrtles are native to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, northern Australia and parts of Oceania. Chickasaw Crape Myrtle has showy flowers ranging from light pink to purple, blooming on the new year s growth. Outstanding exfoliating bark, mottled pale grey to brown to pink in color makes for stunning bonsai. Crape Myrtles like sunny location to produce blooms. Fall foliage color is red-orange.

8 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 8 April s To-Do List Member News Got news to share? Let us know.. 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 John has been writing the monthly tips and advice for as far as we can remember. We all have learned so much from his column. We will need an experienced member to step in in case circumstance rises that John can no long write the column. Please give it a thought and let Haiying ( haiying_huang@yahoo.com) know if you are willing to help out. Thanks in advance for your support. Nigel Saunders The Bonsai Zone is an eclectic youtube channel. His latest video introduces the Kapok tree (Ceiba Pentandra), the sacred tree of the Mayans. His ultimate goal is a Kapok tree forest. You might like it or you might hate it, Nigel s channel is worth watching Bonsai of National Arboretum

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11 BSD NEWSLETTER PAGE 11 Bonsai Society of Dallas Membership Form Please mail to: Bonsai Society of Dallas P.O. Box Richardson, TX Or bring to any club meeting Bonsai Society of Dallas meets on the first (1 st ) Saturday of each month. Time: 9:00 AM Place: North Haven Garden Center 7700 Northaven Road Dallas, TX Name(s): Address: City: State: Zip: Telephone: Date: New Membership Individual Membership: $25.00 Renewal Membership Joint Membership: $30.00 For the convenience of our membership a roster is published for members only in March of each year. Please check the appropriate box if you do not wish to be included Include me in the membership roster Exclude me from the membership roster Do Not Cut: For Treasurer Use Member Receipt Name: Membership Year Amount Paid: Date: Received By: