Bonsai Society of Dallas

Transcription

1 "#$%&'() *+,'-. Saturday, January 1, 2011 New Saturday, Year s Day March No 5, Club 2011Meeting Club Meeting 9:00-12 Noon Saturday, January 15, 2011 Finding the Bonsai Within Buying Trip at Fred Meyer s 9-12 by John Noon Miller at Dallas Bonsai Garden see newsletter for details Saturday, March 5 & 6, 2011 Sunday, Club Show January at 16, the 2011 Dallas George Straw Dig 9:00 am Arboretum, Rosine Hall See newsletter for details Volunteers Needed Saturday, February 5, 2011 Club Saturday, Meeting April 9 122, Noon 2011 Repotting Club Meeting Demo 9:00 & Workshop - 12 Noon Restructuring Your Bonsai Saturday, March 5, 2011 Club by Sylvia Meeting Smith 9 12 Noon Finding the Bonsai Within May John 13-15, Miller 2011 Gateway to Bonsai Saturday Texas State & Sunday Bonsai March Convention 5-6, 2011 Club Show at the Dallas Arboretum Corpus Christi, Texas Register before April 23rd March 5 & 6, 2011 Dallas Arboretum during Dallas Blooms Annual Spring Bonsai Show sponsored by the: Bonsai Society of Dallas Bonsai Society of Dallas Monthly Member Newsletter March 2011 Message from the President This is my favorite part of the bonsai year. I enjoy the warmer weather, longer days, and this morning I am noticing swollen buds on my deciduous trees. Leaves and growth are coming soon Most of my repotting is done and my trees are awakening from their winter rest. Be sure to see John Miller's seasonal care tips in this newsletter. I have missed the fellowship and learning from our club meetings - darn the icy weather last month. We have a double feature this coming Saturday, March 5th. First, at our normal location and normal time, John Miller will be leading a program on "Finding the Bonsai Within" whereby he will give you tips in selecting nursery or field stock for bonsai. Second, it is time for our annual show as part of the Dallas Arboretum's "Dallas Blooms" weekend. This weekend kicks off the spring season and is the highest attended weekend at the Arboretum. Our club is lucky to have secured Rosine Hall at the Arboretum where we will have a beautiful display of club member trees all day Saturday and Sunday. Sylvia Smith, Show Chair, says the plan is coming together but we can always use more volunteers. This show is a team effort so we need all members to participate. Our veterans will provide their nicer trees for display, showing the skill and patience practiced through our hobby. Beginners, like me, can learn a lot by helping set up the display on Friday evening. We can also bring companion plants in those great pots we made last year. Please come to help out and learn more about the artistic elements that go into bonsai display. The display set up is a great learning experience and Sylvia discusses which trees should be sited near each other, on which stand, and which companion plant should be used. Each club member could help our team by volunteering a few hours on Saturday, Sunday, or both days to act as hosts. We typically, draw a few new members and peak some interest from this walk in traffic. Finally, some teamwork will be needed Sunday afternoon to clean up the room. Please let Sylvia Smith know when you can help by calling her at Our volunteers do not have to pay to come through the Arboretum so be sure to get on the list. If for some reason you cannot volunteer please do try to stop by anyway and also spread the word to your friends. We don t get the opportunity to see many local bonsai displays and it is a great way to get ideas on how to develop your own trees. page 1

2 Message from the President (continued from page 1) A few final highlights and reminders: Be sure to complete our member survey and voice your opinion on what programs you would like to see in the future. The 2011 state convention "Gateway to Bonsai" is May 13-15, 2011 in Corpus Christi. Club rate is $99 per night at the Holiday Inn Emerald Beach - make plans to attend. Finally, please renew your memberships My goal is we had 77 last year. Please renew and spread the word about our club and hobby. See you this weekend - Chuck ibonsai a Cool iphone Application A few weekends ago while home sick with bronchitis I discovered a very cool new way of growing bonsai. It s called the ibonsai application available for 99 cents from the Apple Apps store. You can watch a new bonsai grow and develop in 30 seconds. You can let your bonsai grow on its own or style it. Pass the time away growing your own virtual bonsai. BSD Club Dig Committee Club sponsored digs continue to be a source of wonderful bonsai material and learning opportunities for our members. We need to source new locations for future digs. To that end, a committee has been formed to seek and explore new dig sites. We need a few volunteers to participate in that committee. If you are interested, please contact Dave Schleser at ranchu39@yahoo.com or call him at March 2011 Program Finding the Bonsai Within Our club s March 5th program will be presented by our long time member John Miller. The workshop is titled Finding the Bonsai within. When pitching the idea John playfully called the workshop making a bonsai out of junk. What a sense of humor During this presentation, John will demonstrate to members procedures and techniques on how to find the best bonsai hiding within collected or nursery purchased material. His techniques will help you determine whether to bring that new bonsai tree home with you or not. Years of experienced will be shared, this program is a must for beginners as well as to advanced bonsai enthusiasts. A work session after the presentation will be available to members. Please bring materials you may have on hand. Volunteers still needed for the BDS Spring Show Members: Sylvia Smith can still use a few more bodies with this year s Spring Show held at the Rosine Hall at the Dallas Arboretum. The show will take place Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 6. She needs volunteers for break-down. Please call Sylvia if you can volunteer page 2

3 Impressions of the Whitesboro Dig by Diane Lowe It was another great dig at George Straw's farm in Whitesboro on January 23rd. Actually it is more like an animal sanctuary than farm as all of us saw first hand. Every year he seems to add to his collection of exotic birds and animals and they obviously lead a wonderful life in George's care. About 8 or 9 of us made the trip north and we did not come away empty handed. We found some great trees. In addition to cedar elms which are always great to find, several of us dug oaks that are quite prevalent on his land. There are many to choose from and they have beautiful aged bark at the trunk base and particularly small roundedlobed leaves which should reduce well. It is in the white oak family but I have yet to identify it. Another tree that was dug was the Possumhaw or Ilex decidua, a deciduous holly with beautiful red berries that stand out during the winter months. And finally many of us took advantage of Howard and Sylvia's generous offer to dig up black pine trees for a very reasonable price. They started as seeds from Japan and Howard and Sylvia painstakingly planted, irrigated, and mulched them to give these trees a great head start on development. What the Smith s didn't plan for was the wonderful arrival of little baby Bella Nothing like a baby to turn your life on end and change any plans you had for your future free time. The pines are in good hands now and I'm sure we will be looking to Bonsai Smith's for advice in the coming years. After a few hours of digging most of us followed tradition and had BBQ at the local spot, Don's BBQ. It was another great dig so if you missed it be sure to join next year. Thanks George Whitesboro Dig Photos by Cristella Medrano Many thanks to Cristella for providing our members these wonderful pictures of the dig. Enjoy page 3

4 Whitesboro Dig more photos by Cristella Medrano page 4

5 Rule of 20ʼs by Mark Bynum Horticultural maintenance of our precious bonsai trees can be an overwhelming burden. The difference in maintaining patio plants in large pots such as a hibiscus or a poodle waxleaf ligustrum compared to maintaining a trident maple bonsai in a small pot is profound. Watering a plant in a large clay pot is simple due to the large root zone. The large volume of soil does not dry so quickly, so you do not have to water as frequently. The root zone is more insulated against the rigors of the hot and cold seasons, so you do not have to protect them as much. The smaller the root zone, the higher your watchfulness must be. quickly notice that these are 20 apart, and thus the very simple memory aid I call the Rule of 20's. As the temperature rises ( ), there is a certain set of maintenance tasks to perform. As the temperature falls ( ) the opposite action is needed. Keep in mind that these actions are to be taken when the temperatures are consistently reached. For examples, when the temperature consistently reaches 90 then it is time to water twice a day. When the temperature consistently dips below 50, tropical plants need protection. The exception to this is the 30 mark. When I began my journey into the bonsai art world, I heard "do this in March" and "do this in August", etc. The problem here is that our seasons do not start and stop at the same time every year. It seemed to me that using the average ambient temperature to trigger an essential action was a smarter route to follow. I managed a wholesale landscape nursery for a time with acres of plants to care for. At 28 F. we covered all the tender plants. If we did not, we knew it within a week. At 95 we made sure the shade clothes were already up and the sprinkler system was operational. In the bonsai world this temperature regulated maintenance system works too. In an article I wrote on bonsai pot temperatures several years ago I found that it was time to begin protecting the root zone at 90 ambient temperature. Also at 70, horticultural maintenance items need to be considered. Again at 50 for tropical bonsai, and, as mentioned above, 28 (let's just round this up to 30 to be safe) are key temperatures to initiate some kind of action with our bonsai trees. So now we must take some kind of action at 90, 70, 50, and 30 F. concerning the root zone of bonsai trees. You will 90 -set up shade cloth for sun protection or move trees to a shadier location -implement other pot temperature controls such as skirting, misting, humidity trays, etc -begin consideration of watering twice a day -remove shade cloth, skirting, etc. -ease up on the watering 70 -consider watering once a day -step up fertilization practices -all tropical trees can be moved outside -when night temperatures are consistently above 70, water twice per day -ease up on watering -cut back on fertilization practices -begin moving tropical trees into greenhouse or protected area -night temperatures below 70, cut back on watering 50 -most tropical trees and sub-tropicals can begin to be moved outside -remove mulch from around winterized pots and set on benches page 5

6 Rule of 20ʼs (continued) 50 -most tropical trees and sub-tropicals can begin to be moved outside -remove mulch from around winterized pots and set on benches 30 -all tropical trees and sub-tropicals should be in greenhouse or protected area -begin winterization techniques such as setting pots on ground and mulching (Take these actions every time) -remove protective coverings -cover tender trees -water Of course, use common sense when implementing any guide such as this. What is "consistently" where temperatures are involved? Watch out for warm snaps in winter and cold snaps in the fall. Just because it reaches 70 one or two days in a row does not necessarily mean to start watering every day. Temper your decisions to fit your environment, however, I think that 70 in Fort Worth will be much the same as 70 around the country For my feeble mind a memory aid such as the Rule of 20's is a great help in this complex world of bonsai. I hope it will be a great help to you too. Happy styling, Mark Bynum Mark Bynum is a 35 year veteran of the landscaping and nursery business. He is a member of the Lone Star Bonsai Federation, the Bonsai Society of Dallas, and is currently president of the Fort Worth Bonsai Society in Texas. Bonsai Newbie by Hiram Quinones Last month I chatted about preparing for a bonsai show. I am hopeful that some of you newer to the art like me have gone ahead and called Sylvia Smith and signed up one or more of your trees. I am really excited about attending and volunteering at my first bonsai show. It s by doing that we get better and refine the art of bonsai. This month I want to chat with you about my thoughts on purchasing bonsai and prebonsai online. Although it might be possible to get everything you need from nurseries and gardening centers in the area, I recommend checking online first. There are several advantages to buying from the Internet. First of all, most websites that offer bonsai trees and supplies are run by people who know and love the craft. These people often have many years of experience and are usually very happy to answer any questions you might have about specific products. If you go to a nursery, you re not likely to get the same kind of service. Another advantage to shopping for bonsai tree supplies online is the convenience. If one website doesn t have the particular item you re looking for, it only takes a few seconds to surf right one to the next site. This means you can buy exactly what you want without having to make compromises. Finally, you can save a lot of money by purchasing bonsai trees and supplies online. Most websites that specialize in these products offer the same seeds, pots, containers, fertilizers, pruning shears, and starter kits that you would find in retail stores, but for a much lower price. This is due to the fact that virtual stores cost a lot less to operate than regular stores, and most website owners are perfectly happy to pass these savings on to you. So consider virtual shopping page 6

7 March Bonsai Tips and advice by John Miller March is a month filled with maintenance tasks like repotting, trimming new growth, and watching for the spring flush of insects. Generally you will be going back and forth between all three tasks. This article can only provide you advice on what to do, not provide guidelines on when to do your tasks. Those in the south and even across the metroplex will have a different timetable but the sequence will usually be similar. The optimum time to repot most outdoor trees is when they are just beginning to grow again as evidenced by the buds starting to swell. As a rule, the elms will be first, maples next, and oaks last. That said, there will always be exceptions. Cedar elm will hang back and open in the middle of maple season. My tridents are usually late. Other species will depend a lot on your own backyard environment. Pines will usually show candles before you can see juniper growth. Things like pomegranate and crape myrtle really depend upon your care. If you are able to take them in and out depending on the weather you may be able to make the start growth early and beat the rush as I do my shohin. I try to work on the broadleaf evergreens, yaupons and other hollies, a little later maybe into early April. After repotting you must protect the roots from freezing. Setting them on the ground with some mulch over the pot will offer several degrees of freeze protection, especially if the late freeze doesn t last more than 1-2 days. A light weight row cover (do not use plastic sheeting) will help protect from a light freeze or a frost that you might get especially on those clear, cold pre-spring nights. Do not fertilize after repotting until the new growth shows some hardening. At that time you may apply some organic balls, sparingly at first and then go to a full schedule as the tree growth slows down. For bonsai that have the required branches and you are developing twigs or maintaining ramification, whether repotted or not, when the new growth starts you should grab your tweezers or scissors. Ones with a rounded point work best. The technique is different for alternate leafed species (als) (elm) than for opposite leafed species (ols) (maple). On als let the growth go to 5 new leaves. Then pinch (with the tweezers) back to 2 or 3 leaves depending on the desired direction of the new growth. This controls the length of the internodes and diameter of the twig and could give you up to 64 twigs in a year. More twigs divide up the energy flow and mean smaller leaves. The procedure on ols is more critical. When the two new leaves open you will see the new growing tip between them. If this tip is allowed to grow, the first internode (from the old twig to the new leaves) will also continue to elongate. You must pluck the new tip immediately. On some trees you may have to manually open the new pair of leaves to get the new tip in time. This procedure makes you work on maples every day in order to have good short internodes and perfect ramification. I also sometimes need to manually open the oak leaf (an als) also. On bonsai that you are still developing the branches, you will need to let them elongate to develop thickness. The cut them back to 2 nodes. When they resprout they will have a direction change and be developing taper. The worst spring insect seems to be the aphids. The best control is the ladybug which also shows page 7

8 March Bonsai by John Miller continued up early. But when they finish their job they have no food so they fly off. I use my organic spray for all insects all summer long. It controls mites, scale, bagworms, anything. Spider mites will also be showing up with warm weather. There can be some caterpillars or small worms also. You must keep a sharp eye while you are watering. My organic spray is l tablespoon each of liquid seaweed, fish emulsion, molasses, and 5% apple cider vinegar in one gallon water. Spray both top and bottom of the leaves and also the trunk. When using on the tender first growth, cut the vinegar in half. This spray is most effective when used on a regular basis. I try to spray weekly since the life cycle of mites can be as short as 5 days. If you use something else read the label and follow it. Any insecticide should be applied with a sprayer that makes a fine spray which will coat the leaf evenly. Hose end sprayers are not appropriate for bonsai. Azaleas should be repotted now also. Do not prune if you want the flowers. If there are a lot of buds on the plant you should pluck some of the so that the remaining buds have space to open fully. Flowering plants that flower on new growth (wisteria and crape myrtle) should be selectively pruned before growth starts to help control the size of the flowering plant. On those that have not been repotted, apply fertilizer somewhat sparingly at first. You must balance the plants need for fertilizer for healthy growth with its desire to produce a rampant spring growth. After the initial flush slows apply more fertilizer until you get the proper amount for good healthy growth. Again, organic fertilizers feed the plant at a more constant rate. With all this going on don t forget to plan for obtaining more knowledge about bonsai. Make plans to do hands on things like workshops. Watching the demos and workshops will give you some knowledge but it is the hands on effort that instills it in your head so that it will be there when your little tree calls for you. A real good place to go is the LSBF convention in C o r p u s C h r i s t i M a y G o t o wwwcorpuschristibonsaiclub.org for info. Also be sure to take advantage of the hard work your officers have done to provide many opportunities locally. Your Opinion Wanted Members, please take a few minutes of your time to complete the Member Interest Survey. This survey will help us plan future programs of interest to you. Make your voice and opinion count by completing the survey today. Click the link provided here BSD 2011 Member Interest Survey Thank you - Alvaro and Jen Bonsai Photos Needed Hello members: To make our monthly newsletters more exciting and colorful, I ll need your help in collecting photographs that can be used to enhance the newsletter. If you have bonsai photos to share please send them and a brief description to me at: hiramaquinones@yahoo.com Many thanks - Hiram Quinones page 8

9 Bonsai Society of Dallas Board of Directors President - Chuck Talley co-program Chair chuck_talley@tandybrands.com Alvaro Arciniegas & Jennifer Sin co-vice Presidents co- Program Chairs arciniegas.sin@gmail.com Diane Lowe Treasurer diane_lowe@live.com Bronson Havard Secretary bhavard@flash.net Jerry Riley Member Relations jafa625@gmail.com Hiram Quinones Newsletter Editor hiramaquinones@yahoo.com John Miller President Emeritus bonsaimiller@aol.com Sylvia Smith President Emeritus slysmith@earthlink.net Has your address changed? Comments? Hiram at hiramaquinones@yahoo.com Announcing the FWBS Club Artist Workshop In March, July, and October, for , for a total of 6 programs, the Fort Worth Bonsai Society will hold the Club Artist Workshop as part of their regular monthly meeting on the second Thursday of the month. Meetings will be in the main room at the Forth Worth Botanic Garden. Every member is invited to bring in 1 or 2 trees that they would like to work on for the next 2 years with the 'Club Artists'. Though not a fast rule, the idea is to bring in the same trees for all 6 workshops, improving each tree at every meeting Photos of your trees will be taken when you arrive and when you leave the workshops. Your photos will be printed and brought back to the next meeting for you and the Club Artist to use to document improvement. The photos are yours to take home. After 2 years, it should be interesting to view the first photo again During the workshop, "Minute Lessons" will pop up for everyone to listen to. These will be timely tidbits of bonsai information with an example right there for learning. The workshop will begin at 6:30 pm and end around 9:30 pm or earlier. A snack type dinner, chips, and beverages, will be available at the kitchen area. This program is FREE to Fort Worth Bonsai Society members including the snack dinner. page 9

10 Howard and Sylvia Smith Tel# (972) Fax# (972) """#$%&'()"(*+#,%- Cultivators of fine trees Collection maintenance Private instruction Classes, lectures & demos "#$%&'(&)(*+&"%,* Sanderson Creek Bonsai 1634 Stella Street, Fort Worth, Texas Bonsai trees/sieved soil, lava, pumice, pots, expanded shale, kanuma, akadama, Dyna-Rok, Joshua Roth tools, classes and granite lanterns. Hours: Tues- Fri 2:00pm to 6:00pm Sat 10:00am to 5:00pm ph # di.tec2@charter.net "#$%&'##"($)*+,-./01/ 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 Sanderson Creek Bonsai Ray Hernandez s Bent Tree Bonsai Dallas Bonsai Garden 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. Bonsai Society of Dallas, P.O. Box , Richardson, TX page 10