illboard 40th Anniversary Spring Show BSUNY Spring Show We need your trees! We need your help! Newsletter of The Bonsai Society of Upstate New York

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1 B May 2013 Volume 42 Number 5 illboard Newsletter of The Bonsai Society of Upstate New York 40th Anniversary Spring Show O n May 18th and 19th we will be having our Annual Spring Show at the Monroe Community Hospital. This will take the place of our normal Tuesday night meeting. Our two featured speakers this year will be our own Mark Arpag on Saturday 18th and a three teacher demo by Ikebana International Chapter 53 on Sunday 19th. Both talks will be at 2:00pm. A Little About Mark Arpag is an award-winning bonsai artisan and current secretary of our society. He has presented many lectures and demonstrations of the art of bonsai. At the 2nd US National Bonsai Exhibition in 2010, Mark was presented the ABS North American Bonsai Award for Finest North American Native Species Bonsai for his Eastern White Cedar that he collected about 20+ years ago Member s Choice Award Japanese Black Pine by Bob Blankfield And Also About Ikebana International Chapter 53 of Rochester is a group of nearly 50 members that have a love for flowers, and a passion for the art of Ikebana. Ikebana is the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement. This is a disciplined art form in which the arrangement is a living thing where nature and humanity are brought together. The art is based on harmony of simple linear construction and appreciation of the subtle beauty of flowers and natural material (branches, stems). BSUNY welcomes them back for another very interesting demonstration by certified teachers from three different schools. Great friend, club member and Show Photographer, Joe Noga, will be taking individual tree photos during the show. Ikebana International Chapter 53 of Rochester will again have its display of the Japanese art form at our show. Some BSUNY members will have arrangements. Come help, enjoy and learn at our annual show and meeting! All members are invited to come at 5:30 Saturday evening for a private viewing of our exhibition. Enjoy some relaxed conversation with fellow members, and then vote for your favorite bonsai for our annual Members Choice Award in memory of Yuji Yoshimura. At 6:00 members will adjourn across the hall to celebrate the society s 40th anniversary at a especially prepared dinner, $25 per person. We need your trees! We need your help! Set up will start at 4pm Sharp (NO EARLY ARRIVALS) on Friday, May 17th and be completed by 8pm. Sign up with Bob Pfromm for security during the show. Please make sure to bring your cleaned and prepared bonsai to the Monroe community Hospital at 5-6pm Friday to be in show. The trees do not have to be masterpieces but should look their best. For more information call Bill Valavanis ( ) or Harvey Carapella ( ). BSUNY Spring Show Saturday and Sunday May 18-19, am to 5pm 2pm Demonstration (both days) Monroe Community Hospital 435 East Henrietta Road, Rochester, NY 14603

2 2 O APRIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS ur April meeting featured Owen Reich from Tennessee who has recently returned from studying as an apprentice under Keiichi Fujikawa, the owner of Kouka-en Nursery located in Ikeda City just north of Osaka, Japan from The topic of Owen s talk and demo for the 56 members and guests attending was deciduous and broadleaf bonsai. Broadleaf evergreens and deciduous trees have always held the most interest for him when it comes to bonsai, especially maples, fruit trees, and flowering species. The Powerpoint presentation that Owen started with contained a lot of great information about a large number of bonsai topics. The demo tree that Owen brought with him to work on next was a Winged Elm (Ulmus alata) which is a fast-growing North American native deciduous tree that is quickly identified by the corky winglike projections which appear on opposite sides of twigs and branches. Because it is found growing in wet sites as well as dry, rocky ridges it is a very adaptable tree. Owen stressed that it takes time to create the perfect tree. He talked about how important it is to look for a good trunk as it is the hardest thing to change on a bonsai. Owen also recommended that one make large cuts on trees over time so they will heal faster and not stress the tree. Making a lot of serious cuts on the tree in the same year is not good for 1 the health of the tree. He said you will have a better looking tree in the end by using this method. Owen demonstrated proper wiring techniques and shared many other tricks and tips along the way. The members asked many good questions. 2 3 Owen has a laid back and practical style of teaching, and shares freely of the knowledge he has gained over his years doing bonsai in the USA and in Japan. He plans to return regularly to Japan to continue his studies and teach at the Fujikawa Bonsai School. Thank you Owen for your interesting & instructive program! 1. Owen drew a good attendance for his talk Harvey looks on as Owen chooses which tool to use to remove a limb of his Japanese Maple Owen pauses during wiring to answer a question. 4. Owen with Ron Maggio, the winner of the raffle tree. AGAIN! 5. Trees on April meeting display table. 6. Trees and items Owen brought to sell at the meeting Jon Robbins receiving answer to his question about the Princess Persimmon he purchased.

3 3 Bonsai enthusiast and long time member of BSUNY, Rev. Richard (Murph) Murphy passed away on April 13th at age 75 in Seneca Falls, NY. Father Murphy was a Catholic priest for forty-seven years, and served in the Southern Tier for thirty years. He was the chaplain at the New York Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls since Murph was a dedicated priest whose hobbies were raising bonsai and antiques. He had been sick on and off for a number of years, and relied on a walker to get around. One thing for sure, that never slowed him down much. He was able to attend many bonsai meetings and seminars. His smiling face will be greatly missed! BSUNY Members trees in the 2012 BSUNY Exhibition 2013 PROGRAMS June 10 June 25 July 23 August 27 David DeGroot: Demo & Workshop Picnic/Auction/Sale Garden Tour At Jerry Kral s Conifer Garden Bring Your Own Tree Workshop Dear friends: BSUNY Picnic Reminder This is to remind you about the picnic supper meeting on June 25h. This special meeting will be at the usual meeting place, Brighton Town Lodge at Buckland Park. The picnic promises to be a great time with many attending and plenty of good food. Spouses and significant others are welcome to come. The club will be providing hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage, coffee, tea and soda pop. We need those attending to bring dishes to pass like potato & macaroni salads, baked beans, and desserts. A tray of appetizers, a three-bean salad, and a lettuce salad would also work well. You could also bring your special dish you make with your secret recipe. If you would like to bring something, please let me know what you plan to bring, and how many will be attending. I look forward to talking with you during our May Exhibition at the Monroe Community Hospital. If you can t be there then contact me by at refreshments@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org You can also call me at home after 7:00 pm at (585) Thank you! Rick Marriott

4 4 Hope to see you at the Spring Show! Don t Forget, the Spring Show takes the place of our regular Tuesday meeting. Try to participate in the show somehow. Submit a tree, help setup and/or takedown, sell raffle tickets, work security. See last months Billboard for the list of Committee Chairs contact information. There are many jobs to be done. If you don t know what you can do, ask. Remember, many hands make light work! Check out these June 2013 Events June 6-9, International Bonsai Colloquium: 9am to 5pm at Holiday In-Airport, Rochester, NY. Join us for our informal gathering to discuss a most important topic Bonsai! Topics covered from A to Z with pearls of wisdom for beginners to experts. Come rekindle old friendships and make new ones. Featured Artists: Kora Dalager, David DeGroot, Dennis Makishima, Ryan Neil, Peter Warren, Kathy Shaner & William. N. Valavanis. Registration $320, Saturday Only $160. Saturday Evening Banquet $40. For more information visit the International Bonsai Colloquium webpage at: June 10, David DeGroot (WA): David DeGroot has been curator of Weyerhaeuser s Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection since its creation in He is an award-winning designer and author, who has been studying and practicing bonsai since He has studied bonsai with Yasuo Mitsuya, satsuki with Tatemori Gondo and Hayata Nakayama, and display with Uhaku Sudo. We are lucky to have him at our meeting. June 25, Summer Picnic/Auction/Sale: At the Picnic the society will be providing hamburgers, hot dogs, coffee, tea and the usual soft drinks. There will also be a "Sell or Swap Fair" and an Auction. Sign up to bring a dish to pass. Plan to attend. onifers and deciduous trees make up the majority of bonsai, but there are some bonsai fruit tree species that can make interesting additions to your C collection. Quince is among the more exotic choices for a bonsai, but with proper care they can make a wonderful bonsai. There are two types of Quince trained for bonsai: Japanese flowering quince (Chaenomeles japonica) and Chinese quince (Pseudocydonia sinensis.) The Japanese flowering quince is grown for colorful flowers, not fruit. One cultivar posses a rare combination of red, white and pink flowers creating a great floral display in late winter and throughout early spring for about ten days to two weeks. Japanese flowering quinces are loved because of their large colorful blooms, then glossy dark green leaves. Their simple, five-petalled blooms look a little like apple blossom. A profusion of rounded flower buds unfurl in clusters along the twiggy stems. Without exposure to cold Quinces flower poorly, if at all. Similar to pears, they can tolerate full sun, but should have at least partial shade in hot summer months. Chinese quinces are grown for fruit primarily, and some for flowers. Their fragrant, hard, tart apple-shaped fruit are inedible when raw, and they are prized in Japan for jelly making. The form of quince in winter can be dramatic with gnarled and twisted spiny branches with stout thorns. Japanese Flowering Quince is deciduous and must be grown outdoors. Water generously but avoid misting as this damages the flowers and may rot the fruit. Quinces grown in pots tend to have very slender trunks and need to be fattened up in the ground for several years to make good bonsai. Good luck, have fun, and enjoy your bonsai. Fruit Trees as Bonsai By Tom Friday Billboard is brought to you by: PRESIDENT: Harvey Carapella President@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org CO-EDITORS & PHOTOGRAPHY: Tom Friday & Irma Abu-Jumah Billboard@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org CONTRIBUTORS: Mark Arpag, William N. Valavanis

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6 Preparing Bonsai for Display by Roger Snipes, Inland Empire Bonsai Society, Spokane Washington ne could say that everything we do to style our trees O prepares them for display. The purpose of this article is not to discuss major styling and training, but to address the final tasks one must complete prior to displaying a bonsai. Assuming that major styling work has already been completed and the design of the tree is approaching a finished state, preparing a bonsai for a show or display is primarily a task of attending to detail work. Foliage and Branches The foliage should be groomed for display by removing any damaged or discolored leaves or needles. On pines the needles that are pointing straight down from the branches should also be removed. Shoots and/or branches that extend outside of the designed silhouette should be pinched or trimmed off. Branches that are not in the correct position should be wired and positioned correctly. Wiring should be neat and as unobtrusive as possible. Soil The soil surface should be neat and free of weeds and debris. It may be desirable to place moss on the soil for esthetic reasons. If moss is used, the moss should be placed in small clumps to provide texture. Moss placement should be done far enough in advance of the show that the moss will have a chance to become established prior to display. If it looks like the moss is just loosely resting on the soil as if it were just placed there recently, it would be better not to have it there at all. Mud men or other such figurines should not be placed on the soil. Normally the only acceptable item that can be placed in the pot with the tree, other than moss, would be a stone that is used to camouflage a root or trunk defect. Pot The pot should be cleaned to remove any dirt, stains, or calcium deposits left by watering. Some people rub a small amount of mineral oil on the pot to improve the appearance. General Considerations The tree should present an overall healthy appearance. It should be fertilized properly and treated for any disease or insect attacks as necessary well in advance of the show. A tree should not be taken to a show if it is diseased or infested with harmful insects. Although not a requirement for an informal display, bonsai are customarily displayed on some sort of a stand to set the bonsai off from the surface of the display table. A stand can be a small wooden table, a slab of wood, or a simple mat of bamboo or some other material. The stand or mat should be larger than the bonsai pot. A general rule is that the stand should be about a third larger than the pot in length and depth. It is customary to include one or two other elements in addition to the bonsai in a display. A small accent plant, a Suiseki, or a figurine displayed on the table next to the bonsai, or a scroll hanging behind the bonsai, are all items that can be used to enhance the display. Whatever is used should harmonize with the bonsai and add to the feeling that one is trying to create. Accessory items should not overshadow the bonsai. Everything else in the display (pot, stand, and accessory items) should be subordinate to the tree.