February 2013 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 Ben William 2 year Director Tracy Freeland 3 year Director Jack Smith Past President Mark Passerello Treasurer Richard Gurevitz Secretary Sandy Schoenfeld Librarian Beverlee Wilson Web Master Ed McCracken Newsletter Editor Richard Uhrick Education Tom Holcomb A Pinch of this....scions, Sticks, and Stocks, Oh my. BONSAI AMOUR SCION: The material to be inserted into the grafting. Ahh, February, the time of year to express our love to the ones we care about. Do you have your valentine s ready for your trees, yet? I not consider getting them a nice new pot, or some sharp tools to trim their leaves at this month s meeting. The society will have plenty on hand, so bring your checkbooks or cash to buy something for the special someone either in your greenhouse or snuggled in it s winter home. Bonsai=Perseverance Rich Uhrick Inside this issue: Program Info 2 Bald Cypress form seeds 4 SPRING EVENT 5 Book of the Month 6 Com-Til brochure 9 Library 10 Calendar of Events 11 See you on this Sunday the 17th at Franklin Park Conservatory Downstairs in the Classrooms Columbus Bonsai Society PO Box 1981 Columbus OH 43216-1981 1 ColumbusBonsai@hotmail.com www.columbusbonsai.org Columbus Bonsai is a proud member of the American Bonsai Society and Bonsai Clubs International.
2 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY FEBRUARY 2013 This Month s Program Scions, Sticks, and Stock: Grafting Workshop with Ken Huth FPC T hirteen individuals have signed up to participate in the grafting workshop. Ken Huth, Ken s World of Bonsai, will discuss the process of grafting and show you some examples of successful grafts that he has made. Then each paid workshop participant will receive a black pine understock and a cork bark pine scion to try their hand at making a successful graft. Ken uses razor blades to make his cuts and hot wax to seal the wound, so please be careful! If participants want to try doing a bud graft on one of their own pine trees they may bring it to see if they can start a branch where one has refused to sprout. (There may be 2 open slots that could be filled at the meeting.) Pottery, Wire and Tools for sale at February s Meeting You should be preparing to begin repotting your trees when the weather brakes. In anticipation of your needs, the CBS inventor of pots, wire and tools will be made available for purchase at our February 17 meeting. Since we are planning a major event for our March meeting, I do not plan to bring items for sale unless you send a request for specific items to our columbusbonsai@hotmail.com account. So bring your checkbooks or cash!! 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. MARCH: SPRING EVENT APRIL: SAIKEI DEMO MAY: BOXWOOD DEMO AND MINI SHOW JUNE: WILLIAM VALVANIS JULY: ANNUAL SHOW SEE PAGE 11 FOR MORE DATES AND LISTINGS Rich Uhrick, Editor ruhrick@otterbein.edu
COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY FEBRUARY 2013 3 AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR PRESIDENT. Random Thotz - now from the President H ey, like our crazy weather? On the good side it has been cold enough, long enough, that a lot of pests got frozen. On the bad side, it has been cold enough; long enough, that some of our trees may have suffered. I am a little concerned about some trident cuttings that are on the ground, but not in a cold frame. Oh well, I ll see in a couple of months if I have been punished for that. The warm spells are a concern also as they seem to be pushing my elms out. And I could kick myself. I have a black pine that I wanted to bring in to the grafting workshop and I forgot to get it out while the weather was warm and the pot had thawed from the ground. Ack. If it gets warm this weekend, I will be retrieving that for Huth s workshop this month. If you have ever seen some of the Japanese show pictures you quickly realize that many of these trees result from grafting. Grafted either to fill in a space where a single branch is needed, or a complete foliage replacement. I don t get the latter, but these construction projects are a part of the traditional hobby and well respected. You will often see this where the grafted foliage is a finer texture on a really gnarly trunk. The other grafting, which is what Ken will be focused on, is when there is a desirable species that doesn t grow well in cultivation on its own, but does well grafted on another species roots. Many fruit trees fall in here, and in this particular case, regular Black Pine grows strong roots that Cork Bark Pine needs to thrive in pot culture. Ken will be providing Black Pine stock that we will be grafting a Cork Bark scion to. It will be fun and we should end up with a good start for a nice shohin tree in a couple of years. as I mentioned above, if you have a pine that you want to bud graft then bring it along and Ken can lead us through that process as well. I have to remember to get my supply of Turface for repotting this month. I am also going to give Com- Til [www.comtil.org for more information, or see page 9] a try this year for organic content - it is compost after all. A lot of the traditional soil mixes call for compost. I will continue to use coffee, especially in my finer mixes, but the Com-Til looks like it should work with normal and large mixes. Franklin Park got in a load of it last spring - mixed with haydite - and we used it to repot several of their trees. They seem to be doing very well. The F nerifolia grove was potted in it last summer and has grown enough that it needed repotting this last workday. Hmm - six month repot cycle. But it was in a pot that was too small. It looks much better now. There will be a survey available to members soon asking about your bonsai preferences. I would suggest filing it in, even if you don t want to send the information. It is an excellent self-inventory of where you are. I had no idea that I had taken so many workshops and presented so many topics at the meetings. It made me think about what I have done and what I ve learned - and realize this is a passion that will take me through the rest of my life. OK, I knew that already. But seriously, there is a lot there for you to see where you are and where you can go next. More details will arrive in the newsletter when it is ready. I would encourage you to fill it out when it arrives as we plan on using it to plan future programming and if you don t give us your input, we have to guess. In terms of meeting content - you have to play to win. Zack A Call for Moss We have some workshops planned for March and April where it would be a nice addition to have moss to make the plantings look more finished. As some of you may live where you can find moss easily; CBS is hoping that you would be willing to gather a flat or bag of it and bring it to the next few meetings. Then we can provide moss to the workshop participants and Jose' to use on the Saikei planting in April.. Thank you.
4 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY FEBRUARY 2013 PROPOGATION OF BALD CYPRESS FROM SEED Overview: B ald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) is a deciduous conifer which is hardy to -20 f, and grows well outside of its natural range, from south Florida to southern Canada. Similar species include Pond Cypress (Taxodium ascendens) and Mexican Cypress (Taxodium distichum mucronatum). There is some debate as to whether these are distinct species, or merely ecological variations of Taxodium distichum. Seed production typically begins between 3 & 10 years of age. Bald Cypress is monoecious, meaning that each tree bears both staminate (male) [far right] and pistillate (female) [left] flowers, and is therefore self-pollinating. Here in central Ohio (zone 6), male flowers begin to appear in mid- January, and shed their pollen in early spring. Clusters of ¾ to 1 1/2 inch diameter round female cones form at branch tips during late summer / early fall. Cones are green when they first appear, then ripen to a purplish - brown color. The tree sheds its cones from mid - November to March. Each cone consists of a cluster of 12-18 seeds, each seed being protected by a fibrous partial shell. Cones may break apart while still attached to the tree, or they may fall to the ground in one piece. In nature, germination is poor, generally thought to be due to the hard, impermeable seed coat. Viability, however is very good, as seeds may remain viable for 2 ½ to 3 years, especially when submerged in water, or buried in moist heavy soil (such as our Ohio clay) making for tedious work. One should collect as many seeds as possible, since germination rates vary from 25% - 75%. Seeds must be submerged in water for 6-12 weeks prior to sowing, otherwise almost none will germinate (I soak them in a plastic container, and store them in the refrigerator) I have had moderate success planting seeds in mid - April. My soil mix consists of 60% fine chicken grit (sifted out of my regular bonsai mix), and 40% all - purpose sand. I plant seeds very close together in standard starter trays without individual cells. Be sure to use trays with clear plastic covers, as humidity is essential for germination. Soil should be kept moist, but not soggy. Trays should be watered by misting every 2-3 days depending on temperature. Germination should begin in 3-4weeks, and will continue for up to 2 months. Seedlings require high light for optimal growth, ideally morning sun or 15 hours of artificial light indoors. It is important to maintain high humidity during the first 2 months of growth, as seedlings will dry out very quickly. I recommend using a small greenhouse made from plastic sheeting, or a mist box such as one might use to strike cuttings. Seedlings may be transplanted once they have 4-6 sets of true leaves, but may be left in starter trays until the following spring, when their root systems are better developed. Last, a word of warning - chipmunks find the seedlings irresistible, and will eat every one they can get to, so you will need to keep the little rodents away somehow, perhaps by starting seeds indoors, or building a cage of chicken wire around the trays. Propagation: Collected seeds may be stored in a refrigerator or freezer up to 2 years. Cones should be broken apart to reveal individual seeds, though it is not necessary to remove the seeds from the husks. While doing so may result in higher germination rates, the seed coat is very resinous, Ken Schoenfeld Additional sources: Bald Cypress: The Tree Unique, The Wood Eternal C. Brown & G. Montz, Claitor Publishing 1986 Photos from bonsaigardener.com and SBS.utexas.edu
COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY FEBRUARY 2013 5 FIRST ANNUAL SPRING EVENT TO BE HELD MARCH 17 TH, 2013 AT FRANKLIN PARK CONSERVATORY C th BS will convene a Spring Event on Sunday March 17 our regular club Sunday at the Franklin Park Conservatory. The event will run from 10 AM to 3 PM in the downstairs classrooms. Some may remember the annual February bonsai workshop at Dawes Arboretum that Art Patznick organized, this will be similar. Like the Dawes event this should be fun and should not be missed! CBS members will have the opportunity to turn pre-bonsai nursery stock into a completed design. Smaller, shohin category plants will be sourced by the club and be available along with pots, soil, screen and wire, everything you need to make a masterpiece or several (bring your personalized tools though). There is no fee for this event to members. Come for the day or any part to make bonsai, watch others create or buy completed works. Trees produced on the 17 th will be available (this date only) to the artist making them first for $12.50 or be put on a table for other CBS members to buy for the same price. If you are a dues paying member this is your chance to get up to your elbows in bonsai with other bonsai friends. Mentors will be circulating to answer questions, perform some quality control checks and help as needed. Following the Event trees will be sold at Club functions for $15 to better recoup our costs. Any non-cbs visitors can buy trees, at the higher rate, only after the artist has passed on buying their creation. All proceeds and checks go to CBS. This is community created bonsai at its finest, if you are a beginner don t hesitate -this is our club meeting for March and it should be a good one. BASIC TREE INFORMATION AVAILABLE O ur Education Facilitator, Tom Holcomb, suggests we all look at a highly edifying video series (there are 135 videos in this native tree series) from SUNY Department of Environmental Science and Forestry by Don Leopold. He gives pithy 2 minute dendrological [the study of trees and other woody plants] lectures at tree side for each species and you might need to replay favorite trees because he says a lot with few words. Knowing the species can really improve care tips which may be crucial for pot culture, Leopold addresses many native trees we use for bonsai. Check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=plbe1197a3397cae00
6 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY FEBRUARY 2013 Book Of The Month: The Grafter s Handbook By R. J. Garner I was looking through the books in the Bonsai Dayton library a few months ago when I came across this one. After doing some research I found that this book is viewed as the encyclopedia of plant propagation by grafting. Robert Garner worked as a scientist at the East Malling Station horticultural research facility in England for twenty years and he has compiled this book from his hands-on experience. The glossary is the first thing you will see after the table of contents and list of illustrations and figures. This is followed by Reasons for Grafting, the Plant as seen by the Grafter, and a chapter on Grafting in Nature and Antiquity. I have seen the grafting process and heard the rules of the procedures many times, but I never learned how the process actually occurs until I read this chapter. In subsequent chapters, the author discusses compatibility and cambial contact, rootstocks and their propagation, collection and treatment of scion-wood, and tools and accessories. This is followed by the meat of book, "Methods of Grafting." The author has limited his selection of detachedscion techniques--90 pages of different methods--to those that are practical and interesting. He begins with a description of the different approach-graft methods and then moves from the simple to more complex detached-scion grafting methods. He clearly explains each stop through text and line drawings and often opines when to use what and what doesn't necessarily work. The description of tying methods is so detailed that no one should ever again have to worry about this part of the process. Section three contains two chapters, the first of which covers aerial roots. Aerial roots grow best in a humid environment. Jerry details various methods of developing aerial roots in our less than ideal growing zone. The second chapter in this section details various styles of ficus bonsai. The chapter on Tree-raising in Nurseries gave me an added appreciation for the effort that goes into what we typically find in our nurseries. The chapter on Grafting Established Trees is a great for those of us who purchased mature trees or want to redo what we tried earlier. This chapter contains a section on repairing which talks about using bridge grafting to save a tree that has been girdled. This may be a way to save a tree that gets girdled by rodents during the winter. The Grafter's Handbook has long been viewed as the encyclopedia of plant propagation by grafting. Everything the dedicated amateur, the student or the professional horticulturist wants to know about grafting can be found here. Even though it was originally published in 1947, it has been continually updated through 1988. The author has amended or supplemented each paragraph when new information seemed relevant or worth including, the newer editions include entirely new topics in appendices at the end of the book. The edition in our library [Dayton Bonsai Society] is the 2003 reprint of the 5th edition and includes discussions of replant diseases, weed control in nurseries by herbicides, and micrografting, particularly fascinating. If you are at all interested in grafting, you should read this book. John Porterfield Title: The Grafter's Handbook Author: Robert J. Garner Publisher: Cassell Illustrated Copyright: 2003 Format: Softcover Republished from the Dayton Bonsai Society Newsletter by permission of the Author.
COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY FEBRUARY 2013 7 40TH ANNUAL BONSAI SHOW JULY 20-21, 2013 FRANKLIN PARK CONSERVATORY LOWER LEVEL where admission is Free!
8 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY February 2013 2013 CALENDAR REVISIONS D ue to circumstances beyond our control, we have made several adjustments to the proposed 2013 calendar as follows March 17 Spring Event Dan Binder lead- read about this exciting event at FPC under its own heading plan to arrive early and bring your tools. April 21- Saikei Demo - Jose Cueto, our Director Emeritus, will be creating a new Saikei (landscape planting) with Black Hills Spruce, Kingsville Boxwood, accent plants and rocks strategically placed to create this work of art. at FPC May 19 Boxwood Demo and Mini Show Mike Thornhill and Zack Clayton will work on styling 2 larger boxwoods that they have collected from landscape salvage. Members are encouraged to bring their own boxwoods to create a show or to receive styling assistance during this meeting. June 16 William Valavanis -If you have been practicing bonsai for over twenty years you probably have been hearing the Valavanis name for all of them. Bill is a world famous bonsai artist from Rochester New York. He hosts the International Bonsai Exhibition. On June 16 you will have two opportunities to see and work with Valavanis. In the morning (10-12), we have arranged a BYOT workshop with Bill, the fee is $45. (Bill said he will be offering some trees for sale for this workshop and will be sending me information on what he will have available). There will be 12 openings.
COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY FEBRUARY 2013 9
10 COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY FEBRUARY 2013 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 e-mail at Beverlee.wilson@cardinalhealth.com 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! Beverlee Wilson Beverlee.wilson@cardinalhealth.com Librarian Renewal Memberships may be paid for more than one year at a time.
COLUMBUS BONSAI SOCIETY FEBRUARY 2013 11 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. 2013 17 FEB GRAFTING WORKSHOP W/ KEN HUTH FPC 17 MAR SPRING EVENT FPC 10:30 AM START ******** 4 APR AKRON/CANTON BONSAI PLANT TREES ON ROCKS FOR PENJING PROJECT 21 APR SAIKEI DEMO WITH JOSE FPC 27 APR ARBOY DAY EVENT DAWES, NEWARK, OH 27 APR BEGINNING BONSAI CLASS OAKLAND 19 MAY BOXWOOD DEMO, REPOTTING AND STYLING OF COLLECTED FPC JUN AKRON/CANTON BONSAI ANNUAL SHOW AND DEBUT OF PENJING PROJECT 8-9 JUN 33RD ANNUAL REGIONAL BONSAI SHOW DAWES ARBORETUM NEWARK 16 JUN FOREST DEMO W/ WILLIAM VALVANIS AND MORNING WORKSHOP FPC 20-21 JUL CBS 2013 ANNUAL SHOW FPC 18 AUG TBA 15 SEP PICNIC/ MEMBER SALE/ IRON BONSAI OAKLAND 20 OCT JIN AND SHARI FPC 17 NOV RAFT AND CLUMP STYLES W/ FICUS TBA DEC HOLIDAY DINNER TBD FPC= FRANKLIN PARK CONSERVATORY OAKLAND= OAKLAND NURSERY, COLUMBUS LOCATION FROM THE CBS CARE GUIDE February - Late Winter - 39/22 Wire conifers now through early summer. This is the best month for repotting conifers. Use a dormant pest spray to keep pests away in early spring. All tips from January apply in February.
Columbus Bonsai Society PO Box 1981 Columbus, OH 43216-1981 Questions to: Columbusbonsai@hotmail.com HTTP://Columbusbonsai.org 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 Scion & Stock: Grafting FPC