August 2012 Newsletter - Alabama Bonsai Society

Alabama Bonsai Society
Inside This Issue
Alabama Bonsai Society
President’s Notes
1
Agenda
2
2012 ABS Meeting
Schedule
3
August Bonsai Care
4-5
Saturday Workshop
August 18th
Visit Us On The
Web At
AlabamaBonsaiSociety.org
August 2012
President’s Notes for August
President's Message
The annual July BBQ was held at Jim McLane’s home. The food was good and it was a great
pleasure viewing all of Jim's outstanding bonsai. Thanks Jim for hosting it, Belinda for getting
the food and Donna for making arrangements.
The regular workshop was held on Saturday and there was a small but enthusiastic group.
Working on trees with the help of mentors and suggestions by others is an excellent opportunity to develop bonsai skills.
The lava rock has arrived and will be available to purchase at the next Saturday workshop on
August 18. Thank you Brian for ordering this. The lava rock is a good aggregate for bonsai.
This is about are only source for aggregate so take advantage of it.
A number of times we have discussed ways of improving our program. It is virtually impossible to present demonstration programs that meet everyone's needs. Several members have
dropped out because they felt the meetings were boring and pretty much a waste of time for
them. I have talked to several members of other bonsai clubs and they all say this is a real
problem for their clubs as well.
The topic of eliminating meetings and just having workshops has been brought up. We will
discuss this at the next meeting and try to determine what changes might be helpful.
Please think of how our present meeting activities if any, could be included in the workshops.
One suggestion is to make an all day workshop on the Saturdays we now have workshops. It
has been suggested that we could also have a potluck lunch so that we could have a shorter
lunch hour.
Before we accept or reject this we need to discuss the pros and cons of the potential change.
Bonsai is about working on trees. The more time we spend on trees the better. Think about
it and try to think positively about how we can improve your learning experiences.
Jack
Page 2
August Meeting Agenda
ABS Officers
Jack Pierce
President
Brian Van Fleet
Vice President
Belinda Waldo
Treasurer
August Meeting Agenda:
6:00-7:00 Board Meeting and Swap & Shop
Marge Wirth
Recording Secretary
Marty Bostick
Media Manager
Cindi Stehr
Corresponding Secretary
John Walker
Membership Coordinator
Directors:
Gerry Fuller
2012 – 2013
Tomasz Szul
2012—2013
7:00-7:10 President's announcements
7:10-7:20 Show and Tell
7:20- 8:00 Evening program: Mentor Styling Sessions
Several mentors have kindly agreed to bring trees and perform styling and/or
maintenance at tables for small group observation and discussion. Bring a tree as
well, and get some guidance!
Alabama Bonsai Society
Page 3
2012 ABS Meeting Schedule
Page 4
Alabama Bonsai Society
August Bonsai Care
Watering
When it’s hot outside, watering can become challenging, because trees go into a sort of dormancy, and
the leaves’ pores constrict, they transpire less, and the soil appears to stay wet longer. This is normal,
but can be concerning. Mist trees more often in the morning and throughout the day (when possible)
and wait to water fully until the soil appears to be drying evenly. It is still important to water thoroughly when watering, because watering pulls fresh air into the soil, replacing stagnant air that becomes
trapped within.
Siting
Consider shading trees that seem to have trouble with wilting between waterings. Moving trees to less
sun is better for the trees and makes watering a bit simpler.
Pest/Disease
Needle cast can become a problem on 2-needle pines this month, so use preventative fungicides on
those susceptible, newly-forming needles.
Red spider mites thrive on junipers during hot and dry conditions. Keep an eye on junipers and check
them regularly. If the foliage becomes dull, it’s a telltale sign of trouble.
Alabama Bonsai Society
Page 5
Reading
And, since not much work is necessary in the heat of summer, here is a list of 10 great bonsai blogs to check
out, enjoying the AC, after the watering is complete!
Bjorn Bjorvala:
Bonsai Nut Forums:
Evergreen Gardenworks:
www.bjorvalabonsaistudio.com
www.bonsainut.com
www.evergreengardenworks.com
Japanese Bonsai Pots:
http://japanesebonsaipots.net
Jonas Dupich:
http://bonsaitonight.com
Michael Hagedorn:
http://crataegus.com
Nebari Bonsai:
http://nebaribonsai.wordpress.com
Owen Reich:
http://bonsaiunearthed.com/
Peter Tea:
http://peterteabonsai.wordpress.com
Peter Warren:
http://saruyama-bonsai.blogspot.com/
Finally, a shot of Brian Van Fleet’s Japanese Maple is on display at the US National Bonsai Exhibition in Rochester, NY in June. (Note, accent plant and round stand shown were not what was sent….hopefully this was corrected for the show!)