February 2016 - Houston Bonsai Society

The Bonsai News of Houston
A Monthly Newsletter of the Houston Bonsai Society Inc.
Volume 45 Number 2
`
February 2016
IN THIS ISSUE
Upcoming Events
Root Development
and
Grafting Techniques
Showcase
of the Month
Lunar New Year
Celebration Bonsai
February Bonsai
Care
John Miller
President’s
Letter
Special Bonsai
What is the Monkey
Up to This Year?
A petrified wood vessel is home to a 20-feet evergreen forest at a Lunar New Year
Bonsai Expo in Nam Dinh, central Viet Nam (Photo from a Vietnamese website)
The next meeting of the Houston Bonsai Society will be on Wednesday February 3rd,
2016 at the Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion in Hermann Park, off of Hermann Park Drive,
Houston, TX 77030. Refreshments at 7 PM, meeting starts at 7:30 PM.
Wednesday, February 3, HBS monthly meeting: Root Development and Grafting
Techniques, a presentation by Howard and Sylvia Smith of Dallas.
Upcoming Events
February 13, Saturday Study Group at Quality Feed and Garden, located in the
Heights, 9AM – 12 Noon. Free, refreshments provided. See ad for more directions.
Saturday, February 13, Basic Bonsai #1 Class at Timeless Trees Nursery, 9AM – 12
Noon, 60 per person. Students will receive a tree (a boxwood, yaupon or ficus), pot, soil,
wire, handbook, and a pair of scissors. The tree will be repotted into a ceramic pot, and
the initial branch selection made.
Saturday, February 20: Shohin Society of Texas - Bring trees from any of previous
workshops or start a new bonsai. There will be Japanese maples to select for group
plantings, root-over-rock, or little-plate plantings.
Saturday, February 20, HBS Club Dig headed up by Brian Gurrola at his ranch in
Bedias, TX, starting at 8:30 AM. (Group limited to 15 people.)
Saturday, February 27, Shohin Study Group with Ray Gonzalez ($25). Focus on
repotting. Soil provided.
March 19- 20 – Master Class Workshop: Advanced Techniques with Pedro Morales 2 full day workshop, 9AM – 4PM ($250 per person), repeated by popular request. Focus
will be on Building Kurama pots, deadwood carving, and Phoenix Grafting. Lunch
provided.
February Bonsai Care
Lunar New Year
Celebration Bonsai
Have you been enjoying the landscape this month? There is much styling info to
learn if you look at the landscape while driving around. With all the leaves gone,
you can see the branch structure. What pleases you and what is not so good?
Notice the different ramifications for the various species of trees. Also it is just
plain beautiful (if you ignore the trash on the ground). It’s not all gray. There are
many shades of gray involved. Some trunks are black. The exfoliating bark on
the sycamores leave the limbs stark white, looking like bleached bones hanging
in the forest. And the twigs have various hues. Willows are red or golden, ash
has a greenish hue. The evergreens give splashes of green and the possum haw
decorates the landscape with its red berries. A great time of the year!
The timing of the spring functions, such as repotting, will depend on your
microclimate in your backyard. If you have kept your trees from freezing, they
will want to start growing much earlier than those kept outside all winter.
Repotting can be done at any time during the dormancy but new roots are
susceptible to freezing. So you must have some place to protect them after
repotting. The ‘best’ time to repot the deciduous temperate zone trees is when
the buds are just beginning to swell. Generally this will be before the last of the
freezing weather. Trees that leaf out early, maples and elms, can withstand a
few degrees of frost but if repotted, you must protect the roots. Sometimes this
just means setting them on the ground, possibly with some mulch covering the
pot. Some species such as the oaks and willows are naturally programmed to
wait much later so that there is very little chance to get nipped. Typically, in my
collection, the elms will be first, foliage showing about the end of February, along
with the earliest maples. Then during March, the rest of the maples and most of
the others. The deciduous oaks will come out around April 1. The live oaks and
the cork oaks usually drop their leaves and get their new foliage during March.
The newer wisdom on azaleas is that you also repot them at this time. The roots
will be reestablished by blooming time. This is much easier on the tree than
waiting until after bloom when the temperature will be hot. (An aside note: later
on, before blooming starts, you will be removing a lot of excess buds anyway to
reduce the stress on the tree).
There are two kinds of pruning on bonsai. When the tree is being styled, you will
be doing development pruning. Let the branches run wild to get thickness and
then cut back severely then make angles for secondary branches.
After the branch is developed, you will need to do ramification so you will have
smaller leaves and tiny twigs. When new growth appears, keep it pinched so
you keep the internodes short and develop a compact set of twigs on the
branches. On alternate leaved species (i.e. elms) pinch when the shoot gets 4 or
5 leaves. Finger nails or shears can be used. If the twig gets too long, it will be
tough and you need to use shears. On opposite leaved trees (maples), pinch the
central shoot as soon as it can be distinguished from the two leaves. To do this
really right, you need to use pointed tweezers.
If you have not used a horticultural oil, the time is fast running out. The oil would
be used to kill scale and over-wintering mites and other boogers. When new
growth starts, the problems to look for are the above mentioned mites but
especially aphids and mealy bugs. These can be controlled as well as giving the
plants the required fertilizer by using an organic spray (4 tablespoons each of
liquid kelp, liquid fish emulsion, 5% apple cider vinegar,
and liquid molasses in one gallon of water. All these are
available in any organic nursery.) If leaf spot, mildew or
any other fungal problems appear, use a baking soda
(Sodium bicarbonate), Potassium bicarbonate, or a
commercial fungicide spray.
Spring flowering plants will have their buds set on last
year’s growth, so pruning them will remove some flowers.
Those that bloom later in the year will generally bloom on
this year’s growth. Pruning them will reduce the amount
of flowers. In some cases such as crepe myrtle, tip
pruning of the new growth will result in no flower at all. In
these cases, you must decide which is most important,
ramification or flowers. A compromise would be to prune
the branch shorter than you normally wood and then let it
bloom on new growth which will at the proper length, at
least for the first flowering of the season.
workshop or two. You cannot learn bonsai out of a book.
You need to get the whys as well as the where-to-cuts.
Other possibilities would be the opportunities your local
club offers. An exhibition should be a learning event for
you, not just a show. Each tree has a problem or two that
have been cleverly concealed or the artist has drawn your
eye away to some good feature.
John Miller
John Miller, who writes a monthly column for the Bonsai Society
of Dallas and Fort Worth Bonsai Society, has agreed to share
his column with us. We need to make adjustments for our
warmer and damper climate, with earlier springs, longer
summers, late fall and erratic winters.
When the growth starts, the tree will need fertilizer.
However, use one that has a small amount of nitrogen
(the first number). The tree is naturally programmed to
grow rapidly at this time, so you don’t need to encourage it
further. Feed lightly to maintain healthy green foliage.
Trace minerals should be added to help with both the
foliage color and the color of blooms.
Wire removal: Anytime you work on trees, you should be
noting if any wire is cutting into a branch. Repotting is a
very good time to check all your trees for such damage.
Sometimes you wire one or two branches to adjust them a
bit and forget that you did. Start at the tip of the branch
and completely remove that wire before going to the next,
so you don’t inadvertently leave loops on the branch.
An important job which many neglect, saying they are not
going to show any trees, is to detail their trees. This
makes them look their best and that helps give you
incentive to follow other good practices. Start by checking
the branches. Prune any out of place or too long twigs.
Remove any unnecessary wire, that is wire on limbs that
have set in place. Treat any jin and shari that needs it.
Then move down to the pot. Be sure it is clean and all
lime deposits are removed. Steel wool works great to
clean pots. A coating with a very light wax polish such as
leaf shine will make the pot look good and help keep the
mineral deposits from forming. Then check the soil. It
should cover the outer roots. The surface of the soil must
be clean of any fallen leaves or other debris.
What can you do on cold rainy days? Think about how to
upgrade and improve your bonsai knowledge and your
collection. Plan to register for the LSBF convention to be
held in Corpus Christi in October this year. Do a
A fruitful starfruit (Carambola) bonsai greets the New Year and the
visitors at a Buddhist temple – Photo from a Vietnamese website
President’s
Letter
Friends,
This New Year has started off with a few changes.
1. Our Saturday Study Group is changing
slightly. We plan to rotate the Saturday
Study Group between three facilities in an
effort to make it more accessible to more
members. We will no longer use Mercer
Arboretum. We will be meeting at Quality
Feed and Garden, centrally located in the
Heights. Ken Cousino, has offered to host
us in his new facility. He is located at 4428
North Main Street, Houston, TX 77009.
a. Maas Garden Center (March, June,
September and December.)
b. Quality Feed and Garden (February,
May, August and November.)
c. Timeless Trees ( January, April, July, and
October)
2. One other major change is our annual
Fundraising Auction. We have traditionally
held it in September, but this year we are
going to try something new and hold it on
April 6th. The perfect time to acquire new
material for the summer growing season.
3. Our State Convention, this year is being
hosted by Corpus Christi, on October 14th
to16th. Ed Trout and Jason Schley are two
of the headliners I know of. The focus of
the Convention will be on Cascade style.
Having a fall convention should bring out
different trees for the Exhibit. Make plans
to attend.
This month’s stated meeting (February 3rd) will is a
great program on “Root Development and Grafting
Techniques”, a presentation from Howard and
Sylvia Smith. They will expand on the program they
did two years ago and we will examine one of the
trees they worked on back then. They always
address complex topics and cover them in laymen’s
terms, which encourages us to try them. They are a
pleasure to work with.
Brian Gurrola did the program for January on
collecting trees in Texas. I truly thought it was one
of the best programs we have ever had. (And I
think that was his first time presenting to our
group). His use of the GoPro Camera, and speeded
up video of collecting a winged elm was terrific. I
only wished we could speed up the actual digging
and collection.
Brian is also hosting members of the club for a Dig
at his family ranch near Bedias, TX. It will occur on
Saturday, February 20th. There are more details in
the handout at the next meeting.
Hope to see you at the meeting, February 3rd!
Happy Re-Potting,
Hurley
Buddha’s hands Citron (Lemon), the most artistic citrus is
cultivated to adorn most Buddhist temples around the New Year
celebration. (Photo from a Vietnamese website)
Whatis the Monkey
Up to this year?
In a few days, more than half of the world
population will be kicking the Old Goat out to
welcoming the New Monkey. To prepare for this
change in guards, new bonsai trends in the East,
especially Viet Nam, have taken a very exciting and
surprising turns.
Are these innovations here to stay forever or are they
just fads? You be the judge.
Go Big and… Go Home!
Up to two or three years ago, no one heard of Mr.
Thinh Pham in the city of Nam Dinh, north of Viet
Nam. Only those who visit the bonsai websites and
blogs would recognize this major player in the
bonsai world. Some call him Thinh Hai Phong,
Thinh Dollar or by other tycoon nicknames. His
wealth earned in construction materials and scrap
metals has provided this artistic entrepreneur ample
means to create a unique bonsai forest style
contained in petrified logwood vessels. Thinh
frequently travels for business along the coast of
Viet Nam, from North to South. He searches high
and low to gather thousand- year old logwood trunks
and ship them to specialized carvers in the South.
This rare wood rivals ebony in color and density,
and granite in strength and weight.
find. He lucked out while in the deepest jungles with
some exceptional deadwood logs that are a thousand
year old, a few even two thousand year old.
Each of the vessels in the bonsai armada carries its
own metaphor and meaning. The first, Ancient Trees
Breaking out of Stones, was built with 28 Water
Jasmines (Wrightia Religiosa). These trees reflect
the 28 galaxies in the night sky, often used by Feng
Shui masters in the past millennia to predict the
weather, the longevity of certain individuals and the
success of the harvest.
The first of such unique masterpiece was named The
Bach Dang’s river Victory. It depicts the ingenious
victory in which General Tran’s ruse destroyed a
large Chinese armada. Large boats were lured deep
into the river at high tides in the dark. By morning,
at low tides, they were sitting ducks in the stream,
hulls punctured by pickets and the crew easily killed
by skilled climbers.
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Another vessel, Five Dynasties & Ten Kingdoms,
depicts the numerous failed attempts of many
invaders to Viet Nam. This forest is made up of
Buddha’s pines or Podocarpus, one of the most
beautiful evergreens that maintain their deep green
year round. At high elevation, in the plateaus leading
to the Truong Son sierra, the jungles of central Viet
Nam are often ravaged by typhoons and deluges. Yet
for millennia, they all quickly bounce back within
months with stunning shapes and colors.
The Bach Dang’s river Victory
During an interview, Mr. Thinh disclosed that upon
achieving substantial wealth, he wanted to give back
something of great value to the people. He presented
this most memorable work of art to the city of Ha
Noi for its 1000th birthday. This mesmerizing piece
conveys his pride as well as admiration for the
region’s most revered hero, General Tran who later
became an emperor.
Once satisfied with his sketch of the project, Mr.
Pham travels from village to village along the central
coast to buy up the best logwood deadwood he could
The 10 Magnificent Citrus grafting extraordinaire
In the past decade, the southern growers have
perfected grafting citrus. They often start with a
fruitless wild lime stock and add grafts of 10 fruits
in the same genus. The Ten Magnificent Citrus
completed with Buddha’s hands citron, lemon, lime,
white, pink and red grapefruits, pumelo, orange,
tangerine and kumquat have been THE preferred
high-end potted gift in high society.
Due to its very religious and auspicious name,
Buddha’s Hands Citron (French for Lemon), this
very multi-fingered fruit can take on so many shapes
and forms. No two are alike. Their cultivation has
reached the highest scientific level as well the most
uniquely artistic shapes, to command exorbitant
prices.
The Mummies Bonsai
With year round growth near the Equator, ficuses in
Viet Nam became the easiest plants to transmute into
Chinese calligraphy or lately, into human figures.
Most of them take on odd shapes that resemble
mummies. Branches and roots can be easily grafted
onto a stock. Some parts can even be molded to look
like scary voodoo dolls, muscular ginseng men, or
benevolent spirits believed to inhabit the ghostly
banyan trees.
A Mushroom Tree
A Japanese wonder, the Linh Chi mushroom, has
been used across the East as a cure all for most aging
diseases. Some claim they have the same magical
powers as certain Ginseng roots. For the last decade
or so, it has become a well-recognized symbol of
good health, another favorite gift for seniors around
the Lunar New Year.
Instead of feeding off of decaying wood or wood
shavings, Linh Chi mushroom has a root like trunk
and produces branches from which the mushroom
caps grow. Hence its name, Magical Branching
Mushroom. Their rapid growth allows a daily
harvest for personal consumption.
Calendar of Events
2016
FEB 3
HBS monthly meeting Root Development and
Grafting Techniques, a presentation from Howard
and Sylvia Smith at Hermann Park Garden
FEB 8
Happy Lunar New Year of the Monkey!
FEB 13 HBS Saturday Study Group at Quality Feed &
Garden in the Heights, 9AM – 12 Noon. Free,
refreshments provided. See ad below for more info.
To each its own!
Its own pot, that is! More intriguingly sophisticated
pots have been designed as dedicated pots to extend
certain movements from pots to plant. There is no
longer a definition line where the bonsai ends and
where the vessel carrying it starts.
FEB 13 Basic Bonsai #1 Class, Timeless Trees Nursery,
9AM – 12 Noon, $60 per person. Focus will be on
repotting. Students will receive a tree (boxwood,
yaupon, or ficus), a ceramic pot, soil, wire, a
handbook, and a pair of scissors. We will repot the
trees into a pot, and make initial branch selection.
FEB 20 Shohin meeting at Persimmon Hill Bonsai, Austin,
TX. Bring back previous workshop materials or start
with new trees.
FEB 20 Club dig at Brian Gurrola’s ranch. To sign up for
transportation or for more details, contact Brian.
FEB 27 Shohin Study Group with Ray Gonzalez at
Timeless Trees, Rosenberg, TX, 9AM - Noon. Cost:
$25. Focus will be on repotting. Soil provided.
Which ones of these fascinating and historical
bonsai trends do you believe will be important
landmarks for the bonsai Renaissance? Which ones
are passing fads that will soon disappear from the
international scene? In retrospect, hope you enjoy all
of these creative works of art as I have as well as
those the Monkey of the New Year standing at your
front door. will bring.
Beware of this mischievous Monkey God famous or
rather infamous for his tricks, his disappearing act
and his multiplying act. He can clone himself by
blowing on a string of hair. Wishing you and your
loved ones a wonderful New Year!
Shawn Nguyen
MAR 2
HBS Monthly Meeting at Hermann Park Garden
MAR 5
HBS Saturday Study Group at Maas Nursery,
Seabrook, TX, 9AM – 12 Noon. Free, refreshments
provided
MAR 19-20 Master Class Workshop: Advanced Techniques
with Pedro Morales ($250 per person, limit 10 people). Focus
will be on Building Kuramas, deadwood carving, Phoenix
Grafting and adding a Prosthesis. This is a full 2-day workshop,
9AM – 4 PM. Lunch provided.
All supplies Included for:
1. Making Kuramas – (includes all supplies to make your own
kurama, wire mesh, waterproof concrete, colored grout, etc.)
2. Deadwood Carving - (includes a Black and Decker, 3 speed
grinder for each person, and misc. bits)
3. Phoenix grafts and adding a Prosthesis – (deadwood and
juniper whips provided)
Come and join us for this advanced techniques class, and go
home with a kurama to use, a new grinder, some newly carved
deadwood, and a Phoenix Graft or Prosthesis ( added to one of
your trees).
We provide almost everything for this class, (Grinder, Kurama
materials, deadwood, Shimpaku whips, glue, etc.)
Students need to bring a pair of gloves, and safety glasses.
Check out timeless-trees.com for weekly classes with very
knowledgeable artists and masters. Stop by the nursery
on Friday and Saturday to see the huge selection of
bonsai, pots, tools, supplies, books and soils to select
from. Make sure you get on the mailing list to be updated
on Houston Bonsai news.
Quality Feed & Garden and Ken stand ready to help you
with bonsai selection, bonsai care, pots and supplies. He
will also personally have free classes for HBS every 3month to help you start with your first bonsai. Check the
Calendar of Events for dates. Ask for 10% HBS discount.
The New Year is upon us and JRN II is ready to greet the
2016 with thousands of seasonal flowering plants, rare
tropical plants and exotic bonsai. They are styled and well
maintained by our resident bonsai artist. Remember to ask
for 10% discount.
Visit artist Andrew Sankowski at the Mossrock Studio &
Fine Art Gallery for the finest gifts and most uniquely
beautiful bonsai pots in every shape, form and color.
Personalized pots or gifts can be commissioned year
round.
Andrew Sankowski
26002 Oak Ridge Drive
Direct (281) 684-4411
The Woodlands, TX 77380
Fax (281) 363-9032
[email protected]
Come stock up on bonsai soils, pesticides, fungicides,
fertilizers and other supplies. The plant doctor is always
on duty, so bring your unhappy bonsai for a free thorough
check up. Don’t forget to ask for a 10% HBS discount.
Houston Bonsai Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 540727, Houston, Texas 77254-0727
www.houstonbonsai.com
HBS Board Members
President
1st Vice President
in charge of Education
2nd Vice President
Secretary
in charge of Membership
Publicity
Treasurer
Webmaster
Hurley Johnson
Scott Barboza
[email protected]
[email protected]
Dean Laumen
Barbara Adams
[email protected]
[email protected]
Ken Cousino
Wayne Malone
Quyen Tong
[email protected]
[email protected]
Member at Large - O
Member at Large - O
Member at Large - O
Member at Large - O
Member at Large - E
Member at Large - E
Nandita D’Souza
Vern Maddox
Sharon Barker
Clyde Holt
Brian Gurrola
Ron Ahles
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Delegates
Past President
LSBF Delegate
LSBF Alternate
BCI Ambassador
TTSBE Representative
Alan Raymond
Peter Parker
Terry Dubois
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Alan Raymond
[email protected]
Refreshments
Website/email
Newsletter editor
C.J. Everson
Gary Teeter
Shawn Nguyen
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
The Bonsai News of Houston is a monthly publication of the Houston Bonsai Society, Inc. Copyright © 2011. The contents of this publication may
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