BSD_2015_Oct_newslet.. - Bonsai Society of Dallas

Transcription

BSD NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2015
PAGE 1
Bonsai Society of Dallas
Monthly Member Newsletter
October 2015
Message from the President
In This Issue
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Message from the
President
October Program/Auction
Upcoming Events
October Bonsai – Tips and
Advice
September Program in
Review
Learning Opportunities
October To Do List
Member News
Beginner Bulletin Board
Link of the Month
Board of Directors
Sylvia Smith, President
[email protected]
Greg Brewer, Vice President, Program
Chair
Happy October everyone! This harvest season always makes me cheerful, not
only because the weather is much more pleasant, but it's also a fun bonsai
month. Trees are getting their last surge of growth before the fall color sets in,
watering starts to slow down, and it's enjoyable to stroll through or work on
your collection without the worry of becoming a puddle!
At BSD, October means auction time!! Please read the newsletter for
instructions and make sure you arrive early enough to look through the items up
for sale. There is always a great assortment of trees from seedlings to
established bonsai. So no matter if you are looking for stuff to practice on,
make a forest with, or upgrade your collection, you're sure to find something at
the auction. Please remember this is our only fundraiser of the year, aside from
member dues, so please bring a fun and generous spirt at well.
This month is also the first of the long anticipated “Artisans Cup" in Portland,
Oregon hosted by Michael Hagedorn and Ryan Neil. Howard and I plan to
attend and we hope to see some of you there. On the heels of that trip, let me
once again remind you of the first LSBF Seminar that takes place on October
9th and 10th. I'm pleased to announce that Joshua M. will be the Dallas
representative at the New Talent Contest! It's not too late to register for this
and help Howard and me cheer Joshua on. See the attached registration form
and don't miss the first ever educational seminar in Texas!
Sylvia
[email protected]
Diane Lowe, Secretary
[email protected]
Jerry Riley, Treasurer
[email protected]
John Miller, President Emeritus
[email protected]
Kyle Downing, Membership Chair
[email protected]
Club Dig 2016
We are just 3 – 4 months away from the optimal time for collecting trees.
However we need to source potential new dig sites now so that we can
walk the land to determine if it is a good site. This is especially important
to do while the leaves are still on the trees to help identify what species are
prevalent.
Bill Muto, Member at Large
[email protected]
Does anyone know of someone who will let us look at their land to
determine if it is a good site? Ideally it is being grazed or previously
grazed by cattle, as years of ‘cattle chomping’ usually yield trees with
stunted growth and gnarly trunks. Perhaps you could use Facebook to
reach out to your network of local friends to find a potential dig site.
Ideally it is near the DFW area, no more than a couple of hours away. Last
year we were in Campbell and the three years before in Rio Vista. Can
anybody find a potential new location for us?
Howard Smith, LSBF Delegate
[email protected]
If so, please contact Sylvia at [email protected]
[email protected].
Todd Hang, Newsletter Editor
[email protected]
Mary Polk, Member at Large
[email protected]
or Diane at
Bonsai Society of Dallas, P.O. Box 836922, Richardson, TX 75083-6922 • www.bonsaisocietyofdallas.com
BSD NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2015
PAGE 2
BSD Annual Auction
8:30 AM to Noon, October 3rd
North Haven Gardens
It’s time for the annual club auction! It is the perfect time to share
what you no longer need and perhaps bring home something new. It
is also our annual fundraiser. Here is a reminder of the process.
All items to be auctioned should be delivered between 8:30 - 9:15
a.m. at North Haven Gardens in the large meeting room inside the
greenhouse. All items go on the tables to the right side of the room to
be recorded. Please keep your items together and stay with them
until they are inventoried and listed on our sheets.
Howard Smith will once again be our auctioneer extraordinaire. The
more he knows about an item, the better he can represent it to the
audience, which should help you get the best price. Please use the
form at the end of this newsletter to provide relevant information
about a tree or item and attach it to your items before bringing them
in.
Everyone (buyers and sellers) must also register at the front desk and
get a paddle to be used for bidding. Your paddle number is our only
way to keep track of who wins an item.
Once all the bidding is done, we’ve got some bookkeeping to do to
reconcile all the totals, so chill out for a bit and we’ll handle the
check-out process as soon as we can for all those who made
purchases. We prefer cash or a check from members, although we
also will take a credit card. Non-members can only pay by cash or
credit card.
If you are owed money after the auction, we will mail you a check
within 7 – 10 day. We appreciate your patience as it takes time to
coordinate schedules among volunteers to reconcile our totals.
Here is a recap of the rules:
•
•
•
•
•
Upcoming
Events
October 3rd – Club Auction
November 7th – Guest Artist Bjorn
Bjorholm – Morning demo and
afternoon workshop
December 5th – Study Group with
Bonsai Smiths
Events
Elsewhere
October 9th -10th
LSBF Educational Seminar
Houston, TX
October 10th – 11th
Bonsai Europa
Manchester, UK
Kathy Shaner Seminar / Workshop
Buda, TX
The European Bonsai-San-Show
Saulieu, France
October 23rd – 25th
The National Bonsai Convention
Christchurch, New Zealand
October 29th - November 1st
GSBF Convention
Riverside, CA
You may either donate items for sale with all the proceeds going
November 7th
to the club, or you may split a portion of the proceeds with the
Wigert’s Bonsai 10th Annual Open
club for any items valued over $50.
House
Items worth more than $50 are sold on an 80/20 split. This means
Ft. Myers, FL
the seller gets 80% of the bid price, the club gets 20%. You
decide your reserve price (the minimum you will accept for an
item). Your reserve price must be at least $50.
If you wish to split proceeds of a sale greater than $50, you must be a club member. If your membership has
lapsed, you can easily join the club that morning for $25, which allows you to sell at the auction and also
enjoy the benefits of membership through the end of 2015.
Items under $50 value are considered donations to the club - no splits.
No items may be sold prior to or after the auction unless prior approval from auctioneer.
Thanks for all your help making this club fundraiser the best one yet! 
BSD NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2015
PAGE 3
October Bonsai
Tips and Advice
By John Miller
Time to take a good look at your tropicals. Before
going into the dry low light conditions most of us
have for winter quarters they need to be vigorous,
pruned and free of problems. Give them a good
feeding preferably with an organic fertilizer. If you
use a water soluble type use a low dilution and feed
every 2-3 days. Prune all new growth back to the
trees best shape. To increase ramification on
developed trees keep any new growth pinched to 2-3
leaves. Use your desired insecticide and/or fungicide
now and again just before you take them in.
Remember that some tropicals do not like to go
below 50 degrees while others are only semi-tropical
and will take a frost but does not want their roots
frozen. The buttonwood is an example of the first
group and the crepe myrtle would be in the second.
Here in the Dallas-Ft Worth area we will probably
not see a freeze until late in November but there
may be some cool nights in October. I prefer to
leave the tropicals out as long as possible. I want
the semi-tropicals to go dormant and then put them
in a cool location to stay dormant all winter.
Now is the time to start your outdoor trees toward
their winter siesta. If you wait until the temperature
drops, you get too rushed and omit some of the little
housekeeping duties. Start now by making sure that
the area will be free of insects and other vermin.
When the leaves start turning the sap has quit for the
year and you may check the branches and twigs to
see if any need to be trimmed. Cutting back any
protruding branches will keep them from snagging
and possibly breaking other trees when you put them
down close together. Don’t cut the buds off the
spring flowering plants unless absolutely necessary
if you want flowers next spring.
Kathy Shaner suggests removing the top half-inch of
soil and replenishing it with new soil. This will
remove weed seeds that have blown in and will
make next year’s job easier. Of course if you plan
on repotting next spring that isn’t necessary.
Winter quarters: Remember that here in Texas more
trees are lost in the winter due to drying out than to
the cold. Of course that does not mean for you to
leave the tropicals out or to let the roots freeze on
southern trees like the crape myrtle. Even in a
greenhouse or sunny window the soil can dry out
amazingly fast. The wind in winter has amazing
drying powers too. (Ask your grandmother about
hanging the wash and letting it dry while frozen
stiff.) So while you are protecting the roots be sure
to give it a wind screen and make sure that you can
check the soil for watering needs. (It helps here if
you know which particular plants dry out faster and
so you can situate them together). A lot of winter
kill comes because the soil has frozen and the sun or
wind is removing water from the tops. The roots
cannot obtain water to replenish the loss and the top
desiccates to the point of death.
For the beginners, plants like the cedar elm, oak,
maple that are hardy much further north can be set
on a clean gravel bed. When the real cold (26 or
lower) gets here cover the pots with 3-4 inches of a
fairly loose mulch. Plants that grow south of Dallas,
crape myrtle, firethorn, some azalea, need to have
more root protection. I like to let them get frostbit
but bring them in before freezing. Of course the
tropicals need to be babied.
All this is basically talking about the broadleaf
deciduous trees.
Evergreens do not go fully
dormant in winter and need to be exposed to
sunlight. Some broadleaf evergreen types like
boxwoods slow way down but still need sunlight.
Some leave the needled evergreens on top of
benches all winter but I prefer to give the roots the
same basic winter protection of deciduous trees but
they have a higher water need.
Feeding of deciduous trees should be discontinued
for the winter. Evergreens and conifers will benefit
from a low nitrogen feeding. One such mix might
be 70% cottonseed meal and 30% bonemeal. Being
organic, this will breakdown into nutrients more
slowly as the season gets cooler and the trees
activity slows also. The organic spray given below
can be used as a soil drench but dilute it a little
more. Kelp is an excellent source of the essential
minor elements needed by plants.
BSD NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2015
PAGE 4
October Bonsai
Continued
Insects will continue to be present. Cooler (but not
cold) days mean a resurgence of the aphids. Mites
will also still be around and will jump into action
during a warm spell. Scale also can be a problem.
Treat with a light horticultural oil which will kill the
adults and also wipe out the eggs and over-wintering
pupae. Be sure to cover all the cracks in the bark to
get to the eggs. The organic spray (one tablespoon
each liquid kelp, fish emulsion, apple cider vinegar,
and molasses in one gallon of water) should still be
used on a regular schedule and will work on
evergreens and will also give them some nutrients.
The dead scale shell will probably have to be
removed physically. A soft toothbrush works for
me (I sometimes need to wet the branch to loosen
the scale).
When the leaves start turning the sap has quit for the
year and you may check the branches and twigs to
see if any need to be trimmed. Cutting back any
protruding branches will keep them from snagging
and possibly breaking other trees when you put them
down close together. Don’t cut the buds off the
spring flowering plants unless absolutely necessary
if you want flowers next spring.
Some may repot in the fall but I feel that it is
counter-productive to do so if you can do it during
bud break in the spring. New roots are more prone
to freeze damage if we get a bad winter. It has been
stated that the key to safe repotting is to minimize
root disturbance and to exclude severe root pruning.
This seems to me to be a recipe for developing root
problems, poor drainage leading to root rot and the
inability of the old soil to hold enough water to last
all day. No heavy pruning will lead to the lack of
refinement and a top heavy tree.
I would
recommend that repot at the proper time next spring
which is when the buds swell and new growth is
imminent. 
Tip of the Month
It is time to put my bonsai to bed……
If you don’t have a greenhouse or much of a
yard, consider building a planter box or even
use a large Styrofoam box. Drainage is the
first step so be sure there are plenty of holes
at the bottom to allow water to drain out. Lay
down a layer of mulch as bedding, place your
tree(s) in and cover with more mulch or dried
leaves to the top rim of your pots. If you are building your box, consider adding
wheels so that when temperatures get too far below freezing, you can wheel your
box into the garage or a cold storage closet.
BSD NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2015
PAGE 5
Fred & Elizabeth Meyer – Dallas Bonsai Garden – Part 2
Last month in recognition of our club’s 50 year anniversary, we brought you the story about
how the Meyers first found their way to one of earliest club meetings. It ignited a ‘spark’ for
them because after several years learning about bonsai they decided to start their bonsai
business, Dallas Bonsai Garden. This was in the early 70’s and they felt the time was right to
bring bonsai to the masses.
They started out by importing bonsai and related tools/supplies, and bringing them to state
fairs and rodeos throughout the Central United States. They got a lot of ‘windshield time’ in on
Interstate 35, as they loaded up a van and traveled throughout Texas and as far north as Minnesota, stopping along
the way in all the states in between. Pretty soon the van wasn’t big enough so they added a trailer to it to haul more
merchandise. They also saw opportunity at arts and crafts shows that we being held at many of the new malls that
were opening up at that time in all these same areas. After so much time on the road they decided a motor home made
more sense so pretty soon they were driving their business from a 35 foot motor home.
By the early ‘80s they saw another opportunity to continue their bonsai business. Enclosed shopping malls were all the
rage. Everyone wanted to beat the weather and shop indoors, so why not get off the road and rent space in a mall and
let the customers come to them? They decided to rent their first space at Prestonwood Mall in Dallas and it was a
success! They were able to get off the road and settle back in Dallas. Soon they expanded and had stores in Collin
Creek Mall, Park Cities Mall, Vista Ridge Mall, Town East Mall and even a shop at the Galleria. At the height of their
business they had 50 employees and were importing product from Japan, Taiwan, and China. They established their
current warehouse/office site in 1994. Life was very busy but happy.
By the late 80’s we were all hearing about the Internet, but leveraging its power was in its infancy. Catalog sales were
beginning to enter the mainstream, with many retailers trying to decide if they would augment their business by
publishing a catalog. As with most game-changing trends, it was the small businesses that wanted to reach more and
were willing to take a risk. Many published a catalog and got their 800 number to make order taking easier. A few
separated from the pack and just sold through catalogs but they were braving new ground. Fred and Elizabeth were
watching the evolution and decided to give it a try. But they wanted to make their catalog mailings count and get them
into the right hands. You could not buy a mailing list targeted at bonsai enthusiasts, so Fred decided to create a web
page to gather the information. He paid The Computer Store to create his first online page to gather basic customer
information such as name, address, and phone number and he began mailing a self-published basic catalog. By 1998,
they had gathered enough customer data and catalog ordering was becoming common place so they decided to use a
third party to publish their first comprehensive catalog. Along the way, they decided to close stores as leases expired
and migrate all of their business to mail order/catalog. This ultimately led to just online, their successful business
model today.
They truly were on the leading edge of the e-Commerce evolution. Fred would be the first to tell you he did not do it
alone. He tapped into the knowledge offered by companies like AT&T who provided a consultant to create his first eCommerce site. He went from just gathering contact information to being able to process orders online. This was a big
achievement at the time. He was even asked to speak at an e-Commerce summit that was held at the Dallas Infomart
on the power of the Internet. Back then only a few search engines existed and there was no issue of jockeying for
position like there is now.
Times continue to change and Fred has kept up. He does it now with the help of Brandon Steed who joined him back
in 2012. Brandon was briefly living in New York but was ready to get back to Texas. He is a high-energy guy who has
good website development skills, good organizational skills, and a willingness to work hard. Today they ship to
customers in all 50 states, as well as in Canada and even to Australia. They have a soft spot for us at BSD and now
offer a discount of 10% to all club members. Just use code #BSD2015 at checkout to get the discount. Also
remember that shipping in the US is only $5.95 for orders under $75 and it is free on all orders over $75.
Life can be full of surprises. Who would have guessed that a chance visit to a club meeting in 1965 would lead to a
lifetime of bonsai? We are lucky to have them as part of our bonsai community!
BSD NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2015
PAGE 6
Dallas Bonsai Garden Discount
If you wish to take advantage of the discount code
referenced in the article on the previous page, this
screen shot may help you enter it correctly. The
current code is BSD2015.
LSBF Educational Seminar
Kingwood Community Center - Houston, TX
October 9th and 10th
We are fast approaching this year’s special LSBF
Educational Seminar this October 9th
and
10th. Registration is currently only $75, but after
September 9, the fee goes up to $85. The seminar
will simplify two complex bonsai artistry topics bunjin design as well as how to display your
bonsai. Our guest artist, Matt Reel, just completed an
eight year apprenticeship with Shinji Suzuki, one of
the very best bonsai masters in Japan, and is well
versed in both of these topics. He is also a very
personable speaker. There will be demos,
presentations, workshops, vendors, a show critique,
prizes and raffles. We will even have the New
Talent competition and one lucky winner will go
home with a very nice prize. To learn more and
register, please go to the website at www.lonestarbonsai.org/convention Or use the brochure form also sent in the
email with this newsletter. This will be the source of the most concentrated bonsai education in Texas this year!
November Program Preview
Guest Artist – Bjorn Bjornholm
November 7th at North Haven Gardens
Many of us are looking forward to the visit of Bjorn to our club on November 7th. There will be much more detail
about Bjorn and his bonsai journey in our next newsletter. But for now we want to share that there will be a morning
demo for members and guests, followed by an afternoon workshop for only those who have registered. The workshop
will be a Bring Your Own Tree (BYOT) format. Seating is limited and the cost will be $65. If you would like to
reserve a seat, you will need to pay in advance or provide a credit card. This will hold your seat and assure you a
spot. If you need to cancel and we can fill the seat with someone on the waiting list, you will not be charged.
Otherwise any cancellation will be charged to your card.
If you would like to make a reservation, please contact Diane Lowe at [email protected].
BSD NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2015
PAGE 7
Bonsai Smiths
Upcoming Classes
Full Day Workshops - $75
February 8, 2015 – Japanese Black Pine Session 1 (Spring Work)
February 14, 2015 – Deciduous/Maple Workshop Session 1 (Root Refinement & Grafting)
February 21, 2015 – Juniper Workshop Session 1 (Healthy Root Systems on Collected &
Nursery Stock Junipers)
May 16, 2015 – Maple/Deciduous Workshop Session 2 (Ramification & Defoliation)
June 27, 2015 – Japanese Black Pine Workshop Session 2 (Summer Decandling)
July 18, 2015 – Juniper Workshop Session 2 (Wiring & Styling)
October 17, 2015 – Juniper Workshop Session 3 (Branch & Deadwood Refinement) – 4 seats
November 21, 2015 – Japanese Black Pine Workshop Session 3 (Winter Work) – 4 seats
We also offer soil mixes. Our APL mix is now available!
Soil Prices (tax not included)
APL Mix - 5 gal. - $59, 1 gal. - $15
Akadama - $35 per 20 liter bag, Pumice - $4 per gal., Lava - $3 per gal
2015 Kathy Shaner Seminar
Buda, TX
* Seminar *
* Home-cooked Dinner *
* Bring-your-own-tree Workshop *
Registration available in July. To be notified when
registration is open, email Colin at
[email protected].
Place Your Ad Here!
Business card size is $5.00 per month
Half page size is $20.00 per month
Full page size is $35.00 per month
For more details contact:
Jerry Riley
[email protected]
BSD NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2015
PAGE 8
September Program in Review
50th Anniversary Celebration / Bonsai Display
We had a lovely 50th Anniversary celebration with a large turnout of members both old and new. A big thanks to all
who brought goodies to share, coffee, drinks, the plates, napkins and all the other stuff that goes into laying out such a
nice breakfast spread. Our founders and early members would be pleased to know we honored their memory. As you
can see by our group photo, we have grown substantially as a club. Many of our most tenured members are seated in
the front.
Seated from left to right – Howard Starling, Lois Flood, Dave Schleser, Lance Williamson, John Miller, Sue Miller, and Ray Hernandez
Sylvia began our meeting with a presentation of some of the early
significant club highlights we were able to find in an archive box or two
that found its way to us thanks to the ‘detective’ work by Dave S.
Afterwards we took a break for the group photo, got some more goodies
to eat, and then got down to business discussing how we can get better
as a club with our spring exhibition. Sylvia said we should all be
looking at our trees now to see which would be the best candidates for
the show and how to evaluate and improve their characteristics. She
reminded us about the generally accepted judging criteria used to
evaluate show trees. Having a good grasp of how the criteria are
applied, not only lets you view a show with a more experienced eye but
it also helps you to evaluate trees you may be interested in acquiring
and determine whether the price being asked is appropriate for the
quality of the material. The criteria are:
•
•
•
•
•
Trunk (1-10 points)
Ramification (1-5 points)
Rootage (1-5 points)
Pot Selection (1-5 points)
Overall Display (1-5 points)
As you can see, the trunk carries the most weight in terms of potential points. Perhaps as you look at your collection,
determine which tree(s) has the best trunk and begin to work from there. Understanding the judging criteria makes us
better bonsai people, so try to incorporate this into your thinking as you evaluate bonsai trees.
Bonsai Society of Dallas, P.O. Box 836922,
75083-6922
PhotosRichardson,
courtesy of TX
Chris
Scholz • www.bonsaisocietyofdallas.com
BSD NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2015
PAGE 9
October’s To-Do List
This is a simple monthly checklist for those enthusiasts who have the
knowledge and skill required to perform the tasks listed. It is
intended to tell you ‘what’ to do, not ‘how and why” to do it. Want to
know more? Send in any questions you might have or come to any
monthly program to discuss further.
All Species
• Adjust location if needed with change of sun position
• Adjust watering schedule because of cooler nights
Link of the Month
Next month we host the visit of guest artist
Bjorn Bjornholm to Dallas. Get to know him
better by visiting his website and check out
some of his beautiful work. We are excited to
have him with us.
http://www.bjorvalabonsaistudio.com/about-2/
Deciduous
• Slow down feeding
• Trim to silhouette
Evergreen/Conifer
• Wiring can be done
• Light pruning and thinning on junipers
Flowering/Fruit
• Light trimming to silhouette
Tropical
• Begin to prepare for winter housing
• Topsoil changes can be done now if needed
• Light fertilization
Member News
Got news to share? Let us know…..
Bill Weber continues to recover from the effects of
a stroke and more recent heart surgery. We wish
him the very best and a speedy recovery.
A warm welcome to our newest members who have
joined since July. They are: Hunter & Janice L.,
Michael F., Robert C., Tony Y., Cris G. & Jay O.,
Jacob K., and Jesse P.
We are glad to have you as members of the club
and hope you enjoy learning with us. Welcome!
Beginner’s Bulletin Board
There are no ‘dumb’ questions when you are a beginner at any new endeavor. However sometimes beginners are reluctant to ask a question in a
monthly meeting. Got a question? Send it to Diane at [email protected] for an individual response. Your question may also appear
anonymously here in a future issue so that others can learn.
Question: I was told I wasn’t watering properly because I watered at the base of the trunk. What’s the big deal; won’t the water just
spread out throughout the root ball? I water all my potted plants this way.
Answer: Watering bonsai correctly takes greater care than other potted plants, primarily because our pots tend to be smaller and our
soil provides better drainage. It is most important that we get water and nutrients to the feeder roots. These roots are the small, fine
roots typically at the edge of the root mass. By the end of the growing season, these are usually around the outer edge of the pot,
closest to the heat that is associated with sun exposure. If you only water around the trunk, the water will likely drain out of the
bottom before spreading to the sides. This is especially important late in the growing season while it is still quite hot and the feeder
roots are at the edge. It is best to water with a slow steady shower first around the outer perimeter and work your way to the center.
Earlier in the
growing
season,
the opposite
would be used
as the roots•have
just been pruned and are closer to the trunk.
Bonsai
Society
of Dallas,
P.O. Boxsequence
836922, Richardson,
TX 75083-6922
www.bonsaisocietyofdallas.com
Also be sure to water twice this way. Often the first time the dry soil sheds the water, much like trying to clean a spill with a dry
sponge. Let the water absorb the first time and repeat for better absorption.
BSD NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2015
PAGE 10
www.bonsaismiths.net
www.timeless-trees.com
www.hfimports.com
www.benttreebonsai.blogspot.com
www.dallasbonsai.com
BSD NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2015
PAGE 11
Auction Information Sheets
Please Print
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Origin of Tree/Item: ______________________________ Date Collected or Repotted: _______________________
History/Items of Interest: __________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

BSD_2015_Oct_newslet.. - Bonsai Society of Dallas

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