Club News - December 2019
Meeting - December 20 @7pm via Zoom
Parade of Trees Holiday Party
Our December program will be a holiday party to socialize with fellow club members and their families. Barbara Phillips is our party coordinator for this event.
What you need to know:
- The club is providing a main dish of ham, turkey, and wine.
- Each person attending should bring a potluck dish that serves 6 to 8. The potluck dish should be a salad, vegetable, side dish, or dessert.
- All attendees may participate in our Optional Holiday Gift Exchange. Simply bring a gift that is wrapped and valued for $20 or more. Bonsai-related items or Japanese art are usually preferred but other items like wine and chocolate are usually a hit too. Please bring something that you would enjoy receiving if you got that gift.
- A Special Benefit Drawing for club members in attendance will be held. The board collected some bonsai pots (donated to the club throughout the year) for this drawing but is looking for additional donations if you have an item. Club members present will get a free ticket to participate in the holiday drawing. Our regular benefit drawing will resume in January.
- • A Silent Auction will also be held. Items include over twenty bonsai tools from Hap Thompson, bonsai pots from John and Sandy Planting, and select bonsai from the estate of the late Bill Scott. This will be a great opportunity for members to acquire a needed bonsai tool, bonsai pot or tree with great promise.
So come and share some holiday cheer and great food, reminisce about the year that has come and gone, and enjoy getting to know your fellow club members in the process. Immediate family members are welcome too!
Monthly Tasks
Each month there are a number of tasks you need to do to your bonsai – from repotting, to fertilizing to spraying for pests. We have put together a checklist, customized for the San Francisco Bay Area to help you. This checklist is adapted from earlier work by Mitsuo Umehara.
This month: December Tasks
As the November Timely Work Schedule article points out, you should switch to 0-10-10 this time of year. For more details about fertilizer, refer to Fertilizer Basics.
Beginning-to-Advanced Workshop with Steve Iwaki
Christine Weigen has organized a bonsai workshop with Steve Iwaki on Saturday, January 11. You would bring your own tree, bonsai tools, and any pots and soil that you may need. For cost, availability, and location, contact Christine
Club Potting Party on Saturday, December 8
Our first potting party for the 2020 show will be Sunday, December 8 from 10AM – 4PM at the home of Mark O’Brien. We will work on material that can be repotted in the fall. That includes fruiting and flowering trees, junipers, pines if protected afterwards, and boxwood and olive if you live in the South Bay
We will work on material that can be repotted in the fall. That includes fruiting and flowering trees, junipers, pines if protected afterwards, and boxwood and olive if you live in the South Bay.
Club potting parties are held to work on trees that will be sold at our annual show in order to raise funds to support the clubs’ on-going monthly activities and pay for future show expenses. Each club member is kindly asked to donate trees or bonsai related items for sale at our 2019 annual show. First year members are asked to donate at least one tree while we ask longer-term members to donate three trees. By bringing trees you’ll donate to the potting party you can get assistance with styling as well as use club-provided pots, soil and wire.
If you are new to bonsai or a newer member of the club, the potting parties are a great way to meet other members of the club and kick start your learning curve of the techniques for styling, pruning, wiring, and potting/repotting a bonsai. Newer members will have the option to pair up with a more experienced member to learn the process.
Also, bring in any club owned trees you are babysitting that need to be worked on during the fall. Note that if you are donating cash or other items vs. trees, the club still needs your help with the club owned trees.
For those of you who can come early and help with setup or stay late and help with breakdown, your assistance with those tasks will be greatly appreciated too. Remember you don’t have to stay for the entire day.
Doughnuts will be provided but also consider bringing a bag lunch.
Location: Club members check your newsletter for location information.
Recap of Our November Meeting - Steve Iwaki Makes a Raft
In my twenty plus years in the club, I don’t think we’ve ever had a raft demo. Steve Iwaki from Sei Boku Bonsai Kei did a fabulous job and prior to the meeting had even created a special wood box to hold the resulting raft.
For a raft you have to create an area that will develop roots. Steve took a knife and scraped the bark off the side of the branch that will be placed in soil. Steve removed the bark from about a third of the branch. Since November through spring is the best time to collect California junipers, this is also the best time to create a raft.
Steve wired the branch to put more movement into the raft itself. He used root tone on the exposed branch to encourage root growth. Root tone is a hormone. Steve mixed it with water to make a paste that will stay on the branch when placed in soil. Make sure you place the root tone on the edge of the cambium area.
Steve then wired some of the smaller branches that will turn into small trees off the rafts main branch. Steve said he would give the tree two years to develop roots. A redwood raft would take the same amount of time too.
When you want to grow roots on the tree, the tree has to be very stable because any movement will cause young roots to break and die.
Steve drilled holes into his wood box to insert tie down wires to hold the raft down in the box. Because you don’t want to develop deep roots, the wood box was only about two inches deep. He then tied the raft into the wood box like you would tie a tree into a bonsai pot. In other words, the raft needs to be placed in soil for the roots to develop. Steve drilled and inserted tie downs in the shape that he wanted the raft to grow (in other words, along the movement of the branch).
Steve bare rooted the existing root ball of the juniper. Steve said the winner should remove the soil around the original root after a full year has passed in order to force more root development along the raft itself. A raft can also be potted in a bonsai pot or a free form slab. A free form slab would make the raft look more like something you would see in nature. Steve said he was shooting for a wind-influenced look for the raft.
