Club News - February 2018
Meeting - February 16 @7PM
Jonas Dupuich - Wiring Demonstration and Workshop
Jonas Dupuich began studying bonsai over 20 years ago after meeting Boon Manakitivipart. His path has led him to study extensively with Boon and learn from his sensei Akio Kondo and Daisaku Nomoto. In 2011, Jonas spent two months studying with Junichiro Tanaka at Aichi-en in Nagoya, Japan, during which time he worked on trees from Tanaka’s collection and participated in exhibits including Gomangoku, Meifu-ten, Taikan-ten and Sakufu-ten. Jonas is a member of Bay Island Bonsai and has exhibited in such shows including the Artisans Cup, U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition and the JAL/WBFF World Bonsai Contest. Jonas writes about bonsai at Bonsai Tonight.
For the February program, Jonas will demonstrate key wiring techniques that will help you make your wiring beautiful and effective. After a short demo, Jonas will help members wire their own trees to put what they learn into practice. Items to bring to the meeting: a healthy tree, bonsai wire (aluminum or copper), pliers, wire cutters, and any questions you have about wiring!
If you don’t have any wire for this event, Lynne is bringing some club owned aluminum wire for you to use. Many core bonsai supplies such as wire, tools, pots, screen, etc can be purchased from vendors at the upcoming annual GSBF Mammoth Auction and Sale on February 17 – 18. The auction is February 17 and the vendors are there on February 18. Refer to the EVENTS section of this newsletter for more info.
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: February Tasks
Mammoth Auction and Sale this Weekend!
This weekend is one of the best opportunities to acquire bonsai supplies. Whether you need soil, wire, pots, trees stands or somethign else, there's a good chance that the Mammoth Sale will have it. Here's the official description -
The Annual Mammoth Auction and Sale Fund Raiser will be held at the Lakeside Park Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave at Lake Merritt. Saturday: Auction preview at Noon with Auction starting at 1 PM. Sunday: Vendor Sales start at 9 AM; Plant Sales start at 10 AM; Demonstrations start at 1 PM. Everyone is encouraged to submit their bonsai and bonsai related items for consideration to be included in the Mammoth Auction at the earliest date possible. The Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt will be open that weekend 10 AM to 4 PM on Saturday, and Noon to 4 PM on Sunday. Please visit the Garden and observe the many installments under the Garden Revitalization Opportunity (GRO) project.
Bay Area Bonsai Associates
BABA always have wonderful trees on display. We encourage club members to check out the show. Details below.
January Potting Party “Thanks”
We had a fabulous day for our January potting party and twenty people turned out for the event.
The club extends a big “THANK YOU” to Gordon Deeg for providing the location and hosting the party, Charlene Fischer who delivered bonsai pots and wire, Lynne O’Dell who delivered potting soil and more pots and to all the other attendees who included Andrew Lipson, Armand Navabi, Chris Weigen, Christoph Dressel, Diane Churchill, Donna Farmar, Gordon Deeg, Hal Jerman, Idris Anderson, John Planting, Katherine Glassey, Kathryn Low, Kathy Shaner, Mark O’Brien, Michael Greenstein, Suresh ‘Mo’ Mohan, Rita Curbow and Valerie Monroe. Everyone was honored to have special guests Kathy Shaner and Valerie Monroe who rolled up their sleeves, repotted trees, provided invaluable bonsai pointers and even sharpened some of our tools. Members new to the club and/or to the art of bonsai were able to team up with an experienced member and Gordon was a most gracious host as he made the rounds with all of us to offer his assistance.
Lynne is asking that everyone who has club owned trees – either worked on at our two most recent potting parties or held onto from years past to contact her and let her know how many trees you have. This enables Lynne to determine if we will have the desired number of trees available for our annual sale in April. Contact Lynne
January Meeting Recap
At our January meeting Valerie Monroe demonstrated and discussed styling of a semi cascade Shimpaku juniper. Valerie purchased the tree six years ago. The tree already had some nice bark and the trunk naturally slanted and curved to allow the cascade style.
When styling a cascade of any sort, the bend should not appear contrived, or as a forced bend of a C on its side. You want the tree to look as if it is holding on to the side of a cliff. The roots at the base are holding it in place from the back. Branching should be evenly distributed and long enough to create the chosen cascade style. The cascade pot could be squatty but deep enough to allow you to position the tree to look as if it is unstable and all but spilling out the side. You could also use a round, irregular or square pot. Moon pots can also be a fun option.
Consider what the front will be. Number one styling advice is don’t pinch the tips! Yes, DO NOT PINCH. This was the old way of styling junipers. We now know this weakens the tree, and juniper strength is in its growing tips. If all the tips are constantly pinched, the tree will weaken and perhaps die. Instead, rub off small/tiny foliage to thin out for wiring and cut downward or backward growth. Thin it enough so you can wire. Do not remove all unnecessary branches, as you do not know what you will need to keep yet. Remove alternate secondary branches being careful to not create a fishbone effect. Alternately, stagger branches. Selectively cut branches growing down, and thin and/or cut back growth to the desired length and style. Do not hedge cut. Wire out all branches.
When styling and positioning branches, you want to allow each branch to have its own space and access to light. When done, you should be able to look down from above and see all the branches nicely integrated with access to light. Use the wire not the branch to carefully move and give each branch movement. The end result will be a long stretched pyramid. Now cut away the branches you do not need and create balance, reduce crowding and allow room to grow and get light. Remember this is only the first styling. A cascade does not require an apex. Let the tree tell a story of how it has survived its environment. More details about this subject along with potting information will be made available on the club website. Great job Valerie!
