Club News - January 2018
Valerie Monroe - Styling a Cascade Bonsai
January 19th @ 7:00PM
We will start off the New Year with Valerie Monroe as our guest speaker at our January meeting! Valerie will demonstrate the art of styling a cascade bonsai. Upon completion the tree will be included in our benefit drawing.
Valerie has studied bonsai and aesthetic pruning for around thirty-five years and is a highly respected bonsai instructor. In addition to being a very supportive long-term member of Sei Boku Bonsai Kai in San Mateo, Valerie is also its current president. Valerie’s goal is to inspire others to enjoy and appreciate beautiful trees as much as she does. So bring your questions, a notebook and plan to learn a lot and have fun.
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: January Tasks
Importance of Watering During Cold Temperatures
As nighttime temperatures drop to new lows, it’s important to keep your trees well watered. Pot-bound trees are especially at risk. If the roots are not well watered and freeze, the tree will die. Watered roots and soil expand when frozen. If a pot has cracked you can hold it together with wire, tape, whatever until warmer weather. But if too much of the roots are exposed you might need to move your tree to a larger pop (aka “up potting”). If the roots seem to be frozen you need to thaw them out before repotting. You can put them in a warm location for a few hours or immerse the roots in luke-warm water for an hour or two. Soaking also helps loosen the soil you need to remove before repotting. For more info, refer to the article Freeze Damage in Woody Plants by Andy Walsh.
Club Potting Party on Sunday, January 28
Our next potting party for the 2018 show will be Sunday, January 28 from 10AM – 4PM at the home of Gordon Deeg. We will work on material that can be repotted in the winter. That includes deciduous trees, junipers, pines if protected afterwards, and various other species.
When arriving at Gordon’s, please drive through the open gate and drop off your trees and other supplies before parking. Parking space is available inside the gate, along the street and in the school parking lot across the street. Please don’t unload your car outside the gate as accidents can happen.
The format of this potting party will focus on the process of repotting which includes evaluating the tree, selecting and preparing the pot, and then actually repotting the tree. Less emphasis will be placed on wiring and styling. The goal is to determine if this is a preferred method going forward to what is normally done at our potting parties. This approach may allow more trees to be worked on for our upcoming sale while permitting the buyer to do more of the styling after the tree has recovered from the repotting process.
The potting parties are a great way to meet other members of the club and gain more experience in the art of bonsai. Newer members will have the option to pair up with a more experienced member to learn the process.
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.
For additional info regarding club potting parties, refer to the December newsletter or contact Lynne O’Dell.
Recommended Reading: Repotting Basics
Second Soil Making Party on January 20
Another soil making party will be held on Saturday, January 20 from 9 AM – 12 Noon at the home of Lynne O’Dell. Participants will have the opportunity to purchase soil at club cost.
Soil made at this event will be used at the January 28th potting party.
Soil Making Party on Saturday, January 12
Please join us on Saturday, January 12 from 9 AM – 12 Noon at the home of Lynne O’Dell to sift and combine soil for our potting parties. Participants will have the opportunity to purchase soil at club cost. A big “thank you” to Tom Romer and Armand Navabi for helping to obtain components prior to this date. Please let Lynne know if you plan to attend by calling Lynne.
Bonsai Focus Online Discount
This publication does not allow a common club user name/ sign in. Kusamura is currently a print subscriber but Bonsai Focus will give us a discounted $39.99/member/year online club subscription price (regular $59.99) if we have twenty-five subscribers interested.
What is Bonsai Focus?
- International Publication from Netherlands
- Magazine and e-magazine published every two months
- Magazine articles supported by instructional videos for subscribers
If you are interested in this discounted club price and/or have additional questions, please contact club librarian Chris Weigen.
Note that your digital subscription to Bonsai Focus would have to be renewed yearly in order for you to continue to have online access to their current and previously archived publications.
December Holiday Party "Thanks"
Our December 15th holiday party was a really fun event and the food was fabulous! There was a lot of HO HO HO to be found! For me personally, it gave me an opportunity to meet some of our newer members.
Along with the club, Lynne O’Dell would like to extend a special thanks to her Holiday Party Committee that included Barbara and Richard Kindall, Donna Farmar, Jim Thompson, Bang Vo, Hal Jerman and John Mekisich.
Barbara, Richard, Donna, Bang, Jim and Lynne were involved in providing the table settings and special food items. John, Hal and Lynne were in charge of the silent auction. And everyone in attendance brought such fabulous food to be shared and recipes were asked for.
Our silent auction was another success and thanks to all of you who participated.
The benefit-drawing table was filled with many sought after items and included items donated to the club over the past two years along with items donated by members in attendance. Thank you to all the unnamed folks who brought special items along with Jerry Carpenter’s special donation of five 2018 calendars that he had made using photos of trees from our 2017 annual show. I was lucky enough to win one of those calendars!
The gift exchange was another fun part of the party and everyone enjoyed the decorated bonsai provided by Hal, Lynne and myself.
In short, it was a really nice way for Kusamura to celebrate and reflect on our many activities as a club in 2017!
Happy New Year 2018 everyone!