Dates for Upcoming Workshops

Saturday, June 28: Summer Pruning
Each species of tree has its’ own set of seasonal care requirements. Spring and early summer is the time when most of our trees will have put on lots of new growth. New foliage on deciduous trees will have "hardened off" by late spring. With the desired goal/style in mind, pruning at this time of year is done to balance the energy in the tree and work toward getting better ramification in the branches. Note that this type of pruning should not be confused with major structural pruning that is done later in the year when the tree is dormant.

Along with material on Pruning in the ABS Syllabus, Rita Curbow and Lynne O’Dell will discuss early summer pruning for a number of species of trees such as maples, elms, dawn redwood, California redwood, various junipers, etc. To make sure we have you covered, please email Rita at rdcurbow@comcast.net and let her know what type of tree(s) you plan to bring to the workshop. Please be specific. For example, if you’re brining a maple, let us know if it’s a Japanese maple 'Acer palmatum,’ a trident maple ‘Acer buergerianum,’ etc. Okay to send a photo if you’re not sure what species you have.

For those with an ABS Syllabus, please review Chapter 4 on Pruning prior to this workshop.

Note that Michael Greenstein will handle pines. The workshop itself will be an opportunity to work on your pines with Michael applying the techniques you learned at the monthly meeting on Friday, June 20.

If you don’t have a tree to bring, that’s okay. You will learn a lot by hearing our presentation and observing other students as they work on their trees. 

Saturday, July 26: Summer Care
Michael Greenstein will cover tips on dealing with pests, fertilizing, watering, protecting from sun/heat and wind.

Saturday, August 23: Wiring
This will be a repeat of our previous class on wiring but with additional info and improved exercises. The goal is to offer Wiring twice a year.

Schedule of Workshop

12:30PM - 1:30PM “Intro to Bonsai”
For those new to bonsai or who want to brush up on basis bonsai techniques, special instruction will be offered starting at the beginning of the workshop and running for about an hour. After the special instruction/exercise, attendees will have the option to work on their trees with assistance from more advanced members until 4:30PM that day.

1:30PM - 4:30PM Open to all members of the club
Members at the intermediate or advanced levels who aren’t assisting other members in the beginner’s level are asked to arrive starting at 1:30pm. They will setup on the side closest to the main entrance (near the closet with tables).

Location of Workshop
Inside the Fellowship Hall at St Mark’s Episcopal Church, 600 Colorado Ave, Palo Alto

Refreshments at the Workshop
Feel free to bring refreshments to the workshop to share with fellow members. And don’t forget to bring bottled water for your personal use.

Details of the “Intro to Bonsai” Workshop Portion
Members should bring trees that can be worked on in that time of year. Club wire will be provided for beginners as needed. Some club tools will also be available, but members will be encouraged to purchase their own set of tools eventually in order to work on their trees at home, etc.

Setup and Cleanup at the Workshop
The club kindly thanks everyone who helped with setup and/or cleanup at the end. Your assistance makes a world of difference for the organizers of these events.

ABS “Intro to Bonsai” Syllabus
If you did not attend an “Intro to Bonsai” workshop in the past and have not received a free copy of the ABS Syllabus being used, please contact Michael Greenstein via email at michael.greenstein@comcast.com. Note that you must be a Kusamura member to participate in these workshops.

For those curious, ABS Syllabus refers to "Introduction to Bonsai: A Course Syllabus" by Thomas L. Zane of the American Bonsai Society.

Filoli’s special bonsai exhibit throughout the month of May recognizes and celebrates that May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. As a Community Partner of Filoli, Kusamura appreciates the ability to participate in this celebration and promote our club and the art of bonsai to a wider audience by hosting our “Bonsai Day at Filoli.”

Earlier this month Willa Brock, Filoli Interpretation Manager, interviewed Michael Greenstein and Idris Anderson for an episode of "Morning in the Garden" podcast. It is called "Bonsai and Beyond" and is now available at filoli.org/podcast. Be sure and check it out. Great job guys!

Along with our event on May 18, Filoli hosted bonsai master Dennis Makishima for a talk and book signing referred to as “Bonsai and Beyond”. A number of club members were able to attend, purchase a book, and get it signed. Special thanks to Marsha Mekisich who facilitated Dennis joining us at the Dining Terrace for Kusamura's critique of bonsai. A number of visitors there to hear Dennis talk about aesthetic pruning discovered Filoli for the first time and enjoyed seeing the bonsai too.

Demonstration
The morning demonstration was a big hit with members and visitors alike. Michael Greenstein and Charlene Fischer worked on wiring and refining a California juniper that was donated to Filoli from the collection of Bill Scott. Hal Jerman and Jenn Tan worked on a rosemary raft by transitioning it from its' original container to a bonsai pot. Christine Weigen and Lynne O’Dell worked on refining a shimpaku juniper raft from Christine’s personal collection. Since there was a focus on raft bonsai, Idris Anderson also displayed her recently created juniper raft in the special show of trees. As demonstration MC, John Mekisich, deftly directed audience questions to the demonstrators and kept everyone engaged. 

Show of Kusamura Trees
Kusamura show trees were provided by the volunteer bonsai group from Kusamura. Members of this group include Charlene Fischer, Christine Weigen, Hal Jerman, Idris Anderson, JC Zhang, Jenn Tan, John Mekisich, Lynne O’Dell, Marsha Mekisich, Michael Greenstein and Rita Curbow. The variety of trees included California juniper, shimpaku juniper, red pine, bougainvillea, cotoneaster, several varieties of oaks, potentilla, an indigo tree, and a Ficus in a mini tokonoma. At least two of the trees were previously owned by bonsai master Dennis Makishima. Visitors were especially intrigued by Christine’s ‘Indigofera tinctoria’ which is a plant from the bean family that was one of the original sources of indigo dye. Jenn’s cotoneaster was displayed at the Info table. Visitors loved seeing how the sunlight caused the leaves to reflect onto the light gray “crackled” bonsai pot and kind of dance around. Cotoneaster is a common planting in the Filoli garden.

Critique of Bonsai
Our original critique of trees was scheduled for 1PM but Dennis Makishima surprised us by showing up at 12:30PM and giving everyone a special critique of some of the trees before his talk started at 2PM in the Visitor Center. He started out by critiquing a few of the Kusamura trees and members who now own one of his previously owned trees got some special insight into that trees’ history. Dennis finished up by talking about the Colorado Spruce donated to Filoli by Janet Refvem. Dennis remembered Janet’s husband Tom Refvem who was instrumental in building the permanent structures at the Bonsai Collection Lake Merritt in the 1990s. It was especially nice that Janet and her son Rich got to hear Dennis’ critique at this time too. Michael Greenstein finished out the critique of the Filoli collection as many visitors were keen to learn more about other trees in the collection.

Kudos to Everyone
Overall the day was a huge success and as the Club organizer for this event, I, Rita Curbow would like to extend a big THANK YOU to our demonstrators, those of you who helped with setup/breakdown and/or displayed a tree, and to Anna Sweeney, Dave Curbow, Gabriel Lobo, Jacqueline Lin, Jeff Whitnack, Katherine Glassey, Paticia Lee, Richard Murray, Rita Patel, Steve Iwaki, Steve Jensen, and Virginia Kean who helped monitor the Kusamura show tables throughout the day or joined me at the Info table. What a great team!

Lastly, thank you to Filoli for their Community Partnership and providing this opportunity for Kusamura. The Filoli staff were very helpful during setup and throughout the day and expressed gratitude by saying "Thank you Kusamura for enriching the experience for our guests."