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Great Swamp Bonsai Society | ||
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| Newsletter for February 2005 | |||
| Next meeting: 7:00 PM Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - Frelinghuysen Arboretum, E. Hanover Avenue, Morristown, NJ | |||
January Meeting Highlights:
Well, team... As you know, our January meeting was cancelled due to weather conditions. This is always a possibility during the winter here in New Jersey. Let us hope that Old Man Winter cooperates for the February meeting. However, if the weather doesn't look good and you are not sure if there will be a meeting, please call one of the numbers at the bottom of the newsletter and ask one of officers. Mark, Michael and/or Fred will always know if a meeting is on schedule. We apologize to any members who were not called in January. It was a last-minute decision.
This brings us to another point... If we don't have your phone number on file, we will be unable to contact you in just such an emergency. So please, make sure that you provide us with your complete contact information: address; phone #, and e-mail. Also, in case you've forgotten, annual DUES are DUE and some members are in arrears. It's still $30 for an individual membership, $40 for family.
The President's Corner
Mark Schmuck |
Let me start by wishing everyone a
healthy and prosperous New Year. As I write this message, it seems winter has
caught up with us. Who would have thought we could have left our trees out on
the benches until halfway into January! Looking toward our February meeting,
the topic being ways of acquiring bonsai, be it wild collecting, nursery
material, starter plants, etc. Please bring trees to the meeting to kind of
serve as examples of these different methods. Trees with a good collecting
story to go with them would be great! The more trees, the better I'd also like to appologize to anyone who was inconvenienced by the cancellation of our last meeting. There were a few phone numbers that we didn't have and we're hoping for a better plan for the future. See you at the next meeting. Look around you outside and enjoy those winter silhouettes. |
February Meeting Preview:
We will have discussions on ways and methods of collecting Bonsai. This will be a roundtable discussion of sorts where members can bring their questions and perhaps a tree or two. Our more experienced members will provide answers and assistance where possible. We may also have some videos available to be viewed, providing a TV is available at meeting time. Members are encouraged to bring acquired trees for discussion. Collecting material is always a topic that brings out interesting anecdotes and stories of how a tree was found, removed from it's native habitat, and brought home for conversion to Bonsai. This process can be as easy as a trip to Home Depot, or as difficult as hiking around your favorite collection locale over a period of years, waiting for the tree to be "just right".
Upcoming Events:
April 15,16 & 17 - Mid-Atlantic Bonsai Societies Spring Festival: . This is our area's premier bonsai event. It will be held in the Ramada Inn on Route10 in East Hanover, NJ. Applications and information will be available at the meetings. Remember, your participation is a great opportunity to watch and learn as internationally renowned bonsai artists present lecture-demonstrations. There are also various vendors available with trees, tools, pottery, stones, etc. A great time to add to your collections. Your attendance also helps Great Swamp.April 19 - Andy Smith (from Golden Arrow Bonsai and most recently: the Mid-Atlantic Symposium) will conduct a lecture demo at the arboretum. This will be the Tuesday following the Mid-Atlantic show.
May 28 thru 31 - 5th World Bonsai Convention - Hilton Washington Hotel, Washington, DC. Go to http://www.bonsai-wbff.org for additional information. This event will include many lectures and demonstrations by artists from 6 continents. There will also be special tributes to Saburo Kato and John Naka. This may be the only time that you can see a show of this magnitude in our area for many years.
There are 2 workshops coming up. They take place on the afternoons before the regular meetings.
May 10: Horst Krekler - Bring your own tree. There is room for approximately 6 to 8 members at approx. $50 per attendee.
July 12: George LeBolt from Bergen Bonsai will conduct a workshop with tropical trees that he will be selecting in Florida very shortly after our Feb. meeting. Again, room for 6 to 8 members. Plan on approximately $50 plus the cost of the tree. Members interested in this workshop have an opportunity to decide on the size of their own tree which George will have shipped up here at the appropriate time. For example $60 $75 $90 trees: Ficus Nerifolia , Ficus Retusa, and possibly a few other cultivars.
Please be thinking about these workshops as they will fill up quickly. We will need commitments on the July workshop at the February meeting so that trees can be ordered in time.
Other News:
You may be interested to know that International Bonsai's magazine for the 4th quarter of 2004 and the 1st quarter of 2005 feature parts 1 and 2 of and in-depth article on the styling, care and feeding of Pinus Rigida by our own Martin Schmalenberg. Part 2 shows "virtual styling" of this species of tree for anticipating the future of the tree's design. For those who are interested in obtaining the articles, a subscription to International Bonsai is available from William Valvanis, PO Box 23894, Rochester, NY 14692-3894. A subscription costs $26 /year and back issues are $7.50 /copy.
Fred Aufschläger's paper, Bonsai Containers as Ceramic Art, will continue to be available here on the web-site for those members who may not have received it via e-mail. The links have been fixed. We appologize to members who were initially unable to access the documents. I'm investigating the Acrobat Reader link for those of you who don't already have it. In the event that the link below is not working, cut and paste the following URL into your browser to access Adobe's website.
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
Word Version
PDF Version
Get AdobeAcrobat Reader
For those who are unable to access the paper in these formats, we will still have several printed copies available for paid-up members at the February meeting.
February Tips:
Will this be an early spring or will winter hang on? And what about Punxatawny Phil?This is the start of the repotting season, and very hardy deciduous trees can be repotted toward the end of the month if root tips show white. Continue to protect trees from hard frost and don't feed until spring. You may also dig up raw material and pot into temporary containers. Even if you will wait until March for potting, raw material roots can be undercut.
You may wire deciduous trees this month while buds are still tight. As they swell, they become more fragile and are easily damaged. Don't wait too long, as you wouldn't want to see this year's new growth lying in the pot after you finish hours of wiring. Protect newly wired trees from frost until the buds burst.
Late February is ideal for heavy branch pruning as long as the remaining branches and shoots are healthy. Seal all wounds and protect from frost until growth has begun. Toward the end of the month, trim last year's growth back to vigorous new shoots.
Do NOT overwater your newly potted trees. Keep pots moist but not wet. As trees come out of dormancy, be aware that their watering needs will increase. However, since it is still quite cold, there is a chance that wet soil could freeze hard and damage newly developing root fibres.
Be careful with any feeding. New roots can be easily damaged by strong fertilizers. If your conifers did not get their bonemeal last fall, you may apply a light dose of fish emulsion, as this is quite mild and shouldn't cause damage.
Keep an eye out for aphids and spider mites. They can defoliate a conifer in a few weeks if unchecked. Commonly used pesticides that are listed for your species should do the trick. Remove algae from trunks and remove any scale insects that you find.
Tips are developed from the following sources: Bonsai, the Art of Growing and Keeping Miniature Trees by Peter Chan and from The Step by Step Art of Growing and Displaying Bonsai by Colin Lewis and Neil Sutherland
Contact Information:
President: Mark Schmuck lofty235@aol.com 973.625.4632 VP: Michael Markoff MJSmart@aol.com 973.895.6207 Treasurer: Fred Aufschläger 17 Lakeview Drive
Bernardsville, NJ 07924908.766.1359 Secretary: Ken Olander bowhunter444@verizon.net Newsletter: Dan Boehmke danno1@optonline.net 973.627.1318
Ideas and offers of assistance for events, or scheduling questions, can be addressed to any of the officers. Don’t be shy. All help is appreciated.