Newsletter January 2017 Presented by Introduced at this meeting will be a new dimension to SHOW AND TELL. At the urging of Ruth Osganian and with the full concurrence of the board of directors members are invited to bring in a tree for formal display. Trees should be fully groomed including the the potscape and pot. For club display full moss is not required but a top dressing is advised. The display should include a stand/table or slab as appropriate to the tree and generally a companion plant or object. It remains to be seen whether or not we can accommodate a scroll or even want to. This idea is a work in progress and is sure to engender much discussion. With an eye towards more SBS trees being displayed at the State Convention this should up our game (and be fun). NOTE that this is not intended to limit normal show and tell in any way which by design includes trees at all stages of development that may be in flower or have some element of interest that you wish to talk about. BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING AFTER REGULAR MEETING, AROUND NOON
February meeting to be on the 4 th Saturday PRESIDENT - Cathy Wolfe fairlady.taichi@gmail.com 727-391-2501 VICE PRESIDENT - Noa Spector-Flock noanik@gmail.com 727-345-2570 SECRETARY - Sally Molsick rmolsick@tampabay.rr.com 727-360-6483 TREASURER - John Goff Past President - Doris Burns Newsletter Editor - Jack Yost OldTreeMaker@gmail.com 727-391-2501 Membership &Hospitality & - Diane Roush Due to pre-existing scheduling at the rec ctr we are unable to meet on our normal Saturday. FOR FEBRUARY ONLY we will meet on the 4 th Saturday, Feb 25 th still at the Rec Ctr, at the usual time. BYO Juniper workshop In Feb Jack will do a SHORT presentation, tips etc and then those who brought something to work on will have at it. We expect volunteer help and generalized kibitzing of the helpful kind form those not working on trees. You can bring trees you already have for a makeover or a tune-up or general maintenance advice. Willow Tree had very nice $5.00 J. procumbens nana that are staked and have thumb sized trunks, assuming that your thumb is not too big. Other things are where you find them. Please bring your own tools and wire. Below are three examples, that Jack will bring. BSF District 5 trustee - Sally Molsick Historian - Ruth Osganian Supplies - Joe Bruni Webmaster - John Goff Facebook Admin - Cathy Wolfe Library operations - Noa Spector-Flock 2
Back to January s meeting: Contrary to nature not all of my maples have dropped their leaves, I can of course cut them off for show and tell as needed. The top picture is a Chinese Elm by Bill Valavanis. Below is a Dwarf Hackberry from my collection. It is not twiggy enough and generally breaks all the rules, but I like it anyway. It used to be called Felix the Helix but the helix part died off so I guess it is just Felix now. As always you are not limited to naked trees for show and tell, any ol tree will do. Don t be shy, FRED & DEAN for example and Patrick we could see your trees a bit more often. No pressure. And speaking of scrolls Here is a way of thinking about scroll placement in a 3 point composition that may be helpful. Think of the scroll as the fulcrum in a lever or the pivot bar in a tetter totter, the tree is the big person and the companion is the small person. This tends to explain why the (bigger) tree is close to the scroll, even covering it sometimes, and the (smaller) object is away from the scroll. The scroll never (?) splits the distance between the two. Lets consider this the starting point in discussions rather than a definitive thing. Note Tommy s artwork. Kudos Tommy. Further weirdness - In order to to be able to hang a picture or scroll exactly where you want to without endless nail holes you need a museum type hanging system, which can be obtained from STAS picture hanging systems http://product.stasgroup.com/en/wallsystems/stas-minirail/stasminirail.html You can move it both vertically and horizontally. Check out the Suncoast Bonsai Club Facebook page. Post your bonsai pictures to the page and Cathy will repost them to the Timeline. You can also post questions. 3
Also this month: Modest projectors are $400 on up, $500 + for a notch up. We are well on our way to having enough to go make a purchase. To that end this month we will have a silent auction in addition to our monthly raffle. Generally the idea of the silent auction is to allow members to sell an occasional bonsai related item of some value and donate a 10% or 20% to the club. For a $300 table by George, for example, a 10% donation would be fine. We really don t want to be all about the $$. That said we need some money for the Rec Ctr and guest speakers (too rarely) and the occasional paraphernalia such as the projector and a couple of new tents. Which reminds me of the Green Thumb costs, which are a significant part of our annual budget. We are modestly hopeful that Green Thumb will make an exception and allow us to raffle off a few trees this year. So if you have an item of some worth you may donate only a portion of the sale price. For more modest items a full donation would be appreciated. Remember that we will have a full scale auction in August for big ticket items. You may print the next page if you want to however we will have preprinted forms available at the meeting. Don t forget to bring lots of cash to pick up some of good deals or raffle items that will be on hand. And THANKS TO ALL. 4
% to be donated to SBS At least increments please 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
Quick Snips by Jy Tokonomas are built into traditional Japanese homes and tend to resemble the top picture, though we think of them as limited only to the area that might have a bonsai display (2 nd pic) they do not need to have bonsai but could just as easily have flowers or an antique vase or anything else deemed worthy of display. (3 rd pic) Note that scrolls can be displayed by themselves in much the same way that we in the West have pictures or paintings on our walls. Which is thought to be why they came to be associated with formal displays. I.e. they were already there when other items were added to the display. Because bonsai shows do not have tokonomas they rarely if ever have scrolls in Japanese shows. As you can see in the bottom picture, which is an American show, we are beginning to 6
Tokonoma vs bonsai show cont. muddy the waters of how to display our trees for a group show such as a BSF convention. This is neither a good thing nor a bad thing and probably says more about our competitive nature that any misunderstanding of Japanese culture. If you are wondering why the tokonoma displays are so low it is because of the tradition of sitting on the floor. What constitutes a good bonsai display at a bonsai show is slowly evolving and becoming less rigid and less Japanese since bonsai has long ago become a world wide art form with many local variations. Quality bonsai tables too expensive? The table below left by David Knittle is probably $500 to $900 I couldn t find any prices for any of his tables. There are creative alternatives. Below middle is a wooden doormat from Target with an online price of $27, it is available at the store. Ask for the online price. In some cases you can use a wooden slab or it might be possible to find an old end table and cut it down to make a nice display table. Push comes to shove you might make your own or otherwise get creative like Adam Lavigne s rough table on the bottom left. Our own George Osganian makes very nice tables as in the one below right with the kusamono. 7
Above left is a beautiful table by George with a tile inlaid top. The right is a $2 piece of tile from the Habitat for Humanity with some feet glued on to make it float. The tree is a heavily wired dwarf water jasmine in the windswept style. Also a very nice Paul Katich pot from one of the BSF conventions in Orlando. FREE TIP: What do do with your used cutting mix? 1) You can use it to help level your benches but that takes a lot. 2) Better yet get a flat tray or an unused shallow pot and fill it with used cutting media and put your smallest trees and companions in it to help keep them moist. MOSS BANKS the current status: After more elaborate schemes I am going the other way. The left and middle trays have no media, the moss lays directly on the trays. So far that is working fine. The ugly yellow stuff in the right tray is a wicking mat commonly used for house plants like African violets. It is also working fine so far. The screen IS a good idea to keep general stuff and critters out. It is 1/8 hardware cloth but really ¼ or even ½ would probably be better and they are both available at Home Depot, the 1/8 is mail order only and I use it to cover drain holes in pots. Linda Gibbons for hosting the Christmas Party and providing an 80 degree day! 8
Continuing the Mini-bonsai theme Americans tend to think that if a little is good then a lot is better, success is excess, and so on. Some of us are old enough to remember bonsai from, say the 1980 s or even before. When seeing them for the first time people would say It looks just like a little tree. That isn t necessarily true any more. In the drive to catch up to the Japanese and have BIG trunks we have ended up with BIG trees. Collecting in the wilds is the shortest route to bigger older trees with the emphasis on bigger. (As in the picture) However, there are alternative choices. Namely micros, minis, and smalls or if you are so inclined mame and shohin, and other Japanese names that we don t hear as often such as shito and komono. All ranging roughly from 2 to 12. Classifications get a little drifty but basically mirco, mini and small about covers it. Azalea season in Florida this year Jan 12 th. These are the Duc De Rohan family. As opposed to the satsuki s for example, which have only a smattering of flowers so far. More seasonally normal is the Yellow Jasmine, flowering for the first time since being collected three years ago. Walmart has yellow jasmine for sale! Very pretty flowers and they do last several days. 9
You know you re addicted to bonsai when: All you get for Christmas is bonsai stuff 10
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UPCOMING EVENTS JANUARY 21 - Robert Yarbrough on the comparisons of bonsai to penjing and hon non bo. Also Naked Tree show and SILENT AUCTION benefit for a club projector. FEBRUARY 25 - NOTE - THIS IS THE 4TH SATURDAY for this month only. Hands on BYO Juniper workshop with a mercifully short presentation by Jack then cut, wire and tweak with assistance from volunteers as needed. Bring a fresh one or a rehab project or be an assistant. The long awaited Flaming Dragon/Fire Bending Juniper thing with Tommy Miller and Jack as assistant has been postponed again, due to weather concerns outdoors in February. MARCH 18 - Chris Frye is slated to demo a large azalea. APRIL 15 - Pre-Green Thumb practice show/meeting. And more? APRIL 22 and 23 - Green Thumb Festival MAY 20 - Post Green Thumb Workshop JUNE 17 - - Our own John Goff on exposed root bonsai with demo. JULY 15 - In part a pre-auction practice run. AUG 19 - AUCTION SEPTEMBER 16 - OCTOBER 21 - Note - The PINE STUDY GROUP meeting has been postponed. New date to be announced. NOVEMBER 18 - DECEMBER 16 - Things under discussion - your input is requested - email a board member or talk to us. Natural styled trees Field trip to Artisans Bonsai Field trip to Mike and Lunetta s A fertilizer expert Meetings, tours, or open houses at different members homes Everything rocky, root over, plant on etc. Mame/Mini workshop or demo and/or in-house show Mini-club night type projects as a meeting event Phoenix Graft Some type of event with the Museum of Fine Arts or Sunken Gardens Species specific meetings i.e. Maple or elm or juniper etc. Indoor Bonsai Multiple demos around the room Hands on workshops Forest workshop Traveling guest speaker ($$$) Charity event 12
Fertilizer Talk Repotting season is upon us! Generally there is a rough rule of order in repotting, first pines, junipers, and bald cypress early, then deciduous when the buds are ready to pop then everything screams me next and then azaleas and then tropicals. I throw in a little (as in not a lot) organic fertilizer when I repot. I use Espoma because it is available locally and is relatively cheap, your best bets are Lowe s and Willow Tree. You can check them out online at www.espoma.com if that is your style or just go and get the stuff. It comes in the following flavors: Flower-tone Holly-tone Plant-tone Rose-tone Tomato-tone Garden-tone 13
Print this page and add to your clip board or notebook Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday January 29 January 30 January 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 2 - Liquid Fertilizer - Half strength 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 President's Day 21 22 23 24 25 3 - Fish Emulsion or Organic Tea or other liquid organic (maybe add some liquid iron &/or kelp to the fish emulsion) 26 27 28 March 1 2 3 4 February 2017
We are on the web! Check it out suncoastbonsaisociety.com - bookmark it - Local Sources for bonsai materials (for soil rock) 5612 56 th Commerce Park Blvd Tampa, FL 33610 (813) 622-7031 6831 Central Ave St. Petersburg, FL 33710 (727) 344-1668 6782 118 th Ave N Largo, FL (727) 531-3180 (for Turface) 801 62nd Ave N, St Petersburg, FL 33702 (727) 525-343 (for Turface) 2040 Range Rd Clearwater, FL (727) 441-9530 4401 49th St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33709 (727) 522-2594 (specialize in natives) 12501 Indian Rocks Rd, Largo, FL 33774 (727) 595-2073 853 E Lake Rd S Tarpon Springs, FL 34688 (727) 938-2971 (slabs by the #) 2001 13th Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33713 (727) 822-3370 (rocks and slabs) 13122 Walsingham Rd Largo, FL 33774 (727) 595-2662 (rocks and slabs) 3701 W. Lambright Tampa FL 33614 (813) 870-2620 (powdered clay) 6462 125th Ave Largo, FL 33773 (727) 530-9581 CLUB INFORMATION We Meet: At the Seminole Rec Ctr near the Seminole Library on the 3 rd Saturday of most months. Occasionally at outdoor venues elsewhere. Watch Facebook for EVENTS. LIBRARY: Some books should be available at each meeting. RAFFLE TABLE: Raffle tickets, $1.00 each. Bonsai related items are donated by club members. Please identify the plant material so we know how to take care of them! BONSAI SOIL: Bonsai soil is available @ $20 per 5 gallon bag for members and $30 for non-members Joe Bruni is our soil man, our mover and shaker, but Doris is our contact for sales, let her know ahead of time if you need soil brought to the next meeting. Doris Burns - For Soil - phone is the best choice Phone: 727-343-7992 email: daxon@tampabay.rr.com (rarely) 15