Fog City Bonsai - BSSF: Bonsai Society of San Francisco

FOG CITY BONSAI
October 2014
Fog City Bonsai
Newsletter of the Bonsai Society of San Francisco
San Francisco County Fair Building, Lincoln Avenue Between 9th & 10th
President’s Message…
Great September Auction
Thanks to everyone for a terrific Annual September Auction meeting, Auctioneer, Eric
Schrader, kept the pace lively and interesting
while pointing out the best qualities of the material being sold. Thanks to all the bidders for
bringing the money to this event. We had
gross sales of $2,390 dollars, which will help
Bonsai society of San Francisco keep providing
services to members. Special thanks to Treasurer, Marge Casey; Secretary Diana Lum, and
Members: Dan Casey, Debra Bleemer and Jain
Haggerstone for keeping track of all the action
and collecting and counting the money. Credit
cards were accepted for the first time ever and
the process was flawless. The material donated by our members was wonderful. Many
thanks to James Frank for getting so many nice
items into our sale and leading the set-up and
tempo of the auction. Tim Kong contributed
huge effort to the set-up and provided food
and drink for the festivities. Early arrivals Scott
Piatanesi, Grant Forester and Bernard Marque
provided great assistance moving material into
the sale area. The final cleanup was perfect
with the leadership of Cheryl Kawamoto, Harlan Kawamoto and James Frank.
Moving Froward
Many of us now have new material ready to be
turned into nice bonsai. Let’s all turn our attention to advancing our personal skills and understanding in this art. Our October 9, meeting
will feature a wiring demonstration by Juan
Cruz working on a Sequoia sempervirens donated by James Frank . It is likely that wire
influences the development of bonsai more
than anything else. Everything we can learn
about wiring advances our skill. Don’t miss this
opportunity to gain new insight into wiring
technique and to participate in the raffle for a
professionally wired redwood.
The Golden State Bonsai Federation convention
in Sacramento will be Thursday Oct 30 through
Sunday Nov 2. This annual convention alternates between a Southern California location
and a Northern California location. This year it
is close to us, so it is an opportunity not to be
missed. Seminars and workshops are available
on a wide array of bonsai subjects. And the
vendor area is not to be missed.
Robert Smith
FOG CITY BONSAI
Oct 2014 BSSF Member Meeting
Juan Cruz
October 2014
Black Pine Creation
Eric Schrader
On October 9th, we are pleased to have Juan
Cruz join our monthly member meeting. Juan
will conduct a demonstration of basic and advanced wiring techniques. Juan will be working on a beautiful Redwood, and the tree will
be the main prize for the night’s raffle. Juan is
on the roster of workshops at the GSBF convention, but we get him first.
Juan started his bonsai journey with a beginner’s class at the American Bonsai Association
in Sacramento around 1995. He moved to the
Bay Area in 1996 where he joined the Midori
Bonsai Club. Interest turned to addition when
he took his first bonsai workshop with Cathy
Shaner. 2010-2012 he held an apprenticeship
at Mansei-En bonsai nursery in Bonsai-Cho,
Omiya, Japan. He is currently on the Board of
the Golden State Bonsai Federation, and is the
District Trustee for the region that includes
BSSF. Over the years, Juan has taken many
workshops and classes with a multitude of
teachers. Although he has learned many techniques through the years, it was not until he
studied in Japan that he really learned the spirit of bonsai. Juan hopes to teach not only the
techniques, but also the spirit of bonsai.
Catherine Wolf
It’s a common thread on bonsai forums that
someone gets some young pines or seeds and
wants to start from scratch to grow some
trees. How many of these attempts actually
produce good bonsai is an interesting question.
When that question was posed a few years ago
on BonsaiNut I posted some progress photos
of some of my six year old (at that time) trees
with notes about how I had done this.
But, I neglected to take any photos of some of
the key parts of the process. Overall, it’s relatively simple, and involves a lot of watering,
fertilizing and waiting. Then, key time periods
come where the work needs to happen at a
critical interval. Simultaneously being patient
and being on top of the key creative tasks is
perhaps the hardest part of the endeavor.
In this example we’re going to make a slant
style tree that is roughly 20 inches tall. The
treatment of the two-year old seedling will
largely determine what style the tree ultimately
takes.
A black pine started from seed in the spring
will reach somewhere between one and four
inches in height in the first year. The seedling
cutting technique which is so frequently discussed, slows the tree down only slightly. At
the end of the first year there is normally a
nice bud at the top of the tree, already showing the characteristic white fuzzy covering. At
the base of the seedling there may be a few
small side shoots, nothing more than a couple
immature needles at this point. The tree may
have a few pairs of normal needles or none at
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FOG CITY BONSAI
October 2014
Creation Continued...
all.
Japanese black pine seedlings. Left: 6-m onth old
seedlings are 2-4 inches tall, Middle: 18-m onth old
seedling is approxim ately 12 inches high, Right: 18m onth old seedling that was decandled in June of
the second year (m am e anyone?)
can result in reverse taper at the node. Remove all but one of the side buds starting in
August or September using either your fingers
to twist them off or scissors to cut them. Repeat this process each fall for nodes that you
want to keep as part of the trunk.
Twist off the side buds at the whorl in early fall to
prevent reverse taper at the node.
If the seedling cutting technique was used then
the side buds at the base are likely less than
an inch from the first fork in the roots, the spot
where the tap root was cut. Despite expectations to the contrary, the seedling cuttings
seem to typically put out only 1-4 roots from
the cutting site. This may be thought of as a
problem, but really it’s not that important as
the branching of the root structure will develop
further along with the rest of the tree.
In spring of the following year, when the tree
is a little over a full year old, the bud will begin
to elongate and the tree will quickly attain 1014 inches in height. The majority of the growing season then is spent growing the needles
and setting the strong whorl of buds at the top
of the young tree. The tree will build strength
through the fall and winter making the buds
larger and the following spring’s elongation
more vigorous.
Buds rem oved. The large bud is the next year’s
trunk extension, the sm aller bud will be the branch.
Selecting which bud rem ains can be done based on
the direction that you want a branch to go. Twisting
the young trunk can reposition the bud to the desired side later.
The buds that set during the second summer
are the first true whorl on the tree. If all the
buds are left on and the tree is very vigorous it
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FOG CITY BONSAI
October 2014
Creation Continued...
There is some discrepancy between accounts
on the first couple years of a black pine’s life.
The BT#20 article claims that in March of the
second year, when the tree is only a bit over a
year old, that you can wire and shape them.
In the photos and drawings in the article the
13-month old trees look similar to what 20month old trees grown in my yard. In my experience, and that of other California growers,
it is the end of the second growing season
that is usually the first opportunity to wire the
tree, which is the 20 month mark.
In the winter after the second growing season
take the two year old tree and remove it from
the small growing container to comb out the
roots and trim them. This process will increase
the number of roots near the trunk. Cut the
roots back to a small circle of radial feeder
roots, about 2-3 inches across. Wrap a wire
around the trunk leaving a tail sticking down
through the roots. Use the wire to bend the
base of the trunk as close to the roots as possible. The space between the roots and the
bend should be less than 1 inch so coil the
wire closely enough to be able to bend the
trunk easily. Add some small gentle movement
in the trunk, letting it generally head in one
direction; in our example the trunk is bent to
the right.
Figure 1. Representations of first, second and third
year Japanese Black Pines. The scale bar at left
shows roughly a twelve-inch height, which is what a
healthy seedling typically achieves by m id-summ er
of the second growing season.
In figure 1, we see the comparison of 1-, 2-,
and 3-year old black pines. The 2 year old
shown in Fig 1-2 is wired and bent to make
Figure 1-2a. Pot the wired and bent tree
into a larger container, preferably a colander
or pond basket that will air-prune the roots.
As detailed in the BT#20 article, heavy fertilization, watering and good sun are required
for good growth. By early summer of the
third year the tree will have a trunk extension that is another 10-15 inches in height.
The smaller branches that are lower down
will elongate as well but to a lesser degree.
In June; or around the time you decandle
Black pines in your climate; remove the top
10-15% of the new growth. We want to
remove the whorl and node and force the
tree to create needle buds below it as
shown in Figure 1-3. Wire the third year
growth to add movement. On very strong
trees the needle buds will form new extensions while on weaker trees buds will set
but no new extensions will form after the
terminal bud is cut.
If the tree has been left well into the third
year of growth without wiring the trunk it
may be more difficult to style the tree. The
trunk on a vigorously growing three year old
will have enough wood in it to resist easily
adding smaller movement. Use larger wire
and try to make multiple bends to make the
trunk more interesting. Some movement is
better than none.
Figure 2. The fourth year of growth. In the
spring all the new growth will elongate.
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FOG CITY BONSAI
October 2014
Creation Continued…
The buds and short growth form ed after cutting
back in the third year will cause m ore diffused
growth. Decandle m uch of the new growth, leaving
one branch as a sacrifice branch to continue growing, m arked above with an A and arrow. End of
year 4 shown on the right: After decandling, the
summ er growth on the branches will be shorter
while the sacrifice branch will set a strong bud for
the following spring. You can decandle the lower
branches or not depending on how vigorously they
are growing.
The fourth year in this example is spent both
starting the sacrifice branch again and controlling the growth of the other branches. Determine the cut point of the sacrifice branch
with some certainty. The cut should be to the
side or back and the cut should be positioned
so that it can be made vertically or at a steep
angle, but not horizontally. Depending on
growing conditions the 4th year growth may
be very vigorous or more slow after removal
of the terminal bud in the third year. If it is
very vigorous and even throughout the tree,
then decandle most of the branches, leaving
only one that you plan to use for the sacrifice
branch. If the growth is weak, or one branch
is already naturally taking the lead, then skip
decandling in favor of creating longer branches.
Keep in mind at all times that what this process is primarily creating is a trunk and the
placement of the key primary branching. The
considerations that are present during the
refinement stage are not of primary concern
during the growing stage. During the growing
stage make decisions that will maximize the
wood growth in the trunk while keeping the
branching small but healthy and viable for
use later, after the sacrifice is removed. The
standard pine care cycle is only a reference
during the growing stage. The techniques can
be used similar to an established tree; but
they should not all be used as this would prevent the tree from increasing in girth.
Figure 3. Year 5 and beyond. Once the sacrifice
branch is established, control the growth of the
other branching to keep it sm all while allowing the
sacrifice to grow as strongly as possible.
During the 5th year the sacrifice branch
should again be allowed to grow unchecked.
The other branching can be pruned back as
needed to control vigor or be allowed to grow
to create the primary branching and apex.
Pruning and decandling will give different results and should be used to best advantage.
While decandling will reliably set 2-5 new
buds at the site, summer pruning behind the
node can lead to more compact growth where
needed.
In the second and third year, the lower and
middle trunk sections were wired to create the
height and establish the sacrifice branch in
this hypothetical composition. At the end of
the 5th year it’s a good time to revisit the design and wire any branching that will be kept.
Remove any branches that are not needed for
the design. Wire the remaining branches to
move the strong growing tips to a horizontal
position. Remove only the needles that are on
the resulting bottom of the branch, leaving
needles on the top and sides of the branches.
When the branches are later decandled, or
even sometimes spontaneously, new buds will
form from between some of the remaining
needle pairs.
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FOG CITY BONSAI
October 2014
Creation Continued…
A black pine branch in late sum m er. The decandling
site at right is producing three strong buds. But,
equally im portantly, the needle left on the top of the
branch from two years ago at left is also producing
a bud. This type of bud is frequently m ore useful
than the buds that result just from the decandling
sites.
When the time comes to finally remove the
sacrifice branch, which may be as soon as
years 8-10 for medium size trees, cut back in
stages to allow the tree to adjust to the changes. Removing the sacrifice all at once can
cause the remaining branching to become too
vigorous, or excessive sap flow can cause the
needles to be long, weak and yellowy. Remove
about 50 percent of the sacrifice at the first
pruning. Then during the following summer
decandle the sacrifice branch tips along with
the other branches and remove another portion. Depending on the size of the sacrifice,
take 2-3 years to completely remove it.
Needle reduction is a refinement technique
that should be used sparingly during the growing phase. Thin needles where needed to increase light penetration, but err on the side of
too many needles since the young tree will
have fewer branches than an older tree.
After the fifth year continue growing the sacrifice branch out. The side shoots of the sacrifice
branch can be removed to avoid shading the
lower branches where needed. Decandling of
the lower branches should be performed only
sparingly. Pruning back the lower branches
during winter to a side bud will weaken the
branches less relative to the sacrifice branch
than decandling during the summer.
Where the sacrifice branch is too vigorous and
the horomone from it is causing the lower
branches to get weak, remove the central leader and 1-2 years worth of the top of the
branch. Leave a strong side leader in place to
take over as the new sacrifice if additional
trunk girth is still desired.
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FOG CITY BONSAI
October 2014
BSSF Meetings and
Workshops
October 9, 2014– Monthly Meeting.
Juan Cruz will demonstrate basic and advance
wiring techniques on a Redwood. Meeting
starts at 7:30pm.
October 16, 2014 - Third Thursday
Members Free Workshop. Stop by the Free
Third Thursday Workshop. It begins at 7PM
and is always an opportunity to learn something new for your trees. Bring a couple trees
by the San Francisco County Fair Building and
get free advice from advanced members of the
club.
November 9, 2014 Workshop
November is an important month to work on
your Black Pines. Eric Schrader will lead a four hour workshop in Black Pine techniques. Email [email protected] to register for
the workshop. 12PM to 4PM in the Garden
Room at the SF County Fair building. Limit of 8
participants, $25 cost to participants. Eric will
have 6 trees available for sale to workshop participants, price varies by specimen. Check the
website for additional details or contact Eric directly - 415-823-7984
November 20, 2014 - Third Thursday
Members Free Workshop. Stop by the Free
Third Thursday Workshop. It begins at 7PM
and is always an opportunity to learn something new for your trees. Bring a couple trees
by the San Francisco County Fair Building and
get free advice from advanced members of the
club.
Another Spring Show Photograph
November 13, 2014– Matt Reel Demonstration. Matt Reel, who recently returned to
the United States from an eight-year apprenticeship in Japan, will give club members a
taste of what he learned. 7:30PM in the Garden Room at the SF County Fair building
November 15, 2014– Matt Reel Workshop. Matt Reel will lead a full-day workshop
to assist members with development of their
own material. This workshop is limited to six
participants. The cost per participant is
$90.00. Please email catherine.wolf(at sign)
wolfwerk.com or call 415-299-7061 to register.
9AM to 4PM in the SF County Fair Building.
The room is to be announced.
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FOG CITY BONSAI
October 2014
Northern California Bonsai Events
October 4, 2014, San Jose, California
Midori Bonsai Club: 53rd annual show at the
Northside Community Center, 488 6th St.
Hours are 10 AM – 5 PM with demonstration at
1 PM by Juan Cruz (tree will be raffled off).
Beginner’s workshop from 10 AM – 1 PM. Advice from Dr. Bonsai for trees brought in. Large
plant sale by club members along with many
vendors with bonsai supplies and trees. Free
admission and parking. For more information
contact John Thompson at [email protected]
Hours: Noon – 6 PM Saturday & 10 AM – 5 PM
Sunday. Demonstration each day at 2 PM featuring Johnny Uchida working with advanced
Black Pine material to create bonsai. Don’t miss
this special event. Benefit raffle drawing each
day after the demo; raffle includes the demo
tree. Large vendor and plant sales area; free
admission and parking. Doctor Bonsai support
will be available. For more information call Tony Hayworth at 510-289-5731
or [email protected] or visit our club
website www.yamatobonsai.org.
October 11 – 12, 2014, Oakland, California East Bay Bonsai Society: 53nd Annual 2014
Fall Show at the Garden Center at Lake Merritt
Park, 666 Bellevue Ave, Oakland, California.
Hours: Saturday 10 AM – 5 PM and Sunday 11
AM – 4 PM. Matt Reel, a bonsai professional,
will be conducting a demonstration on Sunday
afternoon. Trees, pots, and accessories for
sale. All events free to general public.
All day parking is $5.00 on Bellevue Avenue.
October 30 – November 2, 2014 Sacramento, California GSBF-37: Golden State
Bonsai Federation and American Bonsai Society
presents 2014 Convention XXXVII Bonsai
Visions of the West at the Double Tree Hotel, 2001 Point West Way. Reservations for
hotel 916-929-8855. Headliners include Peter
Tea, Kathy Shaner and David De Groot, ABS
Learning Seminars with Ted Matson and Jack
Sustic, Joshua Roth New Talent Bonsai Competition, and Special Tribute to John Naka – 100
years (b. August 16, 1914). Demonstrations,
seminars, critiques, workshops, excursions,
benefit drawings, vendors, and much more.
More information available
at www.gsbfconvention.org.
The Golden State Federation Northern Bonsai
Collection is next door to the show, be sure to
take time to visit.
October 12, 2014, Salinas, California
The Salinas Bonsai Club is presenting an Exhibit of Bonsai from 10am to 4pm at the Salinas
Buddhist Temple located at 14 California Street
in Salinas. Admission is free. Stop by for the
free Bonsai Clinic from 10-1 and watch a
demonstration by renowned bonsai artist,
Katsumi Kinoshita at 1:30. Tea and cookies will
be served and a raffle will be held. If you bring
your tired or overgrown bonsai with you, event
organizers will help you restore it.
October 18 – 19, 2014, Union City, California Yamato Bonsai Kai: 43rd Annual Bonsai
Exhibition at Southern Alameda County Buddhist Church, 32975 Alvarado-Niles Road.
Fog City Bonsai Newsletter
Deadline
The deadline for the Fog City Bonsai
Newsletter is the 3rd Saturday of the month.
You can submit articles, photos to: [email protected].
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FOG CITY BONSAI
October 2014
BSSF Announcements
2014 Board Members and Officers
President:
Robert Smith
650-438-3534
[email protected]
Vice President:
Treasurer:
Secretary:
Webmaster:
Newsletter Editor:
Librarian:
James Frank
Marge Casey
Diana Lum
Eric Shrader
Scott Piatanesi
Bernard Marque
Board Members at Large:
Tim Kong, Gerard Lespinette, Dan
Casey, Eric Schrader, Catherine Wolf,
Cheryle Kawamoto, Harlan Kawamoto.
Past President: John Edwards.
BSSF General meetings are on the 2nd
Thursday of the month at 7:30PM.
The members’ workshop is the following
Thursday (3rd Thursday of the month)
at 7:00PM. BSSF Board Meetings are
held on the 4th Monday at 7:00PM.
All of the meetings occur at the
San Francisco County Fair Building, on
Lincoln Way, between Ninth Ave and
Tenth Ave. Enter through the parking lot
at Tenth Ave and Lincoln and walk along
sidewalk behind the building to the doorway to the garden club meeting room.
Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt The GSBF
collection in Oakland needs volunteers to be
docents on every 3rd Saturday afternoon
in each month. It is a fun and educational
opportunity for all bonsai hobbyists. No matter your skill level, you can help care for
these wonderful trees and educate the public
about the art of bonsai. Please sign up at a
meeting, check the docent calendar at
http://www.gsbf- bonsai.org/lake-merritt/
NewDocent.htm or call Kay Hardy at (952)
933-9543.
Membership Dues 2014 membership fees
are $30 for individuals, $50 for families and
$20 for seniors.
Bonsai Sales at Monthly Meetings Please
remember that any time during the year you
wish to sell bonsai trees, the BSSF welcomes
you to bring the trees to our monthly meetings or workshops. The club will receive 20%
of the purchase price.
BSSF Bonsai Library The BSSF has on
hand a large assortment of books, magazines, and other literature about our favorite
hobby. To access the library, arrive early at
either the monthly meeting or the monthly
workshop and speak to Bernard Marque.
Checking out materials requires a $5 deposit
per item.
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