THIS MONTH’S MEETING: Creating a grove using trident maples will be held on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1998 at 7:00pm at the Pittsburgh Civic Garden Center, 1059 Shady Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232. The March meeting will include the following activities:
The materials for the grove planting will be available at the meeting for those wishing to purchase them. The trees will be $2.50 each and will initially be limited to five per person. Pots will sell from $6.00 to $22.00. You may also bring your own pot. The club will supply trees and pots for twenty participants and will be available on a first come, first serve basis. For those who would like to work on a grove but not purchase one, ten club stations will be available. The groves produced at the work stations will be for sale at meeting’s end at cost. If any plants are left over, they will be available for sale as will. Workshop participants should bring their own tools.
| FUTURE PROGRAMS: | April 15: | Styling and wiring techniques |
| May 20: | Working with the club’s larger trees |
A SPECIAL THANK YOU! Thanks do not begin to express the appreciation for the gift of bonsai pots from the collection of the late Anna Snyder, a long-time devoted member of the Pittsburgh Bonsai Society. Thanks to the generosity of Anna’s husband, Carl also a P.B.S. member. The club was able to make available great numbers of really fine as well as old bonsai pots to newer P.B.S. members.
Anna was one of the original members of P.B.S. and contributed substantially over the years. She attended all the national and international conventions and was known throughout bonsai art as a committed bonsai enthusiast. Everyone in P.B.S. thanks the Snyders for this generous donation.
SEASONAL CARE: Sips and Tidbits from Keith
So often growers get all twitterpated with spring’s arrival and get ready to lash every errant bonsai in sight. Hold on Hoppy; your work will be lessened and your aggravation reduced if you look at the potting season as a time when not all bonsai are ready to pot at the same week or weekend.
Years ago one of the bonsai aesthetes or horticultural athletes in Cleveland took such rhapsodist delight in lording over the other club members by coming to the meeting proclaiming she had girded up her artistic loins and rewired, root pruned, and repotted every one of her trees in one weekend - and it was only March 1. Later in the spring her plants showed shock and perhaps dismay at being so rudely used.
While I admired how she set about her work so pointedly, I wondered if she knew that not all her trees were ready to be assaulted the same day.
So here is my message: Learn each tree. Check to see when the buds are swelling and if possible see if the tree has new root growth.
Generally, start with deciduous trees first, then, move on to broad leafed subjects, and finally, into May and even early June, work on the conifers. Flowering plants can be worked on after blossoming. I’ll write more about flowering trees at a later time. They produce a few problems of style vs. blossoms that require more detail.
As a final blurb, after repotting, keep the trees open to rain but out of the wind and direct sun for two or three weeks. Keeping them on the ground helps reduce shock as well.
A FEW NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT:
If you have not returned your questionnaire PLEASE do. We want and need your input.
Remember 1998 dues are being accepted . The bylaws require they be paid by March 31. Per the bylaws, we will give final notice in the April newsletter. We're going to have many varied and educational programs this year; I hope you'll join us.
The club will be offering a door prize at each meeting beginning in March.
Please remember a sale/ swap will area be provided at every meeting. Anyone wanting to sell or trade excess supplies or plants should bring them to the meeting.
We are actively working to organize a trip to the National Arboretum as well as a tour to some of our members’ collections. Details will be forthcoming.
The annual picnic, August 2, 1998, will be at White Oak Park. Details and directions will be made available as the date approaches.
Members may be asked to act as a mentor for a new member. We are hoping to increase member retention by having more experienced members work with new members to help them get to know others in the club and encourage their participation in club activities, in addition to answering any questions they may have about bonsai. I hope everyone will participate in this effort to make the P.B.S. a more enjoyable experience for newcomers.
The Swissvale classes have resumed. Keith Scott has agreed to continue conducting classes every Tuesday night at the Swissvale Senior Citizens Center in the library basement, corner of McClure and Monongahela Avenues. This is a great way to learn bonsai; try to attend.
Pot Selection (to be continued at the meeting) by Fred Bruckman
Here is a brief overview of how I choose a pot. I hope this is helpful to some, but remember that pot selection is subjective. In the final analysis what matters is what pleases you.
The first consideration when choosing a pot is the health of the tree. A fine, ascetically perfect pot is a poor choice if it kills the tree. The pot must be large enough to accommodate sufficient root mass to insure the health of the tree. Trees with fine fibrous root systems tolerate root loss better than those with heavy root systems. The latter often need to be over potted to give them time to develop better roots. Also, consider watering, very shallow pots may require more attention than you are able to provide.
The main line of the tree and secondary repeating themes are my primary considerations when attempting to find the proper pot shape. Occasionally there is another "line" in the tree that can be complimented by the pot, but in most cases I'm trying to continue the theme that has been created in the trunk and the branches. I believe that the theme I'm referring to exists in all forms of art. In a symphony, for instance, there is an overall theme (the line of the trunk) and many repetitions of variations of this main theme (repetition of the line in the branches). A bonsai is like a symphony and the pot should compliment the theme of the tree without over powering it.
Another consideration is the proportion of the pot to the mass of the tree. In particular the mass of the pot should be proportional to the buttress of the tree. The mass of the tree as a whole should be considered as well. Finally, pot choice may be affected by color. The color of the pot should be neutral or compliment the color of the tree. I will show examples of these considerations and some less common ones in a brief slide presentation at the March meeting. I hope to see you there
DUES ARE DUE...1998 DUES ARE BEING ACCEPTED
Annual dues for the PBS are $18.00 (single), $32.00 (family), payable before April 1, l998. Please make checks payable to "Pittsburgh Bonsai Society" and send with the following form to:
Evelyn Christie
or bring check and application form to the next meeting.
| Species: | Common name: | Japanese False Cypress |
| Botanical name: | Chamaecyparis obtusa | |
| Japanese name: | Hinoki |
Varieties used as bonsai: The nana forms: gracillus; mimima; minuta; any termed "nana true"
Advantages: rough bark, contorted surface roots, fine, fan-shaped needles; slow growing, grows well in a container; contorted branches and trunk; deep green foliage.
Disadvantages: Subject to spider mites; hard to find good subject in common cultivation; oftentimes ‘nana’ is grafted and possesses a grafting knob thus eliminating it a bonsai; some varieties too slow growing; difficult to root as a cutting, hence the common practice of grafting.
Suitability as Bonsai (1 is least suitable 10 is most suitable): 5
Growing Location: Obtusa grows is full sun if grown in the ground but in a shallow container it will perform better in filtered sun such as under a larger pine.
Watering: Obtusa will survive a bit on the dry side in the ground but in a pot, the soil surface should be kept damp to the touch.
Propagation: By cutting or more commonly by grafting. [see note above in "disadvantages"]
Fertilizing: Balanced fertilizer, dry or soluble, spring through mid autumn. [Note: conifers generally will do well on less often treatment but it varies with species.]
Over-wintering: Keep out of direct winter sun and wind.
Styling: All informal styles except cascade.
| Species: | Common name: | Boulevard cypress |
| Botanical name: | Chamaecyparis plumose ‘cyano veridis’ | |
| Japanese name: | Sawara |
Advantages: Easy to propagate from cuttings; good summer color; reacts well to both root and top pruning; hardy if kept out of wind, road salt, bicycles, dogs (male); reacts well to severe pinching during active growth; grows well in a pot if the specimen is given enough room for roots to spread; can be root pruned severely in spring with good after care; produces bluish color if grown in filtered sun.
Disadvantages: Must be cleaned at least once a year; tends to get scruffy if not trimmed; insects love it; red spider as well as fungi.
Suitability as Bonsai: 6 on a scale of 1 to 10
Growing location: Full sun in the ground, filtered sun in a pot.
Watering: Because the Boulevard has such an extensive root system, it should be watered thoroughly each day it isn’t drenched by rain.
Propagating: Hardwood cuttings taken in late summer or under mist in a greenhouse in mid-winter.
Fertilizing: Use a balanced fertilizer every week or two during the growing season.
Over-wintering: While the Boulevard is hardy it is subject to wind burn when the temperature drops below zero F. coupled with steady wind. Keep the Boulevard bonsai where it will get rain or snow in winter but out of sun and wind.
Styling: Boulevard performs well in nearly all forms except cascade but this is not impossible, just difficult and time consuming along with substantial labor.