1999 Dues
Membership dues for 1999 are being accepted. Members wishing to send their dies by mail should mail a check to Pittsburgh Bonsai Society, 1419 La Clair Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15218. Unless dues have been received by May 5, this will be the final newsletter you will receive.
A Word from the President
What happened to the month of March? Already April showers are upon us and the trees are bursting with the vigor of spring. I hope you'll all take advantage of the opportunity to socialize and learn offered by the April meeting. Bring a tree or two and share conversation and ideas with other members. This is a great chance for newer members to learn from those with a bit more experience and for the more experienced to learn from each other.
We have some new (revived) activities at all future monthly meetings
that you won't want to miss.
Don't forget to renew your membership by May 5th so you can continue getting the newsletter!
I look forward to seeing all of you at the meeting.
When to repot? NOW! Watch the deciduous trees for buds that show color then trim back the tree as you deem necessary and if you wish to reduce roots, do it now. Remember to cut larger roots and springy roots that prevent the tree from sitting evenly. I suggest also the roots showing white tips be spared.
Keep in mind an April wind can dry out bonsai very quickly. Do not assume they are damp enough.
A word or two about late frost and hardy plants: crabapple, honeysuckle, elms, the list goes on and on, will not be damaged by frost but blossoms will. Even so, new growth will develop in a few days or a week. Dragging plants in and out gets tiresome, tedious, and promotes stress, strain and crankiness. If the plant can't make it on its own, you aren't really going to save it.
Start fertilizing half strength, particularly flowing plants and early budders. Hold off on the conifers till mid May.
Now is the time to start thinking about putting a bonsai in our Spring Show
(June 5 & 6th). The checklist below outlines some of the steps to be
considered when preparing a tree for show. These steps are somewhat immutable
but far from definitive. Keep a few things in mind: if you feel your tree is
good enough to show, prepare the tree yourself; don't wait until you get to
the show and expect someone to do your work for you. Steps:
| Species: | Common name: | Dawn redwood |
| Botanical name: | Metasequoia glyptostroboides | |
| Japanese name: | Not available | |
| Yoshimura reference: | not listed |
Advantages: Ease of acquisition; fast grower; deciduous conifer; hardy; cuts back well; good buttress when relativity young; wires well; delightful foliage; excellent fall color; a good substitute for the California redwood.
Disadvantages: I can't think of many except people don't try it. It is a strident upright grower but could serve well in other forms.
Bonsai Potential: 9 on a scale of 1-10
Growing location: Treat as a bald cypress: full sun, thorough watering.
Watering: Grow in well drained soil but water thoroughly.
Propagation: Seed, cuttings: buying a sawn redwood would be best.
Fertilizing: Balanced May to October every week or two.
Over-wintering: Hardy as a stone; however, it cannot be allowed to dry out. Mulch heavily.
Styling: Formal, informal, groves, literati, carved styles.
NOTE: Long thought to be extinct, the dawn redwood was known only in fossil records until 1947 when a Chinese botanist found a grove alive in western China. He collected seeds and sent them to growers throughout the world. The city of Cleveland received 24 seeds in 1948 and all germinated. One of the originals is still growing in the Japanese garden in Rockefeller Park in Cleveland.
To show how the dawn redwood have been disseminated, one can see countless dawn redwoods lining the fields in every direction around Shanghai.
| Species: | Common name: | Bald cypress |
| Botanical name: | Taxodium distichum | |
| Japanese name: | Rakuusho | |
| Varieties: | Pondcypress; named cultivars: Illinois Sentinel and Illinois Chief - both hardy. | |
| Yoshimura reference: | # 233 |
Advantages: A long underrated or even ignored species, the American Bald Cypress possesses great potential as a bonsai. And, a word or two from past experience as to why the bald cypress has been so long overlooked: in my early years with bonsai, and even today in some circles, if the tree was not a Japanese native, it couldn't be a bonsai. I have seen bald cypress in Japan although their owners denied the trees' origins - U.S.A. Also long thought to be a southern, water tree, experience has shown neither is strictly true. Its foliage, like feathers, its magnificent buttress, its taper - all coupled with free budding, ease of accessibility and fast growth rate demand that every American bonsai artist grow at least one.
Disadvantages: To have a good bald cypress the tree requires a undulated trunk buttress which comes with age. A suggestion - find a twenty foot one in a nursery and stump it to two feet. Bald cypress will grow in this area but must be germinated from northern seed or rooted from a northern tree. A fine example grows on Negley Blvd. just south of the synagogue.
Bonsai Potential: 9 on a scale of 1-10.
Growing location: Full sun but as a bonsai or container plant, protect from hot afternoon summer sun.
Watering: Bald cypress will grow better near water than in it. Legend has it that for success as a bonsai, the pot must be kept in a water tray. I find it does better with being thoroughly watered along with insuring good drainage. In its native habitat the water surrounding the cypress is just that: surrounding. The roots are in heavy clay if necessary but prefer well-drained soil.
Propagation: Cuttings under mist; hardwood in winter or by seed.
Fertilizing: ½ strength, balanced.
Over-wintering: Keep well mulched, out of sun and wind.
Styling: Literati, groves, informal, formal NOTE: Cypress "knees" have long interested bonsai growers but since their function is controversial, I wouldn't expect them to form. In the wild they don't transplant well and rarely form in captivity.