Newsletter - November 1999
Calendar of Events
This Month's meeting –Wednesday November 17, at 7:00 p.m. at the Pittsburgh Civic Garden Center 5th and Shady Ave. Since eight P. B. S. members have just returned from a horticulture-ceramic-rock trip to China, the participants have stated a desire to share their photographs with the membership. At this juncture we don’t know just how we will circulate the pictures but to show them to those who are interested in seeing them we will find a way.
In addition, the trip participants will display stones and pots bought in their wanderings. Again, members will be amazed at the quality of the stones and pots. Further, there will be several door prizes.
A nominating committee has been formed to select a slate of officers for the next year. The selection will be presented at the November meeting at which time members wishing to nominate from the floor can do so.
Swissvale Classes: The Society sponsors Free clinic type classes at the Swissvale Senior Citizens Center Tuesday nights from 7 to 9. These classes are arranged by Anna Clark and conducted by Keith Scott. There is no better way to learn the art of bonsai. The center is located on the ground floor of the Swissvale Library at the corner of Monogahela & McClure Aves. These classes will end November 16.
Other Events
Our Grand Christmas Gala will be held at the Pittsburgh Civic Garden Center Wednesday, December 15th at 6:30. This year we are asking members to make reservations for dinner. In past years the club was responsible for the cost of extra dinners which is an expense we can no longer absorb. You are still asked to share your culinary delights in the form of desserts or appitizers. Please call Claudia at 412-793-8047 and join us for an extradinory holiday cuisine with a new and exciting cater. Please call by December 13th.
The bonsai year is winding down and so am I. The nice Indian summer weather will not continue and I can’t put off any longer applying the poly to protect my bonsais. Having been in China for two weeks took a chunk out of my procrastination time and now must face winter.
I must say that I like to take stock of the year and its successes and failures: how well did the trees grow and progress? Are they more mature appearing? did I really style as much as they should have? How much stock must be moved up a size pot or down a size pot? should I continue to move along that really tacky looking tree or put it in the ground? The questions are endless. If anyone can answer the question, "Why do I do bonsai?", please share it with us.
The recent trip to China produced and excitement I haven’t felt since that cold dawn in 1951 when I lay off Tokyo on a troop ship as the sun struck Mt. Fuji. The bay had not a ripple in it as we inched our way toward the dock.
This was the experience I had been waiting for since I was a boy. I had read Joseph Conrad’s Youth and wondered what my first sight of the Orient would be. My experience was different from Conrad’s but no less spiritual.
Such may be said for my recent experiences at Yellow Mountain or as it is shown on maps, "Huangshan". Few westerners go there because it is so inaccessible: an air flight, a long bus ride, a cable car ride and then a substantial hike to the hotel, perched on nearly vertical mountains. Even with my recent quadruple by-pass operation, I was able to climb even farther to the peaks the next day as the sun rose. Here were in reality the scenes I had long loved in the Chinese literati paintings my father introduced me to all those nightmare years ago.
When I had my operation in June, I didn’t really care one way or the other about its outcome. But, after reaching Yellow Mountain and seeing such unrivaled beauty, particularly with my daughter and bonsai friends, I found that the operation’s success allowed me to have a second, nearly religious experience, for which I am most humbly grateful.
| Species: | Common name: | Japanese red pine |
| Botanical name: | Pinus Densiflora ‘Umbraculifera’ | |
| Japanese name: | Aka Matsu or Tanyosho | |
| Yoshimura reference: | # 4 | |
| Dirr reference page(s): | 731,2 | |
| Chinese form: | Pinus Huangshanensis |
Varieties: Many suitable for landscape use but of little application to bonsai; however, ‘pendula’ and ‘heavy bud’ show some promise.
Editor’s Note: The red pine was covered in a previous care sheet, but after having seen so many mature specimens in China this fall, I though it would be well to mention the tree again and show pictures of this species at this month’s meeting. Those attending the meeting are in for a treat.
Advantages: Hardy; soft, lustrous, dark green foliage; exfoliating bark, orangish beneath; soft, smooth, supple curves; easily wired; pinches well; regenerates well.
Disadvantages: I haven’t found any other than it needs well-drained, slightly dry conditions and can show wind damage in winter; watch for red spider.
Bonsai Potential: On a scale of 1-10, perhaps an 8.
Growing location: Sun produces a more compact subject, but mixed sun is acceptable. Keep out of wind in winter; snow can break branches.
Watering: Keep a bit on the dry side; increase sand/drainage in soil mix.
Propagation: Seed.
Fertilizing: Balanced May to October.
Over-wintering: Hardy to zone 3, but must be grown in loose, gritty soil, well drained. Avoid strong N-W wind and wet heavy snow.
Styling: The usual informal styles but in addition, a multiple stemmed clump can be quite dramatic.
| Species: | Common name: | Lace bark pine |
| Botanical name: | Pinus Bungeana | |
| Japanese name: | No reference | |
| Yoshimura reference: | none | |
| Dirr reference page(s): | 730 | |
| Varieties: | ‘Compacta’ |
Advantages: Many! The most colorful bark; green, brown, whitish exfoliating bark when trunk diameter reaches 1 ½ " to 2"; light, airy, open foliage, upright or semi-curving trunk; easily bent when young, excellent for container growing; slow growing; a e needle pine; hardy.
Disadvantages: Needles 2-4’ long; insects and diseases typical of most pines; soil must be open and well drained; will not tolerate "wet feet"; now always easily found in nurseries.
Bonsai Potential: On a scale of 1-10, bungeana is a 7 but could be higher if more readily available
Growing location: Full sun. Avoid deep, heavy snow cover.
Watering: the same as with other pines; well-drained soil but with open gritty texture.
Propagation: Seed or in the case of the ‘compacta’, grafting.
Fertilizing: Balanced May to October.
Over-wintering: Hardy to zone 5 but branches may damage in heavy wet snow accumulates.
Styling: Informal, literate, formal are the most obvious but more arcane styles can be effected with inspiration and skill.