Pittsburgh Bonsai Society

April Newsletter

Pbsnl2005april

Page 1

…OOPS!

For many members, the March-April newsletter resembled mulch; it was tattered, torn and the missing the critical pages. (Maybe the USPS high-speed mailing machines were hungry??)

We’ve redesigned the newsletter to safeguard this and future issues. So here’s April with all of the good stuff enclosed. We’ve even pushed the absolute last-ditch dues deadline and mailing list purge back to April 15^th!

Thanks for your patience.

Jay Miller, Senior Editor

March Program Recap

The first "Hands On" workshop featured deciduous trees: five-year-old trident maples, grown from seed, Japanese privet and Chinese elms. At one dollar per tree, many members purchased enough trees for several grove plantings. Keith Scott’s blackboard listed simple rules for root pruning, buttress enhancement and basic styling for future development. Keith showed examples of what the trees would look like in 3-5 years.

He also brought samples of the actual plant stock we’ll be working with at the Tuesday, April 19^th Juniper workshop and the Thursday, May 19^th "Azalea I" workshop. These are really impressive trees. Mark your calendar and don’t forget your tools!

Jay Miller

Speed Up…

It’s Mid-Spring on the bonsai calendar. Buds are bursting and roots are growing rapidly. So much to do, so little time! Repot your remaining deciduous trees right now. Prune dead branches and twigs. Continue repotting and start rewiring junipers and spruces. Begin pine wiring at the end of April.