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WIRRABARA May 2013
Canberra Bonsai Society Incorporated PO Box 800, Woden, ACT 2606 ABN 19 826 976 490 ISSN 1035-‐3291 www.cbs.org.au The Canberra Bonsai Society meets on the FIRST Saturday of each month (except in October & January) Meeting time 9.00am to 1.00pm Location: Hughes Community Centre, Wisdom Street, Hughes.
CBS Communications Editor’s message President’s Report Articles Trees in round pots May meeting Seasonal notes for May and June Q&A Zeolite order Avoiding queues AABC Convention Care calendars Musings from the NBPCA 1 CBS Badges ‘Bring a Tree’ raffle Musings from the NBPCA 2 Yuusuke workshop 17th April Items for sale through the club Executive Committee Event Calendar 2013
Editor’s Message The main game at the moment for our club is the AABC Convention The Australian Journey. Hopefully, all members who wanted the experience of attending a bonsai convention and meeting other bonsai enthusiasts have registered. By the time you are reading this, registrations will probably have closed. Registrations close(d) on 30th of April.
I have an acknowledgment to make: I spoke to Pat from Wollongong about this and that during last month’s meeting. If you were at the meeting you will remember that she brought in the maple for Show and Tell. That she comes from Wollongong to Canberra each month is commendable enough, but my acknowledgment is for her husband. He comes too, and spends his time doing other things while Pat comes to the CBS meeting. Now that is dedication. Well done to both of you.
Also, for new members: please make yourself known to any of the executive and we will do our very best to help you get oriented. We are preparing some material to explain the working of the club. This will be placed on the website shortly. A future Wirrabara will let you know more.
The more observant among readers of this month’s Wirrabara will notice a change to the format. Columns. I did an informal survey of members during the April meeting and there was an overwhelming preference expressed for presenting the newsletter in 2 columns. The vote was 35 to 1. If you were not asked, and you have a view, I am very happy to hear from you.
Phil R
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President’s report Thanks to everyone who picked up their soil from Lorraine’s on 20 April. The plan worked well and most people collected their soil mix before 11am. This approach has saved a small number of people a lot of work and I am grateful to Lorraine and Rem for letting us use their nature strip for this. As we repeat the procedure for zeolite and diatomite, it is important that we continue to collect promptly and not leave Lorraine and Rem with the problem of uncollected bags. Zeolite orders can now be placed on the website or at the May meeting.
We have been very fortunate to have Yuusuke Uchida in Canberra for 10 days or so. He has left a great legacy in that time from club workshops, private workshops with individuals and work he has done on trees at the NBPCA. Grant has posted pictures on AusBonsai of the Japanese black pine Yuusuke has worked on there; I have known this tree for about 5 years now and I am amazed at the transformation. During his 5-‐year apprenticeship Yuusuke worked extensively on pines and it is wonderful for pine aficionados to be able to take advantages of Yuusuke’s specialist knowledge based on his 5-‐year apprenticeship. I am sure we will be seeing him in Australia again in future years.
Illawarra Bonsai Society’s Tops weekend this year is 6-‐8 September. Guest demonstrators are Robert Steven from Indonesia and Joe Morgan-‐Payler from Melbourne. This is always a great bonsai event with a diversity of activities including workshops and demonstrations. It is held at The Tops Conference Centre at Stanwell Tops NSW and onsite, shared accommodation is very good value. There is early advice about the weekend on AusBonsai. Joe is an AABC demonstrator and his bio is on the AABC website http://www.aabcltd.org/joe-‐morgan-‐payler/. There is also a link to Joe’s blog in his bio.
We re-‐opened the tool order by popular request. With no retail bonsai nursery in Canberra now, being able to buy tools online has been very popular. There has also been a huge response to the plastic turntables: we have ordered nearly 300 this year and sold most of them already. If you have been wanting more bottle-‐top waterers, we now have 100 in stock and they will be on sale for $1 each at the May meeting. Andrew Ward, the distributor, has also sent 5 complimentary water-‐
soakers for us to try. They sound ideal for pots able to absorb water at a faster rate.
Our Show and Tell theme this month is conifers and we are fortunate to have four speakers to share their expertise in a particular genus. The focus is on grooming each type of tree, or what work you would do at this time of year. Workshops with Yuusuke have really focused on how to clean out trees before starting to work on them and this approach also applies to grooming trees for display.
And now for the elephant in the room. How could I write so much without mentioning what’s on everybody’s mind: The Australian Journey? We are very pleased with the number of registrations (even me, although I now owe Joe a bottle of red wine) and I am absolutely delighted with the effort the committee have put in to making this convention the best we can. Thanks also to everyone who has volunteered to help over the weekend or beforehand. You are also important to the smooth running of the convention and public exhibition.
I hope all volunteers can come for a brief training session starting at 11am. Wayne is preparing a brief information package for each person; none of the volunteer tasks are complicated but it will help on the day if you already know where you will be located, who your coordinator is and what your role involves.
The May meeting is our last meeting BC. See you there.
Ruth
A special offer from Ray Nesci Ray Nesci has a basic tool kit on special for $115. It contains the 4 most used bonsai tools, all in their own tool roll (trimming scissor, spatula/rake, root pruner, branch cutter). There is more information on Ray’s website: http://www.raynescibonsai.com/specials.html
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Trees in round pots Probably the biggest take-‐out from last month’s Show and Tell on the theme of trees in round pots is that round pots work very well with the literati style.
Literati doesn’t sound like a bonsai term; probably because it has its roots in Latin, not Japanese: the word literature comes from the same Latin root, but in bonsai it also denotes scholarship, philosophy and freedom. The literati style comes from the Japanese bonsai term Bunjin. Bunjin means literary man, man of letters or literati. Bunjin-‐bonsai has its origins in Chinese landscape paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries that developed in reaction to the stiff formalities of the time. The painters were not professional artists. They were scholars in search of freedom. They broke the rules.
And John Naka (Bonsai techniques I, p 247) says ‘the Bunjin style is so free that it seems to violate all the principles of bonsai form. The indefinite style has no specific form and it is difficult to describe …’. But according to the AUSbonsai website, some characteristics of the literati style are:
• A long, thin trunk, that expresses the long, austere life of the scholar.
• Movement in the trunk suggesting the twisting path of experience and knowledge.
• Meager foliage, suggesting a life without ornamentation and superfluence.
• Branching often begins in the upper third of the tree, suggesting an aescetic quality of life, reduced to its essentials. Often including hanging branches in its design.
• An unassuming bonsai container, usually an unglazed, shallow bowl with little ornamentation, often with a handmade, rustic appearance and flaws in its finish.
I have also heard that literati conjures up the image of the last tree standing in a forest that has been cleared or destroyed. Which is a nice image.
Someone else once told me that literati is the style you fall back on as a last resort when every other styling attempt has failed. But that is a bit harsh!
Styles other than literati can look great in a round pot too. And, as mentioned during Show and Tell, if you can’t decide where the front of the tree is, you could think about putting it in a round pot.
May meeting -‐ 4th May The meeting theme this month is conifers. There will not be a beginner’s table this month because the meeting will finish a little early – at 11.00 am so that volunteers for the AABC Convention The Australian Journey can get some very important orientation (more on this below).
There will be a general workshop, however, with four knowledgeable people talking about a particular genus: junipers; chamaecyparis; pines; and cedars. Looking forward to that!
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Seasonal notes for May and June The convention weekend is our normal newsletter cut-‐off date and no-‐one involved is going to feel like writing seasonal notes for June, so this month you get two for the price of one.
May is the time to prepare for winter. Deciduous trees will be dormant now and evergreens will have slowed down to ‘maintenance mode’. Clean up all dead leaves from around your trees as they encourage moulds and pests. After leaf fall, deciduous trees can be sprayed with lime sulfur, a fungicide and pesticide. Mix 50ml lime sulfur with enough water to make up 1 litre. Lime sulfur is quite alkaline so I always cover the soil to prevent any soaking in. It’s smelly, too, so wear a good mask. This link (http://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basics%20Bonsai%20MythsLimeSulphur.htm) has more information about the use of lime sulfur in bonsai, both as a winter wash and to treat jins and sharis.
Slow release fertilisers will continue to work over winter, adjusting their output according to the temperature. This may be enough for your evergreens but an occasional dose of liquid fertiliser may be beneficial.
Try to get as much light for your plants as possible over the cooler months, for example by removing any shade cloth or moving your evergreen plants to a sunnier spot. This needs to be balanced with the risk of frost damage so consider your trees’ frost tolerance, too. Turning evergreen trees to give even light exposure may be even more important in winter when the sun is at a lower
angle. Frost sensitive trees should be in winter quarters now.
Winter is a good time to study deciduous trees and sort out any design issues. Photographing your tree from different aspects helps show up strengths and weaknesses in design. Peter Adams recommends marking branches you want to remove during the winter and removing them in summer when the tree is growing actively. Marks made on photos will not wash or flake off. Winter is good time to apply wire to deciduous trees: visibility and access are better but be careful of any buds that have developed already. Branches can also be pretty brittle in our cold winters so take care if bending.
Evergreens can be wired and shaped over winter but also watch for brittleness in their branches. Consider using cold winter nights to practice sketching how you want your tree to look in 2-‐5 years’ time and how you are going to get there.
Your trees need less water over winter so adjust your watering according to their needs. The rule-‐of-‐thumb at NBPCA for deciding whether or not to water in the cooler weather is, after checking each tree in turn, ‘if in doubt, don’t’.
Cooler weather is also a good time for reading, either some of our excellent library or your own Internet research. There is a lot of bonsai information on the web. The CBS website has a number of videos including tool sharpening and bonsai soil mix. Let us know about any sites you find helpful. Ruth
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Question and Answer As I mentioned last month, we held a Q&A session during 2012. Here are the final questions and answers from that session. The information is a bit random, but that is the nature of Q&A sessions. If you have any questions, please let me know and we will get answers from knowledgeable club members and print answers in a future Wirrabara.
Question: What is the best time of the year to do grafting?
Answer: The best time to attempt grafting is spring. This is true for all kinds of grafting:
• Thread grafting: this involves growing a shoot on a suitably located branch, drilling a hole through the trunk of the tree where you want a new branch to grow and passing the shoot (the scion) through the hole in the trunk. You will need to secure the scion with wire and to putty both sides of the hole in the trunk. If all goes well, the cambium layers in the scion and the trunk will join within a few months and you will have a new branch. The donor branch can then be cut off at the trunk. Thread grafting is suitable for deciduous trees and some broadleaf plants.
• Approach grafting: this involves cutting away the bark and cambium where you want a new branch to grow and pinning the scion to the cut-‐away. Approach grafting is suitable for a wide range of plants, although it can take two or more years for the graft to take in slow-‐growing species.
Question: What can I do to get the trunks of my group (of 7) Chinese Elms to thicken up?
Answer: It is difficult to thicken trunks on trees in small pots: but group settings can look really good without thick trunks. There are plenty of books with advice about creating a group bonsai. The advice usually includes: having a main tree (which is usually taller and thicker than the others) and a number of supporting trees (minimum of two) of differing sizes. Other than that, it is all about the design you want: the layout of the tree planting; the landscaping you build into the pot; the things that please you.
Question: When you are starting a bonsai, how do you decide on what style will be best for it? Is it a good idea to do a drawing?
Answer: Styling is a very individual thing. You are the artist, but it can be very hard to see the
potential of a tree at an early stage. Most of us are ‘evolutionists’. We style our trees year by year and they evolve. Doing a drawing can help, but don’t be constrained by it. Use your imagination, and don’t confine yourself to making your trees look like the species does in nature. A Hawthorne can look beautiful if it is trained to the shape that conifers typically grow; many junipers are low growing ground-‐cover plants in nature but make splendid bonsais when forced to grow more upright. And be patient. Sometimes it can take years to decide how best to style a tree.
Zeolite orders The next element for our potting mix is Zeolite and, is now available for order via the participation list on our web site.
And WOW... CBS has kept the low price of $13 per bag (as per last year).
Orders for Zeolite will close on 4th May, which is also the date of the monthly meeting. Paper lists will be available at the meeting for members who wish to make a last minute order. Collection will be at Lorraine's place (5 Renwick St Chifley). The timing will be advised be e-‐mail, but should be around 8th of June.
As per usual, it would be greatly appreciated if you could make your payment by electronic means. Electronic Banking details can be found on the web site … and below.
Additionally, get ready to place your Diatomite orders. The participation list will be up on, or just after, the 1st June meeting. Price for the 40Ltr bags is not expected to exceed last year's $20 price.
If you don’t understand what zeolite or diatomite is, or how to use them, see Ziggy’s article on soil mixes in last month’s Wirrabara.
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Why not avoid the queues? Do you like queuing? If not, you could avoid the queues at the Treasurer’s table on meeting days if you make your payments electronically. We fully understand that some members cannot make electronic payments. And that is fine. But if you can, and you want to save yourself some time on meeting days, you could pay for any club related items using direct deposit. The details are as follows:
Acc. Name: Canberra Bonsai Society Incorporated; BSB: 032 724; Acc. Number: 176358; and
Please include your initial and surname as a reference, and email the treasurer ([email protected]) with a description of the payment. Remember to also pick up your receipt at the next meeting.
AABC Convention The Australian Journey The May meeting will be our last gathering as a club before the AABC Convention The Australian Journey. There has been an enormous amount of work done by the organising committee and other club members who have volunteered to do particular tasks. I, for one, am confident that this work will deliver a high quality and well-‐managed Convention that reflects really well on the Canberra Bonsai Society.
There are still a few “I’s” to dot and “T’s” to cross, however. One of these is to make sure club members who have volunteered to help during the Convention know exactly what to do. The May meeting will be a little shorter than normal. It will end at 11.00am so that volunteers can get some important training.
Care calendars Earlier in the year, one of our new members asked for help to know what to do and when to do it. Future editions of Wirrabara will carry care calendar information. It will probably have to be quite general because (like so many things in life) there will not be agreement about the finer details. For starters, I have done a little search of the Internet to see what others have already done.
Bonsai Solutions is a good place to start. It is a community website that was set up in 2008 with a view to helping bonsai enthusiasts share information on Australian native plants. It has seasonal calendars with information covering a wide range of plants (not just natives). See http://www.bonsaisolutions.com.au. The advice in these calendars does tend to focus on Sydney. So remember that Canberra plants run to a different timetable.
… and there are other websites s you could search for.
As far as Canberra is concerned, there would be general agreement that:
• Spring: this is the prime season for re-‐potting, although another window opens in autumn. No matter when you re-‐pot, and root-‐prune remember that the care you give the plant over the next 6 weeks or so is critical.
• Summer: watering is really important in summer. Check your plants every day but remember David Young’s advice on the ABC 666 gardening program some years ago that more plants in pots die from over watering than from under watering.
• Autumn: If you choose to re-‐pot in autumn, it is probably wise not to prune the roots too hard. Also, keep fertilising in autumn to help ready the plants for winter.
• Winter: it is easiest to make major styling decisions on deciduous trees in winter because you can see the branch structure. Winter is also a good time for maintenance of your tools and cleaning up your potting table and displays stands.
And, of course, trimming, watering, fertilising, wiring and simply enjoying your bonsais goes on all year round.
More to come.
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Musings at the NBPCA When volunteering at the NBPCA, I often sit on the bench between these two trees. In terms of their character, they are probably the two most different trees in the Collection and I love to watch how people respond to them. Some love the perfection and symmetry of the English elm. It does cut an impressive figure at the end of the path, with the plain wall behind. I encourage people to look up into the tree’s structure, especially if I hear the word ‘topiary’ being muttered.
While many admire the perfection of the elm, others are delighted by the openness and freedom of the peppercorn tree. For me, peppercorn trees bring back happy childhood memories of school holidays spent with my aunt and uncle on their farm at West Wyalong. I have been surprised by how many other people also have happy childhood memories associated with peppercorn trees. Their exclamations of surprise and delight when they see this tree really give me a buzz.
Ruth
CBS Badges Do you have a Canberra Bonsai Society badge? (they look like the picture to the right) and are available from the treasurer at all meetings, for $7.50. For members who have not yet purchased a badge, we encourage you to pick one up, and wear it at appropriate functions to advertise our society.
‘Bring a Tree’ raffle Every month the Secretary writes out a raffle ticket for each person who brings a tree to work on or for Show and Tell – two tickets for your first Show and Tell. The raffle is drawn at the December meeting and the winner receives a cheque for $100 made out to their nominated bonsai goods supplier.
Musings at the NBPCA -‐ 2 Apart from the obvious, what do these two trees have in common? Answer next month.
Eucalyptus varnicosa Cedrus deodara
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Yuusuke workshop Wednesday 17th April If you have ever wondered about the benefits of attending a workshop, have a look at the photographs below from the workshop at Ruth’s place on 17 April. There are some wonderful transformations in the plants Yuusuke worked on. And if you are a beginner, and feeling a little shy because you don’t have a good tree to work on or you will be embarrassed because you don’t know enough, please don’t. You could think about coming along as an observer, where this option is available – and it usually is.
Marks show which branches Steve will remove in the fig’s growing season.
Alan’s lovely old juniper will be enhanced with sharis and carving as shown below. Alan is waiting for the carving workshop in September.
Linda’s juniper looked much more like a bonsai after trimming. The tail has been left long to fatten the trunk and will be shortened in couple of years.
Thinning and lowering branches really enhanced the trunk movement in Thor’s juniper.
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And finally, Alan. Alan did some creative work on two lanky pines but Yuusuke had other ideas. Alan will put them in the ground to grow on for a couple of years.
Items for sale through the club The club has a range of other products for sale. Check the participation lists on the club’s website, or ask the Executive about:
• Tools (demand-‐driven participation list); • Turntables (demand-‐driven participation list); • Potting mix (participation list usually in
March/April); • Zeolite (participation list usually in May/June) • Diatomite (participation list usually in
June/July); • Wire (always available); • Bottle top watering attachment available at
May meeting • Kamaki cutters
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A few more before and after photos from the Yuusuke workshop – Saturday 20 April Sorry, I have no details on the trees, just the photos.
… and here is the man himself.
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Event Calendar 2013
CBS Events
4 May
CBS monthly meeting Meeting theme: Conifers – grooming for display Show and Tell: Conifers NOTE: Meeting ends 11am for AABC Convention volunteer training
17-‐20 May AABC Convention
1 June
CBS monthly meeting Meeting theme: Winter Show and Tell: Winter colour; tree skeletons NOTE: Zeolite orders will be available for collection
6 July
CBS monthly meeting Meeting theme: Problem trees General workshop: mini demonstrations – making a group; rock planting Show and Tell: Problem trees; Sequoia group NOTE: Diatomite orders will be available for collection
6 July Potting workshop
3 August
CBS monthly meeting Meeting theme: Preparing for spring Show and Tell: Urban yamadori Beginner’s table: Potting demonstration
August Bus trip
7 September
CBS monthly meeting Meeting theme: Trimming of spring growth General workshop: Creating a bonsai raft Show and Tell: spring growth
14 September Carving workshop 12,13 October CBS show 23, 24 October Bill Valavanis workshops and demonstration/critique
2 November
CBS monthly meeting Meeting theme: Pines – candle snapping and plucking; Defoliation and leaf reduction Mini workshop: azaleas and fig defoliation Show and Tell: Figs and azaleas
7 December CBS monthly meeting Meeting theme: Christmas Show and Tell: Christmas trees
Executive Committee
Executive President Ruth Phone: (02) 6255 2058
Secretary Peter H Phone: (02) 6259 3505 [email protected] Treasurer Allan R Phone: (02) 6258 2281 [email protected] Newsletter Editor Phil R Phone: (02) 6241 6160 [email protected]
Committee
mem
bers
Project Officer Ziggy Z Phone: 0411 315 762 Librarian Lorraine V Phone: (02) 6281 2956 Publicity Officer Jennifer M Phone: (02) 6287 5567 Webmaster Neville H Phone: 0414 354 957 [email protected] Membership Officer Peter G Phone: (02) 6288 0828 Workshop manager Michelle S Phone: 0418 612 112 Newsletter Mailing John L Phone: (02) 6255 3120
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