The Bonsai News of Houston A Monthly Newsletter of the Houston Bonsai Society Inc.

Volume 50 Number 8 August 2019

“ The Beast”, a uniquely contorted collected buttonwood styled by Ed Trout. (Photo: Ed Trout)

The Houston Bonsai Society usually meets on the first Saturday of the month at Trini Mendenhall Community Center, 1414 Wirt Road, Houston, TX 77055. Board meeting starts at 9 AM, refreshments at 10 AM, and program at 10:15 AM.

August 3 HBS meeting: Buttonwood Care and Styling with Jose Rodriguez. The very nice buttonwood from the lecture-demonstration will be raffled at the end.

August 3 (1 PM - 5 PM) BYO Tropical trees and refine them with Jose Rodriguez at Timeless Trees.

Upcoming Events More in Calendar of Events

August 2-4 (Friday 6-8pm, Sat. and Sun. 10am-4pm): Prairie State Bonsai Society Annual Show at Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL. The guest artist is Dana Quattlebaum.

August 4 Sunday Buttonwood Day with Jose Rodriguez at Timeless Trees. Jose will help you work on and refine your buttonwoods as well work on or carve the deadwood. Cost is $75. Jose will bring buttonwoods that he collected for sale. The nursery will also have many various sized buttonwoods to select.

August 10 Saturday Study Group at Timeless Trees, 9 AM – 12 Noon. Free, refreshments provided. Bring your trees, tools, soil, wire and work with other HBS members.

August 10 Shohin Crepe Myrtle class at Timeless Trees, 1- 4 PM. $25 includes small tree, hand-out. We will style wire the nice little Pocomoke Crepe Myrtles, known for their small leaves and tiny pink flowers.

IN THIS ISSUE

Upcoming Events

Buttonwood Care Lecture-demo

with Jose Rodriguez

Showcase of the Month

Buttonwood bonsai

August Bonsai Care

John Miller

President’s Letter

2019 ABS/LSBF/HBS Bonsai on the Bayou

Exhited bonsai

Jose Rodriguez Will be here this month

A Buttonwood story Ed Trout

Buttonwood Bonsai

August Bonsai Care Now during August, the temperature will make your present job harder. The prime effort is keeping the roots cooler and prevent them from drying out. The main culprit is the late afternoon sun. It sneaks in at the hottest part of the day when there is no humidity in the air to buffer some of the heat. At a low angle, it is sneaky enough to get under any foliage or awning.

Normally you will need to watch for changing water needs. Porous soil dries faster than the ones that are dense with high organic content. Wind dries the bonsai out, by taking moisture directly from both the soil and the foliage. Heat from the high temps or from the sun heats the pots and evaporates the water.

Shade should be provided for many bonsai. Trident maples, most elms, oaks, junipers and pines do well with 30% to 40% shade cloth. Thin-leaf trees that are understory species like Japanese maples and azaleas can use 50% cloth. 60% shade screens and higher can block the extreme heat of late afternoon sun from the western exposure. Local sources like Home Depot, Lowe’s sell shade screen with percentage too high for plant protection. I order my shade cloth from the Internet, cheaper that way too.

Chopped long fiber sphagnum moss can be used on the soil to help retain moisture. New Zealand moss is the highest quality, South American is almost as good, but North American kind usually is poor quality with lots of debris and breaks down fast. Again, order from the Internet. My Lowes had Miracle-Gro brand which is Chilean and also Mosser-Lee American from Wisconsin. Old cloth, shop towels, or such may be substituted or used to hold the moss if you live in a windy location.

Fertilizer should be used sparingly during August. Organic fertilizer cakes are the safest to use, however they should not have any ’hot’ ingredient like rabbit or chicken droppings. After Labor Day, switch to a winterizing type of fertilizer that is high in the third number - potassium. For tropicals, however, keep your regular schedule going. Just make sure the soil is cool enough so that the chemicals do not burn the roots.

This is a good time to remember to water twice. Dry soil particles, especially clay and organic particles tend to resist absorbing water. This is due to the surface tension of the water. Wait a few minutes after the first watering for the dry soil particles to absorb some of the water on their surface. Then the second watering gets the whole particle wet. During this period, consider foliage spraying. The humidity is usually very low in the afternoon and many junipers close the stoma during the day and open at night to absorb the dew. The foliage spray cools the plant and the environment so it can recover a bit overnight. Deciduous bonsai may be pruned, wired, or styled during this period. Any trees wired in the spring (or earlier) should be carefully checked. If the wire is snug, it should be removed and the tree rewired.

Tropicals are in their glory as long as you keep their roots reasonably cool. Defoliate, wire, and prune to your hearts content. Repotting should have been done earlier.

Summer flowering plants should be fertilized carefully so as to not burn the roots. Remove any seed or fruit that may form, they rob the plant of needed energy. Crepe myrtles need to be deadheaded. Cut them back so the new shoots that form will not be too long. New growth will bear flowers each time. If you prune back the american wisteria (wisteria frutescens), it too would re-bloom each time.

Do not prune azaleas any more this year, if you want flowers next spring. Buds have been set by now. If you are still developing your azalea, go ahead and prune. Some varieties will set a few buds anyway. In general, when pruning, look for the cluster of twigs at the site of last spring’s bloom. Cut out all but two twigs, usually the ones growing horizontally. Be sure to reduce strong growing shoots down to a couple of leaves.

The combination of heat and dry conditions are optimum for the growth of the spider mites. Scale will be extremely dangerous sucking the sap from the plant. Cedar elm is subject to a very small white scale that is hard to see. Controls for these will generally take care of any other insects. Be sure you read and follow the manufacturer’s directions for any control you use.

Organic controls have no residual action and need to be used on a regular basis. If used regularly, the spray would get scale when it is in the reproductive stage outside of the shell. The only way to get scale under the shell is with a systemic poison. For example, Bayer systemic granules are applied to the surface of the soil, watered in, absorbed by the roots and transported by the sap throughout the plant. The bug gets it when he sucks the sap or eats the leaf.

My organic control is one tablespoon of each of liquid seaweed, fish emulsion, 5% apple cider vinegar, and molasses, in one gallon of water. Spray with fine mist sprayer covering top and bottom surface of leaves and into crevices in the bark.

Extreme dry conditions will keep fungal problems in check but watch out if we happen to get a few days of rain. Warm and wet mean an eruption of leaf spot and mildew. Control them with the 1% hydrogen peroxide spray. I like that because it does not leave a white residue like the baking soda or potassium peroxide. There are several chemical sprays available too.

John Miller

John Miller, who writes a monthly column for the Bonsai Society of Dallas and Fort Worth Bonsai Society, has agreed to share his column with us. We need to make adjustments for our warmer and damper climate, with earlier springs, longer summers, late fall and erratic winters.

President’s Letter

Over time, organizations develop a set of shared beliefs and values that shape their club culture and actions. For HBS, I would describe our goals as:

• Improve the quality of bonsai in Houston. When you look at the awards at the LSBF convention over the last few years, you will see that Houston consistently has several different people who win awards, while the other clubs have only one or two people. I recently looked at pictures of some of the trees I had in the exhibit in 2009, and am amazed at how much better those trees and my other trees look today. Much of what I have learned has come from advice given to me by other members of the club (Hurley, Scott, Hoe, Alex, ….)

• Expose as many people as possible to the art of bonsai. With two shows each year, and presentations to 5-6 other groups each year we regularly expose literally thousands of people to bonsai each year.

• Help those new to bonsai to develop the skills needed to maintain and develop their bonsai. Our monthly study group and the new mentor program are both designed for this.

• Have fun. Some folks get wrapped up in winning awards at shows. Even though Houston wins quite a few, my observation is that our members are happy when they win, but they are also happy to see other artists recognized for their works as well. The joy is in working to produce a good bonsai rather than any award.

Next year the LSBF convention will be hosted by the San Antonio Club. One of San Antonio’s goals is to make bonsai as inexpensive as possible for their members. So, for their convention, they will take us to a hotel where breakfast and dinner are included in the cost of the room, allowing them to charge less for registration. They are also collecting as much workshop material as they can, to keep workshop costs low. All in all, it should be one of the least expensive conventions that LSBF has presented. Boon, Arthur Joura, and Roy Nagatoshi who did the bonsai for the Karate Kid movies, will be the headline artists. So, please mark your calendar for May 15-17 next year for the San Antonio convention. The LSBF touring artist this year will be Andrew Robson. Andrew works on all kinds of trees, but he specializes in deciduous material. He will be doing a demonstration at our September meeting and the club will offer workshops with him as well. The next month or so would be a good time to think about which of your trees might benefit from his advice.

Pete Parker

BONSAI ON THE BAYOU 2019

ExhibitED Bonsai

To continue featuring the most fascinating works of arts at this exhibit, here are some of the classic masterpieces, a few off the wall, but all have been cultivated by the artists’ loving hands over many long years.

If you listen closely, most of them carry their own exceptional story or meaning to their creators. As some of us have heard over the years of loving bonsai and accents, most bonsai, either yamadori collected from nature or those discovered in local nurseries, asked to be styled a certain way. Over many long years or even decades and centuries, every living bonsai is a uniquely successful collaboration between men, Father Time and Mother Nature, blessed or ravaged by the five elements of the universe. They all have their uniquely individual and artistic character.

Here are the photographs of the last exhibited trees and forests. In the next issues, you will get a glimpse of the viewing stones in the exhibit, the saikei, the kusamono as well as accent plants along with the intriguing vignettes or stories.

Once again, many thanks to the photographers who have generously shared their photographs with HBS newsletter and posted them on social media for all bonsai lovers around the world to enjoy.

Shawn Nguyen

Jose Rodriguez August Artist is here!

Buttonwood lovers! Make plans to come to the club meeting on August 3rd. This is an event you cannot miss. For those of you who had not experimented with this versatile and strangely different species, you may be at risk of falling in love with these convoluted and contorted trees after Jose’s lecture-demo.

This passionate buttonwood collector and talented artist will share with you his buttonwood collecting stories in his own environment, his success secrets in selecting then nursing of his collected trees, their care and styling.

Jose will work on a very nice buttonwood which will be raffled at the end of the demo.

On that same August 3rd Saturday afternoon and the following Sunday, Jose will lead many workshops at Timeless Trees

Bonsai Nursery on tropicals and button-woods.

There will be a large selection of Jose’s collected trees shipped in this week to choose from. Don’t forget to sign up early with Hurley to reserve your spot and one or two buttonwoods from the nursery.

Buttonwood Bonsai

and a tragic story from Bonsai Mary

The buttonwood bonsai, Conocarpus erectus, (Combretum Family) - is one of the most significant American trees adapted to the art of bonsai.

Most tropical bonsai collections have at least one of these masterpieces of nature. In addition, many artists outside the tropics have gone to great lengths to include this plant in their collections.

Because they come in so many different sizes, shapes and styles naturally, no two are alike and are rarely even similar. On this page, one bonsai artist shares his very special experience.

A Special Buttonwood Bonsai by guest author Ed Trout Pembroke Pines, Florida

This particular buttonwood has special significance. Firstly, it was acquired from Mary Miller, my dear friend & teacher, and secondly it became one of my favorite trees, a favorite of many who saw it, and it taught me many things about the art of bonsai.

Ed Trout styling a huge buttonwood in Florida, where every bonsai collection has a few.

"Yes, a tree can be, and really should be your ultimate teacher. One has to only take the time to "listen!"

This buttonwood bonsai was collected from the Florida Keys, where I grew up, and ended up at Mary Miller's nursery, sometime in the late 80's. I purchased it around 1989 or 1990.

It "spoke" to me the minute I saw it. I know that because I did not buy it when I first saw it on the bench, and thought about it for a whole week. I rushed down there the next weekend, and brought it home.

The tree screamed Literati or Bunjin from the moment I saw it. And with the first styling, the tree seemed to "show me the way". It was the cornerstone of my collection, the first tree I said good morning to with a cup of coffee, and the last tree I said goodnight to. It was Tina's favorite also, and she had me place it in the garden where she could always see it from her chair in the living room.

I've always said that trees win awards, not artists. Some of the awards this tree received:

First Runner-up Ben Oki Design Award 1993 Best in Show BSF Convention 1996 Chase Rosade Design Award 1996

Selected as Logo Tree Gold Coast Bonsai Society 1997

Top 100 JAL World Bonsai Contest 1999 World Bonsai Contest Top 100 2006

In April of 2008, this tree, who had become my teacher, and almost a member of our family was stolen from the garden.

To this day, I still get a little choked up when I look at photographs. I know that sounds silly, since it is only a tree! But that is how we get attached to these trees, and the journey we take together in the Art of Bonsai!

With Anger and Sympathy When Ed announced the theft of this bonsai, there were many expressions of anger and sympathy. These are just two: 'The Love of a Buttonwood' Dear Ed: Even though I am a northerner, a buttonwood was my second or third tree, which I still have. I have seen the pictures of that buttonwood bonsai tree before, and marveled at the beauty you created. You can't give all the credit to the tree.

Ed Trout ______________

In response to Ed’s post, one reader sent a very moving comment:

This tree has inspired all of us in Gold Coast (Bonsai Society) and for that matter anyone who has seen it. I too get choked up thinking about all the time and energy you spent lovingly caring for this beautiful buttonwood bonsai. All of the years devoted to this bonsai destroyed by some fool who has no idea, let alone has any respect for the journey you have taken with this tree.

I'm glad you posted this photo, because although it may be gone, the memory will never fade.

Mike Sullivan, Florida

P.S.: To emphasize just how much Ed worked on this tree, I have posted this early buttonwood bonsai photo. The trunk was still dirty. It is shown here in the five gallon bucket it was first planted in after collecting. (There were holes punched in it for drainage). You can see

how it changed and developed over the years.

Editor’s note: This article in Bonsai Mary was reprinted with permission from Mary Miller and Ed Trout. Complete article can be read at this link: https://www.bonsaimary.com/buttonwood-bonsai.html In a recent phone conversation with Ed, I learned that the Bonsai Society of Florida had displayed Ed’s 6’ long buttonwood cascade at the Japanese Pavilion inside Epcot Center between March 6 and June 6, when it was stolen. The two thefts happened just within a week from each other. No doubt it was an inside job since both buttonwoods were very big, especially in Epcot exhibit, always under the guards’ watchful eyes. Here is the 6’ cascade.

Calendar of Events

2019

AUG 1 - 11 Milwaukee Bonsai Society Exhibit at the Wisconsin State Fair at Champion Hall in West Allis, WI. Rotating bonsai exhibits (exhibit 1, Th-Sun; exhibit 2, Mon-Wed; exhibit 3, Thur-Sun). Details at http://www.milwaukeebonsai.org/.

AUG 2 - 4 (Fri 6-8p, Sat and Sun10a-4p.) Prairie State Bonsai Society Annual Show at Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL. Guest artist is Dana Quattlebaum. Details at http://www.prairiestatebonsai.com/news_events.html.

AUG 2-10 Indiana State Fair Bonsai Show at the Agriculture-Horticulture Building in Indianapolis, IN. Details at http://www.indybonsai.org/calendar.html

AUG 3 HBS meeting: Buttonwood Care & Styling with Jose Rodriguez. The styled Buttonwood will be raffled at the end of the lecture-demo. AUG 3 BYO Tropical trees workshop with Jose Rodriguez at Timeless Trees - (1 PM - 5 PM)

AUG 4 Sunday Buttonwood Day with Jose Rodriguez at Timeless Trees. Jose will help you work on and refine your buttonwoods, as well work on or carve the deadwood. Cost is $75. Jose will bring buttonwoods that he collected for sale. The nursery will also have many various sized buttonwoods to select.

AUG 10 Saturday Study Group at Timeless Trees, 9 AM – 12 Noon. Free, refreshments provided. Bring your trees, tools, soil, wire and work with other HBS members. AUG 10 Shohin Crepe Myrtle class at Timeless Trees, 1PM - 4 PM. $25 includes small tree, hand-out. We will style wire the nice little Pocomoke Crepe Myrtles, known for their small leaves and tiny pink flowers.

AUG 30-31 Minnesota Bonsai Society Annual Exhibit at the State Fair in St. Paul, MN. Details at https://minnesotabonsaisociety.org/events-2/state-fair-show/.

AUG 31 - September 2 Japanese Festival Bonsai Show hosted by the Bonsai Society of Greater St. Louis at the Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO. Details at http://www.stlbonsai.com/events/.

Go to Timeless Trees’ website and subscribe to weekly Current Events to stay in the know about weekly events and classes offered locally and about HBS activities. For almost a decade, Timeless Trees Nursery and Bonsai has provided novices and serious bonsai students a very wonderful environment to further their knowledge in the Art of Bonsai with workshops led by local artists and teachers, or on occasions, with one-on-one study with visiting bonsai masters. You can find all sizes of bonsai, of all varieties, great pots and display stands, supplies, fertilizers, soils, tools and books as well as gift certificates for your bonsai lovers and you. The resident bonsai guru Hurley is also the go-to man for all bonsai questions.

Quality Feed & Garden and the resident Dr. Ken stand ready to help you with fruit trees, bonsai trees, basic tools, pots and soils like Akadama, Lava, Pumice, Kanuma, and “Dr. Ken’s Special Bonsai Soil mixes in 10 lb. & 50 lb. bags. There are 2 separate nurseries at this location, one for garden shade and fruit trees, a second for decorative trees and bonsai. Free bonsai classes are offered every 3 months for the Houston Bonsai Society study group. Newbies are welcome. While you explore this unique store, you can also pick up a few pet birds, chickens and ducks and their feed. HBS members get a 10% discount.

If you are looking for herbs, vegetables, citrus or fruit trees, flowering plants, orchids or bromeliads, and even aquatic plants to decorate your home, garden and ponds, JRN II got them all. The greenhouses are home to countless rare plants and exotic tropical bonsai, and the most unusual gifts for all occasions from birthdays, anniversaries, grand openings, house warming parties, to New Year celebration. Take a stroll in the shop and around the garden to check out the bonsai figurines, boats and pagodas, bonsai supplies, tools and soils as well as bonsai pots, garden statues and Japanese lanterns. You will never know what kind of surprise is waiting for you to take home.

For advice on all plants and bonsai, please ask Thuy Doan.

Visit artist Andrew Sankowski at the Mossrock Studio & Fine Art Gallery for the finest gifts and uniquely beautiful bonsai pots in every shape, form and color. If there is a potter who knows bonsai pots, it’s Andy. He keeps a greenhouse full of beautiful bonsai. As a master potter who offers weekly pottery classes, Andy also mixes his own proprietary clay blends and over 100 of his own colored glazes. Bring your unusual trees for him to make unusual personalized pots. Pots for all purposes can be commissioned year round. While you are on the tour of gallery and studio, check out the masterpieces of many talented local artists.

Andrew Sankowski 26002 Oak Ridge Drive Direct (281) 684-4411

The Woodlands, TX 77380 Fax (281) 363-9032

andy@mossrockstudio.com

Houston Bonsai Society, Inc. P. O. Box 540727, Houston, Texas 77254-0727

www.houstonbonsaisociety.com

HBS Board Members

President Pete Parker peteparkerbonsai@yahoo.com

1st Vice President Scott Barboza markyscott@me.com in charge of Education 2nd Vice President Hoe Chuah hoe.chuah@gmaill.com Secretary Ryan Vollert rmvnucks@gmail.com Publicity Ken Cousino krcousino@yahoo.com

Treasurer Eldon Branham elmo4635@aol.com

in charge of Membership Webmaster Anthony Cutola acutola@gmail.com

Member at Large - O Gale Childers f5gale@macconnect.com

Member at Large - O James Kelly kurstyn.castillo@gmail.com

Member at Large - O Ryan Vollert rmvnucks@gmail.com

Member at Large – E Soon Cheah soon.cheah@gmail.com Member at Large – E John Williams KappiJon3@gmail.com

Delegates Past President Hurley Johnson hurley@all-tex.net

LSBF Delegate Hurley Johnson hurley@all-tex.net

LSBF Alternate Pete Parker peteparkerbonsai@yahoo.com

BCI Ambassador

TTSBE Representative Alan Raymond amraymond@suddenlink.net

Refreshments

Website/email Anthony Cutola houstonbonsai@gmail.com

Newsletter editor Shawn Nguyen hbs.news@yahoo.com

The Bonsai News of Houston is a monthly publication of the Houston Bonsai Society, Inc. Copyright © 2011. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the editor or a member of the Board of Directors. Exceptions exist, however, for certain not-for-profit and non-profit bonsai organizations or associated bonsai and bonsai nursery newsletters, including without limitation the American Bonsai Society. HBS participates fully with reciprocation of contents and material between other LSBF member organizations and others. Authors who submit articles for this newsletter thereby give permission to such organizations to reprint, unless they expressly state otherwise.

Space for advertising in The Bonsai News of Houston can be requested by contacting the newsletter editor or a member of the HBS Board. The rates for a business-card-size ad (approximately 3 1/2" x 2") are $10 per month, and $75 per year (12 issues). A full-page ad is $50 per month. Rates are subject to change without notice. 3½" x 2" classified ads are run free of charge for one month once per 12-month period for non-commercial members. For special requests or questions related to The Bonsai News of Houston, contact the newsletter editor or a member of the HBS Board.