February 2014 – “Five Qualities of Bonsai Line”

Program:

Not quite sure what the “five qualities of bonsai line” are? Well, neither am I, but Ted’s presentations are always very informative and I’m sure we’ll all go home with a lot of good information to digest. You need to listen to his every word because his ratio of information-to-number-of-words-used is very high. Ted would like us to bring trees in that are in any state of training for his presentation: new material, old material, or anything in between. He won’t be doing a critique but will select trees that help him make his point from those brought in by our members. For new members who may not yet know Ted, he is one of the most sought after presenters and teachers active today. He has a busy schedule throughout California and the nation. He lives in Pasadena.

Presidents Message:

It can’t possibly be February already. With the weather as warm as it has been, I have been repotting like crazy. Thanks to those who came for the soil mixing session. We will be doing sessions such as this during the year. Several members have indicated that, although they have seen the repotting demos, it seems a little intimidating to tackle their own trees. Let’s try for Sunday, February 9, from 9:00-12:00, at my house for those who would like to have a hands-on workshop repotting their own trees. Bring a tree or two if you are interested in having help. I’ll have others on hand to assist and we’ll take you through the process. It is a great time for most trees. Phone me at 964-2717 or e-mail me at tompostart@yahoo.com if you’d like to attend.  John Bleck has volunteered, I love that word, to be the silent auction coordinator during our show at the Botanic Garden in May. Please call John, 968-5519, when you have determined the items you have for the auction. They should be bonsai related. This will be our first time doing the auction at the show, so look for some interesting items to bring.  We do have room in Ann Erb’s 2nd Saturday Workshop sessions, 9:00-12:00, available for those who haven’t signed up yet. It’s a great opportunity to advance your trees.

~ Tom

(A little footnote to Tom’s message: He has a backyard full of rooted bougainvillea cuttings which he would like to share with anyone who wants one or two or three or … . He’ll bring some to Tuesday’s meeting.)

Last Month: Mel Ikeda on Transplanting Young Pines

As is usual with Mel’s presentations, the “Gee Whiz, That’s neat!” factor was very high. He transplanted several one to six year old black pines, which in itself isn’t particularly special, but in doing so he drastically trimmed the roots back and arranged them for good future nebari. He emphasized that you should start working on the roots while the tree is still very young if you want to have really good roots when the tree is mature. Sigh…if only I’d known that 40 years ago. Mel left his demo trees with the club and they will be sold at our show in May.

Club Library:

Susanne Barrymore, our club librarian, would like to remind everyone that the club has a good library and that it is now always available at our monthly Tuesday evening meetings. There are many interesting things which all members can borrow. Just remember to sign them out on the list provided. And, you club members who may already have books signed out, please take a look at them to decide if you need them any longer. If not, please return them.

Coming Events:

February 8: Saturday Workshop with Ann Erb

9 AM until noon, Room 8, Goleta Valley Community Center. Ann Erb, instructor. Second of four workshops on the second Saturday of the month with the club’s own talented Ann Erb. There is still room for you. Contact Ann Erb or Tom Post if you want to come.

February 15: Saturday Workshop with Guest Instructor

9 AM until noon or 1 to 4 PM., Room 7, Goleta Valley Community Center. Cheryl Manning, guest instructor. Contact Wally Kunimoto if you have a question.

February 22 & 23: Bonsai-A-Thon XVIII, Huntington Botanical Gardens

Annual fundraiser for the GSBF Collection at The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. Admission to the event is free with Bonsai-A-Thon “early bird” registration between 8 AM – 9:30 AM. Event hours are 8 AM – 4:30 PM both days. Sunday morning: bring-your-own-tree workshop led by Ted Matson – limit 10 people (for details contact Ted, tmatson@earthlink.net). Pancake breakfast, tour hosted by Jim Folsom (Director of the Garden), demonstrations, lunch, bonsai exhibits, large sales area, raffle, and auction. For more information, contact Marge Blasingame, (626) 579-0420 margeblasingame@att.net.

May 17-18: Annual Show

Our annual show and plant sale at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. It’s not too early to start thinking about what you’d like to show, so put the date on your calendar and start grooming your trees now. If you haven’t shown before, don’t be shy, you’d be surprised how nice your best trees will look when they are pinched, pruned, and groomed in a timely way and put in a nice pot on a nice stand. See Tom’s President’s message above for info about the silent auction we will be trying this year.