Newsletter April 2022

Bonsai Notebook

Meeting Time And Place:
April 9 2022 at 7pm
LAC Arboretum, Palm Room
Board Meeting 6pm – before General Meeting

BRING A TREE TO THE MEETING
Our program for the April 9 meeting is a warm-up to our annual show in May. Ted Matson will be our guest, and he will be there to give advice on final tree preparation for the show.

Members are asked to bring a tree or trees and make good use of Ted’s expertise in preparing for the show.

Ted Matson is one of our local bonsai artists known throughout the bonsai community for his attention and mastery of structural details in bonsai design. He began studying bonsai in San Francisco in 1979. He moved to the Los Angeles area in 1980, and over time, studied with Ben Suzuki, Shig and Roy Nagatoshi, Melba Tucker, Warren Hill, and John Naka. Ted started teaching bonsai classes at his home in the late 1980’s. In 2008 he began working at bonsai full time.

Ted is a member of many Southern California clubs including California Bonsai Society, California Shohin Society, and Nampu Kai. He oversees both the GSBF and Huntington bonsai collections at the Huntington where there are approximately 70 trees on display at a time.

This will be a great opportunity to get expert advice to advance the development of your tree. Remember, advice is a guide and not meant to sway you from your own design plans. Learn as Ted shares his thoughts about our trees.

President’s Corner

The Memorial Day Weekend Show will be our club’s 56th annual show, and our first since the Covid-19 pandemic prevented shows in 2020 and 2021. Our show is a popular event over the holiday weekend at the Arboretum. It is attended by a large number of “non-bonsai” guests who visit our show while on a planned visit to the Arboretum. We always make a great impression.

Additionally, we rely heavily on attendance by local bonsai enthusiasts seeking good deals at our sale tables. The revenue from the sale tables helps sustain us financially as a club. We encourage club members to bring bonsai related items to the sale tables where 80% of the revenue goes to the seller and 20% goes to the club.

As president, I am always nervous about the size and success of the show, hoping everyone will participate. I remember being self-conscious the first time I entered a tree, and the satisfaction I felt in having done it. It is our show, and we support each other in this wonderful art form. If you need help with show display (stands, accents, etc.), ask me at the April meeting. Bring a tree to the April meeting, and be ready for the support and encouragement our members willingly share.

Show entry forms are included with the newsletter. Please help relieve my anxiety by returning the form or phoning me by the due date.

~Dave

March 2022 Meeting Highlights

Tom Vuong did his magic at the March meeting. He has a great deal of experience bending large branches for his bonsai designs, and we were amazed at how he applied his talents.

He started with an “unbendable”, straight semi-cascade juniper and ended with a heavily transformed tree with beautiful movement in the design. Tom brought two trees; one to show how he prepares for bending and one previously prepared that he bent into his final design. His process to prepare a tree for bending involves wrapping the trunk area to be bent with wet rag paper towels, running two lengths of #4 aluminum wire (one on each side of the bend) and holding it in place with zip ties. He then wraps the area with electrical tape, sticky side out. Tom recommended the wrapped tree be left for one week, keeping the wrapping moist to soften the tree fibers.

On the previously prepped tree, Tom wound it with three strands of #5 wire side by side. He then used a special steel bending bar to bend movement into the trunk and held it in place with zip ties. The last step involved using webbed hold-down straps to tie the tree and pot together and looping the straps around the worktable and securing it tight with a ratcheting mechanism. With the tree and pot secure, he used another tie-down strap around the wired trunk and table. By ratcheting this strap, the trunk was easily bent down into a cascade position. The cascading trunk was secured to the tree base with heavy duty zip ties and the two tie-down straps were then removed. The tree design was complete, and Tom said it should remain wrapped and tied in place for about a year to hold the new shape.

It truly was a fascinating process to watch. Sue Cook was the lucky raffle winner who happily took Tom’s tree home.

Members Corner

SABS Club trivia – in the beginning, all Club members were required to enter trees in the SABS Annual Show. There were multiple categories and a tree from you would have been expected for each category. The many entries made the shows exciting to view and created opportunities for many conversations among the members…. Those were definitely the “good old days”

Our raffle table has been fabulous – thanks to all of the members who have generously donated to the table. Please help keep up our club tradition and bring an item to support SABS. Everyone enjoys going home with trees, plants, pots, tools, supplies, books and even an occasional bag of “bonsai dirt”

We are looking for members who are interested in joining our SABS Board to help with planning for future meetings and events. Come and check out the April Board Meeting at 6pm before the general meeting. New ideas are always appreciated, even if you decide not to “join the board”

For those of you still receiving the US mail version of this newsletter, better quality photos, club updates and resources are always available on our website. Check us out at www.sabonsai.org

Anytime you have any questions please contact Dave & Lorraine at [email protected]

Thank You To our March Raffle Table Donors

Bob Alderette, Jerry Banuelos, Jim Barrett, YS Farn, Mike Kelly, Dave Miles, Marren Padrones, Vic Shelton, Jackie Zinder

And to all who so generously purchase tickets

Welcome New Members

Anthony Giandomenico
Johan Garcia
Tom & Hannah Vuong

Upcoming Events

April 2-3
GSBF Bonsai-A-Thon
Fundraiser for the Golden State Bonsai Federation Collection at the Huntington Library, Huntington Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino, 10a-5p details for attendance to follow.

May 28,29,30
Santa Anita Bonsai Society 56th Annual Bonsai Show
Memorial Day Weekend, LAC Arboretum 9a-4:30p daily, exhibit, sales table, demonstrations

Come Join Us

Next Meeting:
Date: April 9, 2022
Time: 7 pm
Location: LAC Arboretum
Palm Room, 301 N. Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007

Board Meeting 6pm
before General Meeting
— Everyone Welcome—
we are show planning

2022 Monthly Meeting Dates

April 9 — Ted Matson – LAC Arboretum – bring a tree for critique
May 14 — demo TBA – LAC Arboretum
June 11 — demo TBA – LAC Arboretum

2022 Refreshment Schedule

April 9 — Peter Macasieb, Judy Anthony (if you would like to bring easy snacks to this meeting, please contact Lorraine)
May 14 — Hubert Llanes, Matt Mahaffey
June 11 — Peter Macasieb, Jackie Zinder

Refreshment Sign Ups will be available at the April meeting

Newsletter March 2022

Bonsai Notebook

Meeting Time And Place: Mar 12, 2022 at 7pm
LAC Arboretum, Palm Room

The March 12 meeting will again be at the Arboretum. It was great to be back to familiar surroundings at the February meeting. Our guest will be Tom Vuong, who has demonstrated for us in the past. We look forward to seeing his talented work again.

Tom has been involved in bonsai for over 20 years. He is a self-taught bonsai artist and has developed an amazing understanding of the art of bonsai. He has learned by watching and studying bonsai experts over the years.

Tom has a large collection of trees that he and his wife Hannah have shared while hosting bonsai events at their home. He works a lot with large conifers and has developed specialized techniques for styling these trees. At the March meeting Tom will use a juniper to demonstrate how he bends large branches. Join us for another enjoyable and informative bonsai experience

President’s Corner

It is repotting time in Southern California. Our trees have to be confused by our back and forth weather patterns; cold to hot and back to cold. Deciduous trees are popping buds all over and our conifers are also ready for repotting. Of course, we don’t have to repot all our trees.

Some say every three or four years, but our trees will often tell us when it is time for root pruning and soil change. If water stands on top of the soil and doesn’t drain steadily, it is time for repotting.

If a tree isn’t quite as healthy looking as it has been over time, repotting may bring back its vitality. If roots are pushing a tree out of its pot, it is definitely time for root pruning and new soil. A healthy tree with good draining soil should be fine for another season. Keep track of repotting dates, and let the trees tell you when to repot.

Soil is always a topic of curiosity for bonsai enthusiasts, and there many opinions on what to use. Inorganic, fast draining soil for conifers is popular. Adding some organic potting soil to the same mix for deciduous trees is also widely recommended.

I use a popular recipe of Akadama, lava rock and pumice. I was out of pumice to begin mixing soil and my usual brand was unavailable. Gonzalo heard my supply woes and showed up at my house with a bag of pumice. Thanks Gonzalo, now I have no excuses.

~Dave

February 2022 Meeting Highlights

The February meeting featured a fun and informative presentation by club member Debra Mauzy-Melitz. Debra has become very knowledgeable about the art of Kusamono, the arranging and potting of wild grasses and flowers. She shared her knowledge as she spoke and demonstrated the art form.

Debra’s career as a teacher was very evident in how she presented details and elicited feedback from our members. She had everyone engaged and interested.

It was fascinating to learn how much the art of kusamono parallels bonsai. A kusamono design incorporates tall grass to represent heaven, flowers to represent man, and vines for earth. Kusamono are very popular for use as an accent to bonsai in shows.

Debra brought numerous examples of the elements for a kusamono design and showed us how to arrange the plants in a pleasing display. She utilized two of our members, Sue Cook and Judy Anthony, to build two different kusamono styles at the same time she styled her own planting.

Debra talked about a variety of ways to pot kusamono including small ceramic pots, wood, and pots made from crocheted wool yarn. She also explained that a completed display included a stand for the kusamono and a small accent made from a variety of elements.

Debra used the kusamonos completed by Judy and Sue along with two of her own designs to make four complete displays with stands and accents. She donated these to our raffle along with many individual kusamono elements. A large number of our members went home with something from Debra’s presentation. Thank you Debra for a memorable evening.

Thank You To our February Raffle Table Donors

Jerry Banuelos, Jim Barrett, YS Farn, Mike Kelly, Peter Macasieb, Dave Miles, Marren Padrones, Jim Pelling, Wendy Tsai, Jackie Zinder

And to all who so generously purchase tickets

Welcome New Members

Bryan Nicholson
Frank Saya

Members Corner

  • Debra Mauzy-Melitz shared so many Kusamono ideas and examples at our meeting. She also provided a comprehensive pdf handout for those in attendance. Debra has generously offered both the handout and technique sharing to all who might be interested in Kusamono. Please contact her at: [email protected]. Thanks again, Debra!
  • Annual Membership for 2022 will continue to be available at the March 12 meeting. Dues remain the same: $20 per person and $25 for family. For those of you who joined in 2021 your membership will extend until Dec 2022.
  • For those of you still receiving the US mail version of this newsletter, better quality photos, club updates and resources are always available on our website. Check us out at www.sabonsai.org
  • The raffle winners of the completed displays were Bryan Nicholson, Sue Cook, Peter Macasieb, and Judy Anthony’s granddaughter Hailey.

Upcoming Events

Mar 19-20
California Bonsai Society 65th annual bonsai exhibit
Huntington Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino, details for attendance to follow.

April 2-3
GSBF Bonsai-A-Thon
Fundraiser for the Golden State Bonsai Federation Collection at the Huntington Library, Huntington Botanical Gardens
1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino, 10a-5p details for attendance to follow.

May 28,29,30
Santa Anita Bonsai Society 56th Annual Bonsai Show
LAC Arboretum

Come Join Us

Next Meeting:
Date: March 12, 2022
Time: 7 pm

Location:
LAC Arboretum, Palm Room
301 N. Baldwin Ave
Arcadia, CA 91007

2022 Monthly Meeting Dates

Mar 12 — Tom Vuong – LAC Arboretum
April 9 — Cheryl Manning – LAC Arboretum
May 14 — Demo TBA – LAC Arboretum

Refreshment Schedule

Mar 12 — Julio Martinez, Daniel Deephouse, Judy Anthony, Vic Shelton
April 9 — Peter Macasieb, Judy Anthony
May 14 — Hubert Llanes, Matt Mahaffey

2022 Refreshment Sign ups will be available at the March meeting
Thanks to all who brought snacks to our Feb meeting – they were delicious!!!