Santa Anita Bonsai Society
A community dedicated to the study and appreciation of the ancient art of Bonsai.

Bonsai Notebook

Santa Anita Bonsai Society Holiday Raffle & Potluck Please don’t miss this very special event. December 9, 2017 For Food: Club will provide main dish and drinks. Bring your favorite side, salad or dessert to share The Raffle: Bring an item for the table. Club items include: trees and pots donated and purchased especially for this raffle. 5 stock trees from Jim Barrett’s Collection will be on the table Our meeting on December 9 will be new for us this year. We normally do not meet in December and then we have our potluck holiday meeting in January to start the new year. However, this year Baikoen scheduled their annual Winter Silhouettes show reception in January on our regular meeting night. The popularity of this event created a conflict making it impossible for us to have a successful meeting. We opted for the Dec. 9 meeting in hopes of continuing our holiday tradition. In addition to our usual potluck feast, we are planning an expanded raffle to provide members with lots of chances for bonsai holiday cheers. Besides more bonsai pots and related items, we will have bonsai tree stock on the table from Jim Barrett’s supply. We also encourage members to bring bonsai related items for the raffle table as usual. Change is difficult, but we hope our members will come and support our club in December. The meeting will provide a nice kick-off to the Christmas season. Come and join in the festivities and enjoy the holiday cheer. Meeting Time And Place: December 9, 2017 at 6pm LAC Arboretum/ Palm Room

President’s Corner

The Santa Anita Bonsai Society has had another great year. Our annual Memorial Day weekend show was a big success with a room full of outstanding bonsai trees. The people passing through the show were amazed by the beauty and variety of styles on display. Thanks to all our members who make the show possible by sharing their trees. Thanks also to our show chair Marge Blasingame. We could not do it without her. As our program chair, Gabriel Gonzalez provided us with exceptional demonstrations this year. We look forward to see what he has planned for 2018. Thank you, Gabriel. In addition to our regular Arboretum meetings, we again had two meetings away in the summer; one at the home of Peter and Marissa Macasieb and one at the home of David and June Nguy. Both meetings included an opportunity for members to see beautiful bonsai collections in addition to our regular meeting and demonstration. We are planning the same format for next year, so watch the newsletter for our 2018 summer schedule. The new year will start with a lot of bonsai events including the Shohin Seminar in Santa Nella and the annual Bonsai-A-Thon, both in February, 2018. See the details later in the newsletter. These events include vendor areas where bonsai soil, pots, and wire supplies will be in abundance. It will be a chance to get what you need for repotting season, so do not miss it. As a reminder, we need a new raffle chairperson for next year. We hope someone will volunteer to help keep the club operational. We have a long and rich history that must be preserved. ~Dave

November Meeting Highlights

We learned a lot about trident maple bonsai in November from our demonstration by Kathy Benson. She started with a large maple from her collection to show us trimming techniques to use during dormancy to encourage good bud development in the spring. She also worked on a trident maple which had already shed its leaves, so we were able to see the full shape of the tree trunk and branches. This tree was donated to the raffle. Kathy explained that she was going to remove the tree from its pot to see the root structure so she could decide a style and form for the future tree. She did not remove roots in order to avoid overly shocking the tree before repotting season. The demo maple had two trunks. Kathy removed one and left a trunk with good movement that fit well with the root structure she had previously exposed. She trimmed the branches on the remaining trunk for a proportional silhouette. She also used cut paste on the large cuts to protect the bare wood from dying back. Kathy moved the tree to a bigger pot to give the roots more space to grow and provide a strong bud push in the spring. She also explained that trident branches are hard, making it difficult to bend with wire. She recommended directional pruning to shape the tree. The lucky winner of the raffle tree from Kathy was Judy Anthony.

SABS Announcements

We Need A New Raffle Chairman!! Ray is stepping down after many years of service to the club with the raffle. We need a volunteer to take over the sale of raffle tickets at the meetings. Ray will help with the transition, and you will have all the assistance you need. Please help keep our club functioning for our membership by volunteering just a little of your time. You can call Dave for details at 909-519-5391.

Newsletter Update

If you have a knack for writing, a story to tell, a photo or something you would like to share in our newsletter please submit it to Dave & Lorraine prior to the 20th of any month at: [email protected]

Upcoming Events

January 13-14 Baikoen Bonsai Kenkyukai 54th Annual “Winter Silhouettes” L.A. County Arboretum 10:00am to 4:30pm, sales area, demo each day at 1pm, Sat. Reception 6:30pm February 2, 3, and 4 California Shohin Society Shohin Seminar Santa Nella, CA see website for registration information, www.calshohin.org February 24-25 Bonsai-A-Thon Fundraiser for GSBF at The Huntington, 8:00am to 5:00pm 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino demonstrations, vendors, exhibit, benefit drawing and auction

Come Join Us

Next Meeting Date: December 9, 2017 Time: 6 pm Location: LAC Arboretum, Palm Room 301 N. Baldwin Ave Arcadia, Ca 91007 SABS Holiday Potluck & Raffle 6:00pm

2017 Monthly Meeting Dates

Dec — SABS Annual Holiday Potluck & Raffle

2018 Monthly Meeting Dates

Jan — no meeting Feb — Fred Miyahara

2017-18 Refreshment Schedule

Dec — Club will provide main dish and drinks. Bring your favorite side, salad or dessert to share 2018 sign ups available at the Potluck & Raffle

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