Thursday, August 22, 2013
BSA Notes September 2013
BSA Notes September 2013
The Bonsai Society of Acadiana
(BSA) will meet on Wednesday September 4th at 7:00pm.
BSA meets on the First Wednesday
of each month at the Ira Nelson Horticulture Bldg., 2206 Johnston Street,
Lafayette, LA.
NEW BUSINESS - On the agenda for this month’s meeting, discussion of
final details for LABS – all BSA members are encouraged to attend.
RECENT NEWS
– BSA members had a short discussion of
business items at the August 7th meeting followed by an open workshop/bring
your own tree to work on and discuss with other members.
We would like to say Thank You to BSA Member Dottie
Burleigh for providing snacks and drinks at the August meeting.
BLOG/USEFUL INFORMATION:
Check http://www.acadianabonsai.blogspot.com for any updates on upcoming events, current information
on BSA, and a list of vendors/companies that sell quality materials. This is your best source for information you
might have missed if you are unable to attend meetings each month. You may need to use a Google search to
connect to acadianabonsai. blogspot.com
UPCOMING EVENTS:
October 2nd, 2013 BSA Monthly Meeting
November 2nd, 2013 LABS
@ First United Methodist Church, New Iberia 9-5pm
BSA Notes August 2013
BSA Notes August 2013
By Jane Hebert, BSA Editor
The Bonsai Society of Acadiana
(BSA) will meet on Wednesday August 7th at 7:00pm.
BSA meets on the First Wednesday
of each month at the Ira Nelson Horticulture Bldg., 2206 Johnston Street,
Lafayette, LA.
NEW BUSINESS -
RECENT NEWS
–
Workshops: In
place of our regular meeting on July 3rd, BSA hosted guest speaker
Mike Rogers with the BSF Speaker program on Tuesday July 16th. We had a wonderful opportunity to learn from
Mike and gain new knowledge on a variety of trees. You can reach Mike Rogers via email at the following: mike@mikerogersbonsaistudio.com
Mike began his presentation with
some much appreciated information on “Azaleas in the South”
Azaleas in the south – most are multi-trunk trees – you want
to be able to see each trunk. There are
many hybridized groups that include satsuki (which is better for the south),
southern indica, formosa, Duc de Rohan (coral or white), Duchess of Cypress
that are all breed for the southern climate.
What to do to minimize stress on satsuki,
1. Not accustomed to full sun, but best in full morning sun
and afternoon shade.
2. Never use dirt in the soil mixture, use a combination of
lava rock, haydite and crimson. He does
not use any organic matter in any of his soil mixtures for bonsai. Organic matter causes a muck layer and no
oxygen can get to the roots. The roots
will die from anaerobic bacteria.
3. Shallow pots are worse than deeper pots due to the
“perched water table”, wherein about ½ inch of water remains in the pot.
4. Rake out roots, clean vigorously each and every pocket of
old soil before putting in well drained soil mixture (see item #2)
5. They are bottom dominant and determinate for new shoots.
In bonsai reduce the number of blooms so it continued to grow otherwise once it
blooms it stops growing. Don’t allow to
bloom while in development stage. Once it is in a bonsai pot then allow buds to
bloom.
6. They have specific roots for specific branches so if you
cut back to close to the trunk, then the branch it feeds will die back deep
into the trunk
7. Use clean tools, Mike’s mixture for tool cleaning is
50/50 liquid Lysol and water.
8. Between cutting azaleas, also use a box cutter blade so
each cut is very clean, seal every cut, otherwise spores will get into cuts and
kill branches. Never use a concave cutters on azalea, use a flush cut root
cutter for example.
9. Use azalea fungicide “Subdue” which is very expensive,
may consider less expensive items such as Daconil, or copper soap.
10. Leaf rot – rainy days or weeks, only water during the
daytime, they do not do well when the leaves remain wet overnight. The first sign of leaf rot is hanging brown
leaves on the tree that do not fall off on their own.
11. Powdery mildew – leaves need to be dry before night
fall.
12. Petal blight – it won’t kill the tree, just ruins the
flower, which will just hang onto the tree and not fall off on its own
13. Prevention of leaf rot, powdery mildew, and petal blight
– keep out of excess rain for several days
14. Once azaleas bloom for 2-3 weeks, pick all of the
flowers and buds to reduce weakening the tree. Keep already fallen leaves and
blooms off benches and out of soil mixture on pot to reduce the risk of fungal
or other diseases
15. Once bloomed, cut back the hardest – repot at the end of
Feb. or early March. The year you repot, do not allow the tree to bloom. Remove
buds in the fall before your repotting in Feb or early March. Repot every 3rd year if healthy
tree, trim off 1 inch of outside and bottom of tree, put in a smaller pot. Azaleas
seem to grow better in a slightly smaller pot. They only need small finer
feeder roots while in a bonsai pot. Fertilize with Hollytone from Epsoma for
acidic soils.
16. avoid green moss as it can cause bark rot – instead, use
sphagnum moss, run through or across a sieve or screening mesh, break it down
into smaller particles, cover the top of the soil moisture, it will keep the
soil from drying out after repotting and has antifungal, antibacterial
properties.
Mike also discussed, gave style and design tips, pruned away
aerial roots, and branches on several trees including BSA Members Dottie
Burleigh and Vic Hebert’s Nerifolia, Bruce Broussard’s Ficus Root over Rock,
Johnny Hardcastle’s Japanese Maple, Tim LeJeune’s Trident Maple, and Dario
Billiot’s Ilex. Here are several of the photos taken during the workshop:
We would like to say Thank You to BSA President Boyd
Snellgrove for providing snacks and drinks at the July workshop.
BLOG/USEFUL INFORMATION:
Check http://www.acadianabonsai.blogspot.com for any updates on upcoming events, current information
on BSA, and a list of vendors/companies that sell quality materials. This is your best source for information you
might have missed if you are unable to attend meetings each month. You may need to use a Google search to
connect to acadianabonsai. blogspot.com
UPCOMING EVENTS:
August 7th, 2013 BSA Monthly Meeting
November 2nd, 2013 LABS
@ First United Methodist Church, New Iberia 9-5pm
BSA Notes July 2013
BSA Notes July 2013
The Bonsai Society of Acadiana
(BSA) will meet on Tuesday July 16th at 6:00pm.
BSA usually meets on the First
Wednesday of each month at the Ira Nelson Horticulture Bldg., 2206 Johnston
Street, Lafayette, LA.
NEW BUSINESS - BSA regular Wednesday meeting originally scheduled for
July 3rd will be changed to Tuesday July 16th from 6-9pm to accommodate our guest speaker Mike Rogers with the
BSF Speaker program. We encourage all prospective, new and returning members to
mark your calendars to participate and take advantage of this wonderful
opportunity to learn. No snacks will be served as we feel it would limit our
time with the speaker; however, softdrinks and water will be provided.
RECENT NEWS
–
Exhibits:
Presentations: We
would like to thank BSA Director Johnny Hardcastle for his presentation on “Developing
a large Trident Maple”. Johnny provided a non-traditional Trident maple for
discussion and opinions regarding what he has accomplished thus far. He encouraged members to view the tree from
many angles to see just what you are working with in terms of style.
He provided his reasoning and
options to choosing the front of the tree by reminding us all that we are
trying to evoke an emotion when working with bonsai. He contemplated each side
for front views and received input from members on the use of deadwood where he
has previously carved areas.
Members participated in a
discussion of branching, traditional versus what is available. As well as discussion on pruning, working
from bottom to top, getting rid of branches too close or directionally
incorrect. Johnny reminded us when
deciding on branch selection to look at the taper and develop triangular shape.
Johnny also reminded us of the
challenges in the process of finding the basic shape, choosing branches and
adjusting to the tree trying to compensate by pushing growth.
We would like to say Thank You to BSA Members Vic and
Jane Hebert for providing food at the June meeting.
BLOG/USEFUL INFORMATION:
Check http://www.acadianabonsai.blogspot.com for any updates on upcoming events, current information
on BSA, and a list of vendors/companies that sell quality materials. This is your best source for information you
might have missed if you are unable to attend meetings each month. You may need to use a Google search to
connect to acadianabonsai. blogspot.com
UPCOMING EVENTS:
July 16th, 2013 BSA
Monthly Meeting with guest speaker 6-9pm
August 7th, 2013 BSA Monthly Meeting
November 2nd, 2013 LABS
@ First United Methodist Church, New Iberia 9-5pm
BSA Notes June 2013
BSA Notes June 2013
The Bonsai Society of Acadiana
(BSA) will meet on Wednesday June 5th at
7:00pm. BSA meets on the First Wednesday of each month at the
Ira Nelson Horticulture Bldg., 2206 Johnston Street, Lafayette, LA.
NEW BUSINESS - The Daylily Festival in Abbeville, Louisiana on
Saturday June 1, 2013 from 8:30-4pm. BSA will have an exhibit of members’ trees
– we welcome everyone to come out to support the club and encourage new
membership.
RECENT NEWS
–
Exhibits: Bonsai Society of Acadiana had an exhibit at
Stokes Nursery on Moss Street on Saturday May 4th for the nursery’s
Spring Fling. There were Master Gardeners doing some demonstrations, plenty of
plants to look over for potential bonsai, an open jam of music, and food.
We would like to thank all the members who were able to attend. Here are
a few pictures of the BSA club members and trees on exhibit:
Presentations: We
would like to thank BSA President Boyd Snellgrove for his presentation on
“Bonsai Fertilizer – The Real Poop”. He provided a two page handout of
information that members could keep as a reference tool when finding what works
best. Boyd’s presentation began with a
word of encouragement that various opinions exist on what fertilizer works
best, but the most important point is to take all the opinions and products and
find what works best for you and your area.
Opinions aside, what we know is
that most of us under fertilize due to time constraints. So finding the right combination is essential
so that when you are able to fertilize, you make the most of it.
The handout provided to members
gave great information on how to understand that fertilizer is to plants as
vitamins are to humans. In nature, plants absorb nutrients from rain water and
soil, but in bonsai pots, the soil drains better, but causes poor retention of nutrients. Boyd also provided information on NPK of
fertilizer. N stands for Nitrogen – helps with new growth, shoots, leaf size,
internodes, and color. This number is usually low for bonsai since we prefer
leaves to remain small. P stands for Phosphorus – helps root growth, bud
formation and disease protection. K stands for Potassium – which supports
flowers and fruits, and provides disease protection.
We learned the differences in micronutrients
and general fertilizer, organic versus inorganic fertilizers, how and when to
fertilize sick, young, or recently transplanted trees, and about balanced
fertilizers. And were provided a list of
most commonly used fertilizers for bonsai.
The presentation provided new
and seasoned members important information to add to their” tool box” of bonsai
knowledge.
We would like to say Thank You to BSA Director Johnny
Hardcastle for providing food at the May meeting.
BLOG/USEFUL INFORMATION:
Check http://www.acadianabonsai.blogspot.com for any updates on upcoming events, current information
on BSA, and a list of vendors/companies that sell quality materials. This is your best source for information you
might have missed if you are unable to attend meetings each month. You may need to use a Google search to
connect to acadianabonsai. blogspot.com
UPCOMING EVENTS:
June 1st, 2013 Annual
Daylily Festival in Abbeville, LA
8:30am-4:00pm
June 5th, 2013 BSA
Monthly Meeting
July 3rd, 2013 BSA
Monthly Meeting
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