Thursday, August 22, 2013

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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