CLUB MEETING SEP 8

We had a very small group at this month meeting, so we just met out on the patio of the craft room.

I was surprised when I saw the dragon fly sculpture in the first photo.

 

 

Gary brought in this maple which is growing over a rock. He was concerned that the base of the tree was not in contact with the rock. He can probably work the rock up into the root ball, when he repots it in the spring. 

 

This informal upright juniper  has a nice base and interesting movement in the trunk. Jeff's trees always look good.

 

I don't remember what kind of tree Jeff brought in but it may have been a cotoneaster. He had two broken branches which I helped him wire.  He covered the broken areas with tree sealer. 

 

Rosemary brought in this cotoneaster. It has some nice movement in the trunk. The lowest branch is very small and all the upper branches are quit heavy. I hope she brings it back, I would like to see what George or Kanemi would do with it.

 

Bob brought in a procumbens nana juniper cascade to work on. It looks really healthy. 

 

WHO MADE THIS, AND WHY DID THEY MAKE IT? I found this ball in the gutter in front of my house. It is almost a perfect sphere made of dry ornamental grass from my neighbors parkway. If you can solve this puzzle please let me know.

CLUB MEETING AUG 19

Ed is working on his cotoneaster. They are terrific plants for bonsai. I like the small red berries.

I did a computer search for "cotoneaster bonsai" and found this at artofbonsai.org.

Dave is working on an informal upright juniper.

The cascade style bonsai mimics a tree hanging on the side of a cliff struggling to survive. Jeff is working on a procumbens Nana cascade.

This is the tree after a lot of prunning, and I think some help from George or Kanemi.

I did a little photo editing to show what it might look like in a pot.

Minh is pruning an unusual tree. I understand it is very common thoughout Asia.

The common name for this tree is Mickey Mouse. It is also called a  four seasons tree. The flowers come out yellow in the spring, then turn red. then develop green seed pods which turn black when ripe. The seed pods germinate easily.

This is a close up of the flowers/seeds.

CLUB MEETING JUL 15

Bob- Trident Maple

In order to give this tree a better taper, the top has been removed, and a branch has been bent up to form a new apex. This branch will have to be wired up in order to improve its formal upright design. It has a very nice wide root base.

Aaron- Juniper

George is making some suggestions on styling this tree. At this stage there are a lot of options. David is looking on.

Gary- Juniper

This tree has nice branching structure, and the branches have been wired with a slight downward slop. This gives the appearance of age.

Joe- Juniper

Kanemi is helping with the wiring of Joe's formal upright style Juniper.

Long- Cedar

This tree has an impressive taper.

Minh- Needle Juniper

I like the movement of the trunk on this tree. It looks a little top heavy but she is not finished

pruning.

Ed- Black Pine

Kanemi helping with the pruning of Ed's tree.

Phil- Apple

My apple tree is still in bloom, but I am removing any new apples. Kanemi said this little tree can only support one apple.

CLUB MEETING JUN 9

The instructional topic for the June meeting was candle pruning. The young new growth of pines are called candles. Generally these candles can be pruned twice a year. Usually in the spring, and again in the fall. Cutting the candles at there base will force the tree to put out new candles which will sprout at the base of the previous years needles. This pruning will help to form smaller and more dense needles. The fall pruning candles are usually cut one third to half way down the candle. The pine trees below are all Japanese Black Pines.



This pine is in a large nursery container which helps it to matune faster. You can see some of the candles that have been removed.



Here in another nursery container pine. It has a fairly nice root structure already, and the pruning is almost complete.






This cascade style pine has a nice root structure with heavy radiating roots. The top half of the trunk has been stripped of all branches and is being formed as a JIN. The bark will be striped for this part of the treed and will be made to look as tough the tree had been struck by lighting or heavy winds. This makes the tree appear old and weathered.




Jeff brought in one of his Kingsford Boxwoods to work on. They have very small leaves and make terrific miniture bonsais. They are very slow growing, and not easy to find.

Here is a close up of the kingsford boxwood.

CLUB MEETING JAN 8

We had our traditional January grafting workshop. George did this one for me last year, and as usual the one I did died.

I tried doing one again this year and had George do one for me. I also picked up one Kanemi did (not pictured). My guess is I will have two survivals.

Kieth brought in two terrific Trident Maples which were given to him by a client. This one is planted over a petrified wood rock.

Kanemi restyled both trees.

This is the first tree completed.

The second tree before prunning.

Here is the final results.