News

July 2023 Newsletter

PO Box 2682, Olympia WA 98507-2682

www.olympiabonsai.org *** https://www.facebook.com/OlympiaBonsaiClub/

IT’S AUCTION TIME AGAIN!

It’s time to clear out your unwanted collection of pots, books, tools, and trees! Buying or selling, we hope to see each member at the auction. Sellers please arrive by 6:30pm to get your items evaluated and set up for auction. Cash or check only for all transactions.

For more details, see the club webpage at Annual Club Auction (olympiabonsai.org).

WORKSHOPS

The June show and tell workshop was a success. The trees in attendance included a flowering plum, western white pine, boxwood, Japanese maples, Satsuki azaleas, a Blue Atlas Cedar, and a Chinese elm. Thank you to Jeff H, Dan B, and Craig and Millie R who stayed and helped Joe K clean up the fire station. Volunteers for workshop set up and break down are always needed, let Gerry O know if you are interested. No topic is planned for the July workshop, just bring your trees to work on. Tom and Joe are taking a break, just like their plants are.

What to do in Summer, complements of Joe K

Well it looks like the lazy, hazy days of summer are upon us. You should have by now completed your trimming of your springtime growth on all of your deciduous trees. Pines should have had the candle work done on them. I know, I know, there are some diehards that don't decandle until July but that is not the norm and if it works for them that's fine. I don't do much with my trees during the months of July, August and early September. I'm of the school that believes that this is the time for trees to regain their vigor and I do not want to cause them any more stress than they are going to receive from the hot weather. I may selectively pinch back old needles off my junipers but little else.

So, what is important this time of the year? WATERING!!! For the June meeting, Cole gave an outstanding presentation on how to build an automated watering system and did a thorough job of laying out both the pros and cons of utilizing that system. A system like this is needed if you are gone for periods of time and have no one you can rely on to water your plants in your absence.

So when do we water our plants? Is it best in the morning? Is it best in the evening? The short answer is . . . you water when the plants need it. It may be the first thing in the morning or the last thing in the afternoon, and you may even need to water during midday. Unlike plants in the ground watered in the morning, that same plant living in a confined Bonsai pot may decide to begin to wither away by midday. The other thing that you must consider is the variety of plants that you have in your collection. Because of the different needs for each Bonsai plant, you may want to put them all on a calendar.

I wish I had the time and the knowledge to cover all the species and their watering requirements but that's not possible so I will try to give some helpful hints that I have picked up along the way.

Trees needs vary but most deciduous trees and accent plants will most likely want more frequent watering while some conifers, in particular pines, will want less frequent watering. You will need to carefully study each plant species, the soil it's in, the placement in the garden, and the container it's in to keep your plant alive and thriving.

The guidelines that are used by most of the Japanese masters {and their followers} is that you water deciduous trees when the soil is about 50% dry and that you water your conifers when they are 70%. Using those guidelines, one needs to watch and pattern each and every plant that they have in their collection. Sound tough or unrealistic? Well it might seem that way, but over the course of a couple of weeks you can get an idea of what your plants needs are.

Keep in mind that your trees will go through many different cycles during the year and plants that are in the spring growth cycle will use much more water during that period than when they are in a semi dormant or dormant cycle in the summer when they may only use a small portion of what they used in the spring. I am still amazed that in July and August trees that have sat out in the sun all day require less water than they did in late May and June.

Now is the time to watch for drainage. If your plants are not draining well it may be a sign that you have a problem, are your drain holes clogged or does your plant need to be repotted in the coming year? Root rot is caused by under watering and allowing the roots to dry out completely causing them to die. Then to try and turn things around we often water frequently causing the roots to rot. If your plants are slow to dry you may be dealing with a major problem, so be vigilant.

Probably the most important thing about watering by hand is that it gives us the opportunity to observe each and every one of our plants and check on any diseases or pests that may be present. It may take more time than you might want to spend watering but the results are worth it.

There are many fine articles about Bonsai watering and one of the best resources that has helped me on my journey is reading Michaeal Hagedorn's chapter 20 of his book "Bonsai Heresy" and I must add he's got some other pretty interesting facts in other chapters.

To sum up, the best time to water is when your plants need it.

The answer to last month's question "How many plants is too many?" Answer: When you can no longer take care of all of them.

LAVA/SOIL/PUMICE ORDER

Running low on ingredients to repot your trees? The club now offers not only lava rock but pre-sifted pumice and bags of pre-mixed soil. Please contact Kent R. and make arrangements to pick it up directly from him (971-236-3641 or warlordkentax@gmail.com.)

PLEASE RETURN YOUR EMPTIED LAVA BAGS TO KENT FOR RE-USE

2023 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

July Meeting - Annual Club Auction!

7/13 7PM / Lacey Community Center

July Workshop

7/22 10 AM - 2PM / North Olympia Fire Station

September Meeting

9/14 7PM / Lacey Community Center

September Workshop

9/23 10 AM - 2PM / North Olympia Fire Station

October Meeting

10/12 7PM / Lacey Community Center

October Workshop

10/21 10 AM - 2PM / North Olympia Fire Station

November Meeting

11/9 7PM / Lacey Community Center

November Workshop

11/18 10 AM - 2PM / North Olympia Fire Station

December Meeting

Date TBD - Mauro Stemberger, Italian Bonsai Artist

Officers

President - Sam L.

Vice President - Darrell A.

Secretary - Kent R.

Treasurer - Eduardo M.

Workshop Volunteer Coordinator

Gerry O.

Past President

Gerry O.

Board of Directors

Cole N.

Logan H.

Matt C.

Librarian

Volunteer Needed

Webmaster