Atlanta Bonsai Society

August 2010

The President's Corner

Well here we are, mid growing season, and ready to buy more plants at the annual auction! This is the greatest time for each and every member to bring someone who has admired your trees to an event that will provide them a chance to get in on great deals. The years when we brought in people outside our own club were our most successful, so everyone has a part to play! My first auction was thrilling, and a great source of building a collection of trees to learn from. People will tell stories of how aggressively I bid on the things I wanted. But it was the last 30 minutes where I really had fun. The crowd had dwindled, and many of the trees and pots I bought were literally under $1. Small and large, ugly and nice they were treasures to me. As I worked them over the decade, I learned a great deal about our craft.

In addition to bringing friends and buying for yourself, this is a great time to consider refreshing your own collection. Take a walk through your garden. Are there trees just sitting there, that you really just don't have the time or the knowledge to work? Are there trees that have become too big to lift? Are they too small to water precisely? Did you dig up some landscape material like juniper, boxwood, azaleas thinking you would create a masterpiece? Whatever the reason, this is a great chance to donate materials to the club. This is our one big fundraiser every year. It is the foundation to bringing in talented artists and masters like Roy Nagatoshi, Ted Matson, Suthin Sukosolvisit, and Marco Invernizzi. If you want more, help us have a successful day on August 21, 2010.

Thanks,

Denise
denise@DeniseBeckmann.com

The Next Club Event

2010 ATLANTA BONSAI SOCIETY AUCTION
Dates: Saturday August 21, 2010 1:30PM
Location: Dekalb County Recreation Center
2235 Briarwood Way, Atlanta 30319

Our Annual Bonsai Auction is coming soon!
Saturday, August 21, 1:30pm
Dekalb County Recreation Center, 2235 Briarwood Way, Atlanta 30319

Beginners, come and get a deal on some great prebonsai to work with.
Collectors, you can donate some of the trees you have neglected, and upgrade your collection with some new ones.
Members, this is a great event to bring a friend and introduce them to bonsai.
Everyone come, bring money, and have fun! This is the biggest event of the year!

Donations Needed for the Annual Bonsai Auction!

Please bring trees, prebonsai, garden plants, tools, supplies, books, art or any other item of interest for donation - your club needs your support.
Have your items at the Recreation Center well before 1:00pm, to give us time to tag them for the auctioneer, and so the buyers have time to preview the items for sale.

Thank you,
Your Auction Committee

Volunteers Needed for the Annual Bonsai Auction coming August 21

We will need 6 volunteers to assist in the Auction on Saturday, August 21 in the afternoon. Please send your name, phone number and email address to rickdawsey@toolpro.com, or call me on my cell 770.656.1717.

Thank you,
Rick Dawsey

To see the entire club calendar click here

Ted Groszkiewicz Bonsai Calendar for August (zones 7 & 8)
Brought to the ABS in memory of outstanding ABS member, Ted Groszkiewicz

Transplant/Root Prune:
Buttonwood, Tropicals, Willow.

Branch Prune:
Birch, Cedar, Cryptomeria, Jasmine - winter, Sweetgum - after new growth hardens, Witch Hazel - after the leaves harden.

Trim/Pinch New Growth:
Apricot - trim long shoots, Buttonwood, Beech, Birch, Cedar, Crabapple, Hawthorn, Hemlock, Hornbeam, Juniper, Pine - all.

Leaf Prune:
Maples, Pomegranate, Zelkova.

Fertilize:
Buttonwood, Plum, Rhododendron, Tropicals.

Wire:
Apple - after new shoots have become woody, Azalea, Birch, Cedar, Cotoneaster, Crabapple - after new shoots have become woody, Cryptomeria, Cypress, Elaeagnus, Gardenia - as shoots become woody, Hackberry - after new shoots harden, Hawthorn, Holly - new growth only - old wood too brittle, Honey Locust - as new shoots harden, Hornbeam - after new shoots harden, Juniper, Maples - all - after new shoots have hardened, Mountain Laurel - after new shoots harden, Pines - all, Podacarpus, Privet, Quince - Chinese, Sasanqua, Serviceberry - after growth has become woody, Yew.

Notes:
Do not neglect watering. This month can be very hot and dry. Keep rotating your bonsai so all parts of the tree are exposed to the sun equally. This will insure good, healthy growth. Do not over-water. Too much water during the hot season could result in root disease problems with heat build-up in the container. If soil in the container is wet at the end of a hot day, you could have drainage problems.

Drastic branch pruning is to be avoided, particularly on flowering bonsai; you could lose next year's flowers by ambitious pruning. You can trim lightly and wire the smaller branches.

For watering mame (very small) bonsai and accessory plants, you can set them into a tray filled with either perlite or coarse vermiculite. Keep the perlite or vermiculite watered and your small plants will have sufficient moisture and stay cooler.

Check trees often for wire damage. Don't unwrap (uncoil) wires from tree branches. You could break off a desired branch which may be difficult or impossible to re-grow. Instead, cut the wire off in small coils which will easily drop off the branch. You can use the American-made diagonal wire cutters or Japanese bonsai wire cutters.

This is a good time for major pruning and wire training of pines and other conifers.

If severe or drastic pruning is necessary on any of the genetic dwarf pine varieties, make certain to give such plants winter protection, especially when temperatures drop below freezing.

Club Bulletins

Working Critique Format: The price for tree owners will be $60/hr - $30/half-hr - $15/15min.
Members bringing trees should bring cash or check for prompt payment, to make it easier for the treasurer.
Tree owner or teacher or both, will have the right to "call time" on any given tree, with a maximum 1 hr per tree, to save time for others.

Volunteers needed for workshops: The ABS would like experienced club members to assist in workhops and help manage the time as our visiting bonsai artists work with workshop participants. Please call 770-650-0446 or email crh@bellsouth.net to volunteer!

Members signing up for private sessions with our visitng bonsai artists are expected to assist the club with the expenses of bringing the artist to Atlanta. Members who book a full-day session must pay $25 or $15 when booking a half day session. Fees should be paid to the club Tresurer.

Special Note to New Members: All new members (including youth) will receive a workshop FREE! Please contact Curt Howard for availability at 770-650-0446 or email crh@bellsouth.net for info and to reserve a space in the workshop.

BYOT: Note to all Members: Please bring trees and or suiseki (view stones) to the Sunday meeting for the Exhibit Table to share with other club members and more especially for new members and visitors to see. This is also a good opportunity to show off your "Workshop Tree" that you did last month or last year. Remember: Bring your own tree BYOT.

Do you have something that you would like to donate to the club to be given away FREE at any of our meetings? We usually have members that provide small items for a drawing at the meetings but it would be appreciated if any of our other members would like to bring something for the drawing. Remember someone's trash could be another's treasure, especially where bonsai-related items are concerned; however, the item does not have to be bonsai-related.

Consignment on Bonsai related items or trees: The Board members want to remind you that the club offers consignment for the sale of bonsai related items or trees at the Sunday monthly meeting. The club asks for 25% of the exchange for facilitating the sale.

Re: Workshop reservations... Please remember when you reserve a workshop that you are responsible for letting Curt know if you are unable to make it. If you are not able to cancel a full 72 hours before the workshop, you will be expected to pay for the spot. Letting Curt know ahead of time will allow him to fill the spot with someone else. Many times there is a waiting list.

New Club Members

The Atlanta Bonsai Society is pleased to welcome the following new members this year:
Ron & Elisabeth Hall
Oscar Brocci
Janet Geiger
Frank Jackson
Marlon Miller
Richard & Gloria Chapman
Fred Besaw
S.J. Russell
Tyler Allen
Dan Hall
Andrea Holley
David Murphy
Allice & Bob Attaway
Divicino
Christopher J. Grossman
Keith Funk
John Fleming
David Osborne
Kristen Stackfleth
Tom Eddins
Barbara Stevenson

In case you missed it...

Erik Wigert at work on some sweet tropicals.

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