The Twisted Wire
The Official Newsletter of the Gold Country Bonsai Club
From the Bench of the President
Now is a good time to defoliate our deciduous trees. We usually remove all of the leaves. If there are several that have new leaf buds emerging we leave those. The bonsai will bud back really fast this time of year. You will most probably see new growth within about 20 days. As the new leaves emerge in early August they will be smaller than the ones you removed. If you are using scissors cut the sepal about 1/3 between the twig and the leaf. As this piece dies back the new buds will emerge and then the sepal will fall off.
You can perform this process on maples, elms, zelkova, crabapples, ginkgos, and other deciduous trees. When you defoliate you can also apply wire and remove some branches that don’t fit with your design. After defoliation don’t give them too much water. Because the leaves are gone the trees will take longer to get dry.
In August you can begin feeding with 0-10-10 once every two weeks until the leaves turn color and begin to fall. You can also water your trees using Superthrive or B-1 anytime. It is a good practice to do this every 2 or 3 weeks. Make sure you use a dilute mixture like 1/4 cup for 2 gallons for B-1 or 2 drops of Superthrive for 1 gallon of water. I know it does not seem like very much but your bonsai will notice.
Application of fertilizer should continue until mid August and then stop until the end of September. We do this because our trees enter a false dormancy during the really hot months so they will not be able to metabolize Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorous very efficiently. Using fertilizer is an individual thing; you know how your trees are growing better than anyone else so it is ok to listen to lots of advice; but in the final analysis do what you think is best.
The August meeting will be our annual picnic for all currently registered club members and their significant others . It will be a pot luck with the club supplying the meat and members supplying the sides. As in the past it will be an R.S.V.P. event so we will have a count of how many will be attending. I will be posting more information after August 1st.
Scott
Tips and Techniques by Scott Chadd
Scott’s Tips and Techniques for June can be found in his President’s letter above. For additional information on what can be done this month see Peter Tea’s June Write-Up found on the left side of the webpage.
Gold Country Officers and Board Members
Officers
President – Scott Chadd – scottchadd@lotusbonsai.com Vice President – Linda Gartner – lagartne@micron.com Secretary – Bolet Salvador – bolet@lotusbonsai.com Treasurer – Sue Holm – theholms2013@gmail.com
Board Members
Don Van Dyke – don.a.van.dyke@sbcglobal.net Paul Holtzen – pbholtzen@sbcglobal.net Paul Vandlik – paulvan9653@gmail.com Pat Flynn – ptflynn@sbcglobal.net
Heard From The Bonsai Stand by Bolet Salvador
Hear ye, hear ye!!!.
August 1 – 2, 2015 San Francisco, California
San Francisco Suiseki Kai: 34th Annual Suiseki Exhibit at the Union Bank Community Room, Japan Center, 1675 Post Street. Hours are 10 AM – 5 PM. both days. Show coincides with the 42nd annual Nihonmachi Street Fair, so come early and enjoy your day in San Francisco’s historic Japan Town! Suiseki and stone sales. For more information about our club, contact sfsuisekikai@gmail.com or visit http://sfsuisekikai.wordpress.com.
August 22 – 23, 2015 Santa Rosa, California
Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS): 32th Annual show at the Santa Rosa Veterans building, 1351 Maple Ave. 10 AM – 5 PM Saturday and 10 AM – 4 PM Sunday with demonstrations both days at 1 PM by club sensei Kathy Shaner. Large exhibit of members’ trees, vendors’ sales room, members’ sales room, raffle and silent auction. Free admission, parking and treats. Contact Bob Shimon @ 707-884-4126 or shimon@mcn.org
September 19, 2015 Placerville, California
Gold Country Bonsai Club: The first Bonsai show by this new club will be held at Rainbow Orchards in the lovely Apple Hill destination at El Dorado County. 10 AM – 4 PM with Bonsai Clinic and suiseki exhibit. For more information, contact Scott Chadd at (530) 622-9681 or scottchadd@lotusbonsai.com.
September 20, 2015 San Mateo, California
San Mateo Bonsai Club: 52nd Annual Bonsai Exhibit at San Mateo Gardeners Hall, 503 E. 5th Ave. (5th & Claremont). Show hours are 10 AM – 4 PM with Bonsai Clinic to be held by club members. Free Admission. For more information, contact Sam Tachibana(650) 548-9470 or stachibana@sbcglobal.net.
September 23 – 27, 2015 Santa Ana, California
Kofu Bonsai Kai: 2015 Bonsai Fest at the Bowers Museum “The Bonsai Tradition: Cultural Arts of Japan” – John M. Lee Court, 2002 N. Main St. Hours are 10 AM – 4 PM daily. Featuring bonsai trees of the members of Kofu Bonsai Kai and special presentations by noted speakers (names, dates and times to be announced). Free to Bowers Museum members or with paid museum admission. Final speaker and presentation schedules will be posted on the Bowers Museum Website: http://www.bowers.org/ and Kofu Bonsai Kai: http://www.kofukai.org/. Questions? Call the museum at (714) 567-3695 or email Michael Walsh at michaeljwalsh@outlook.com.
September 25 – 27, 2015 Portland, Oregon
The Artisans Cup held at The Portland Art Museum. The Artisans Cup is the premier exhibition of American Bonsai. The event will also feature select artisans who are creating distinctive supporting elements such as ceramics, woodwork, tools, and more. For further information, visit our website at http://www.theartisanscup.com/.
September 26 – 27, 2015 Penryn, California
Sierra Bonsai Club: Club show in conjunction with Placer Buddhist Church’s Annual Fall Food Festival. Hours are 11 AM – 4 PM Saturday and 11 AM to 4 PM Sunday. Bonsai demonstration by Scott Chadd in the afternoon, both days. For more information contact Robin Knittle at robin_knittle@yahoo.com or Gary Judd at juddbonsai@att.net or 916-622-8048.
October 3 – 4, 2015 Thousand Oaks, California
Conejo Valley Bonsai Society: 12th Annual Bonsai Exhibition at the Resource Center at the Gardens of the World, 2001 Thousand Oak Blvd. Hours are 9 AM – 4 PM both days with demonstrations at 11 AM (Saturday) and 2 PM (Sunday) in the Bandstand. Free Admission. For information, call Marj Branson at 805-373-1330 or visit our web site at www.cvbs-bonsai.org.
October 10 – 11, 2015 Oakland, California
East Bay Bonsai Society: 54nd Annual Fall Show at the Garden Center at Lake Merritt Park, 666 Bellevue Ave. Hours areSaturday 10 AM – 5 PM and Sunday 11 AM – 4 PM. Ryan Nichols, a bonsai professional, will be conducting a demonstration on Sunday afternoon. Trees, pots, and accessories for sale. All events free to general public. All day parking $5.00 on Bellevue Avenue and GSBF Northern Bonsai Collection is next door to the show.
October 17 – 18, 2015 Union City, California
Yamato Bonsai Kai: 44th Annual Bonsai Exhibition at the Southern Alameda County Buddhist Church, 32975 Alvarado-Niles Rd. Hours are Saturday Noon to 6 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM. Demonstrations each day at 2 PM by Johnny Uchida, with Mike Baker and Tony Hayworth. Benefit raffle each day after the demo. Raffle includes the demo tree. Large Vendor and Plant Sales area. Free Admission & Parking. For additional information, call Tony Hayworth at 510-289-5731 or visit our web site at www.yamatobonsai.org.
October 24 – 25, 2015 Sacramento, California
Capital City Bonsai Association: 15th Annual Show supporting GSBF Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt and Sacramento bonsai clubs. Shepard Garden Center in McKinley Park, 3330 McKinley Blvd. Hours are 10 AM – 5 PM Saturday and 10 AM – 4 PM Sunday, with demonstration both days at 1:30 PM by sponsor clubs with bonsai benefit drawings to follow. Vendor and club sales throughout the show. For more information contact Gary Judd at 916-622-8048 orjuddbonsai@att.net .
October 29 – November 1, 2015 Riverside, California
Golden State Bonsai Federation (GSBF): presents 2015 Convention 38 “Bonsai Fusion: Where Tradition Meets Innovation” at the Riverside Convention Center, 3637 Fifth Street near Main. Headliners: Bjorn Bjorholm and John Wang. Guest artists: David Nguy and Tak Shimazu. Demonstrations, seminars, critiques, work-shops, benefit drawings, vendors, and much more. More information available at www.GSBF2015.com.
Note: Addition events are listed under “Events” on the website header. Click on it to open it up and take a look.
2014 Meeting Calendar and Agenda
July- The meeting will be held at Lotus Bonsai Nursery. Bring trees you would like to work on or have questions about.
August- Club Picnic held at Paul Vandlik’s residence.
September- Club Show September 19, 2015. The meeting will be a critique of the show which will be held the week before. NOTE: We will again be meeting at the Cameron Park Community Center.
October-Since the GSBF Convention will be held on October 29th, we will have our regular meeting on our schedule, October 22nd. We will be working on members trees in preparation for fall and winter.
November-Our regular meeting falls on Thanksgiving so there will be no meeting this month.
December-Our Annual Christmas Party will be held this month, date, time and place to be decided.
HELP WANTED
The staff of Golden State Bonsai Federation (GSBF) publication Golden Statements Magazine is in need to fill the following positions:
- Treasurer
- Subscriptions Manager
- Part Time Assistants
For more details on duties and special perks, contact George Haas, Past Editor of Golden Statements Magazine, 707-762-9154 or gwhaas@comcast.net
