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The Bonsai News of H ouston A Monthly Newsletter of the Houston Bonsai Society Inc.
Wyoming in the Dead of Winter - A photo essay by a renowned Vietnamese photographer Thanh Vo
The next meeting of the Houston Bonsai Society will be on Wednesday January 6th, 2016 at the Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion in Hermann Park, off of Hermann Park Drive, Houston, TX 77030. Refreshments at 7 PM, meeting starts at 7:30 PM.
Wednesday, January 6th, HBS Monthly Meeting: Collecting from the Wild with Brian Gurrola, to prepare club members for the club dig on February 20th on Brian’s family ranch. Please sign up with Brian so transportation can be organized early. For Show & Tell with Ray, please bring your proudest yamadori collected from previous years.
Upcoming Events
Saturday, January 9th, Saturday Study Group at Timeless Trees Bonsai Nursery in Rosenberg, TX, 9AM – 12 Noon. Free, refreshments provided.
Saturday, January 16th, Bring Your Own Tree workshop with Rodney Clemons, at Timeless Trees, Rosenberg, TX. Morning session 9AM – 12 Noon - $40, afternoon session 1PM - 4 PM - $40, or $75 for both.
Saturday, January 23rd, Japanese Black Pine winter workshop, Timeless Trees, 9AM – Till we finish. Cost: $25. Ken Credeur will lead the workshop, focus on repotting from nursery can or bonsai pot, and major structural wiring. Copper wire is best, aluminum will work. Bring your soil of choice and your preferred wire or buy from the nursery.
Wednesday, February 3rd, HBS Monthly Meeting: Repotting Conifers with Howard and Sylvia Smith. Refreshments at 7 PM, Meeting starts at 7:30 PM.
Saturday, February 6th, Saturday Study Group at Maas Nursery, in Seabrook, TX, 9AM – 12 Noon. Free, refreshments provided.
Volume 45 Number 1 January 2016
IN THIS ISSUE
Upcoming Events
Collecting Yamadori
Showcase of the Month
Winter silhouettes
January Bonsai Care
John Miller
President’s Letter
Special Bonsai Winter landscapes
Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo 2015
and The Unique Lessons
They Teach
Winter silhouettes
January Bonsai Care
Winter this year has been pretty non-existent. That kind of weather is bad for bonsai. The trees can’t really get prepared for winter. And we most likely will find a cold front trying to do havoc. Try to select locations to temporize the lows and highs by utilizing ground heat and artificial shade.
Be sure your trees are well watered before going through a deep freeze. They will be losing water to evaporation but will not be able to replenish it if the soil in the pot is frozen. Protection from high winds is necessary so they will not dry the tops out. Sunlight is not necessary on deciduous trees when they have lost their leaves. In fact, it can be bad for the tree because it will heat up the trunk and would make the tree come out of dormancy too early.
I advocate placing the trees on a well drained ground bed in a protected shady area, and then cover the pots with a shallow layer of mulch. This will give the roots several degrees of protection. You should know which trees have a greater need for water. If you put these trees together, it will be easier to check your need for watering while they are in the bed.
I would treat the evergreens in a similar manner but put them where they can get some sun.
Personally, I keep my outside hardy trees on the benches until the temp goes below 25. Then I set the deciduous and more tender evergreens on the ground below and between the benches until a temp in the teens is expected. At that point, I will use old carpet and quilts to cover the benches. For the rest of the winter, I leave them there and lift the sides for air circulation of the deciduous trees and uncover fully the evergreens when the temp rises. Sounds like a lot of work but I developed a routine that fits me and it isn’t as bad as watering in the summer.
Of course the tender and semi-tender trees need protection. The semi-tender get left out for some frost but no freezing. When freezing is expected, put them in a cool area. If they show growth again, they go to the greenhouse. I don’t have a big greenhouse that gives optimum growing conditions but it keeps things from freezing.
Indoor trees will be using more water to offset the lower humidity. Soil will also be losing water faster through its surface. Be sure to watch the indoor trees for insect problems. Most plant insects love a controlled atmosphere like the indoors. Spider mites seem to get the most attention here because they do great in a low humidity and the lack of foliage spraying. Scale can be an easily overlooked source of trouble. There are usually more severe problems with plants that have been kept outdoors in the summer then brought in without any treatment. Indoor trees need to be fertilized regularly and will require periodic trimming as they continue to grow through the winter.
Greenhouses are much the same as indoors. However, most greenhouses are kept more humid. The higher humidity is to the liking of aphids and fungal diseases. It may also result in your keeping the soil too moist with associated root problems. Use you standard insect controls that you used last summer. I use my Garrett Juice mixture.
Styling can be done at this time but no repotting, unless you are going to keep the tree from freezing after that. Repotting initiates new root development which
is usually not very hardy. A better approach would be to study one or two thoroughly each day, making notes on what needs to be done.
January is an excellent time to start any remodeling projects that may be necessary. While the trees are dormant, you have better view of the branch structure. Does any branch need to be moved or removed? Do any coarse branches need to be cut back to a smaller size branch for refinement? Do any long straight branches need wiring to give them motion? Does the tree really need a drastic redesign? You can also trim the twigs back while you have them there. You can also decide if that tree will need to be repotted this spring. Is the present pot good or should you find a more appropriate pot for it?
Any long warm spells during the month could activate some of the insect problems but as a rule, there are no special ones to look for in January. Spraying with a dormant oil spray will kill adults, nymphs, and eggs of any trying to over-winter on your trees. Some dormant sprays can be used on new growth but better results overall will be obtained if you do it before Valentine’s Day. A weak lime sulphur dormant spray before February 1 will also get fungal spores.
If you have your summer display and growing benches cleared, you could use a stronger solution of lime sulphur to disinfect that area too. The underside of the benches should be sprayed also, that might even eliminate spider mites next year.
If you have several trees and find that you usually run short in time during the busy repotting season, you may gain a little advantage by mixing your soil this month.
I am looking forward to the week after Christmas. That is when I will start bringing my shohin elms and maples into the greenhouse to break dormancy. I get to play with them a couple of months earlier than I would without the greenhouse. That repotting, restyling, and the first flush of growth will be over before the big stuff starts growing.
John Miller
John Miller, who writes a monthly column for the Bonsai Society of Dallas and Fort Worth Bonsai Society, has agreed to share his column with us. We need to make adjustments for our warmer and damper climate, with earlier springs, longer summers, late fall and erratic winters.
A natural bonsai tree on the mountain side – Photo by Mr. Thanh Vo
President’s Letter
Friends, The New Year is upon us. January is a flurry of activity for me and my family. Hopefully you have survived eating too much, Christmas Specials, and somebody’s Uncle Bob, who drinks too much and snores too loud. But family is a wonderful thing, even with all of their quirks and warts, etc. We did get to spend some time with our kids, our wonderful grandkids, and our friends. I even squeezed in a hunting trip, while nobody was looking. Hopefully you have also enjoyed some quality time with the people you really like being with. The board has a whole host of activities planned for the year. Scott has some local artists and some professional artists for our meetings lined up. We are going to move our annual auction to the spring this year instead of September. Dean is working on a Spring and a Fall show. We have The Texas Tour
speaker, Rodney Clemons, visiting us in late April. We also have a new host for the Saturday Study Group on the Saturday after the meetings. Ken Cousino, who owns Quality Feed and Garden in the Heights has offered to host it every 3rd month. This year, Brian Gurrola will host a dig at his ranch on February 20th. So we have lots of fun planned. In October, the Corpus Christi club will host the LSBF State Convention 2016, which is also a shift from the normal time it was normally held. They are going to focus on Cascade Style. So now is the time to get those trees prepped for that fall show. It will also be a better time to display some trees, such as Japanese Black Pines. It is time to work on pines and junipers, while they are the most dormant. Repotting is a chore, but one of the most important things we do. We might not have a very cold winter. So it is best to have that done, then get ready to start on the Deciduous. Thank you for your confidence in me and the new board. We will strive to serve you and further our hobby through education and success. Don’t forget about having a good time! Happy New Year! Hurley
The Grand Canyon in Winter – Photo by Thanh Vo
This year, while shopping for my loved ones’ Christmas gifts, I rewarded myself (since I am my number 1 loved one) with a few Kokufu-Ten books. My curious brother circled the table of packages in hope of finding out early what has been reserved for him. In the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of bare bonsai trees pictured in my treasure books. As he flipped the pages, trying hard to find appreciation for the best bonsai in the world, he started mumbling: Since when the Japanese masters show dead trees in such a prestigious exhibit? I came running to see what he meant. Dead trees? What do you mean dead trees? I asked.
Those turned out to be naked trees. In our bonsai world, they are poetically glorified as Winter Silhouette. Just bare bones for the lay people or for the old me, not too long ago. To someone like me who grew up near the equator, bare trees or dead wood were signs of imminent demise. Few trees shed their entire coat at once, unless stripped by merciless typhoons or quietly poisoned by Agent Orange. Before acquiring my appreciation of ramification in bonsai, sights of bare trees, especially ghostly bald cypresses in Louisiana swamps, usually brought on an instant terror, followed by unfathomable sadness. That’s the same sadness I have recognized over the years, when having to part with my beloved and longtime bonsai friends.
A couple days later, I stopped by an Art gallery in town, Palette, to view a collection of a famous 80-year old Vietnamese photographer, Mr. Thanh Vo. To my amazement, I learned that this extraordinary artist has spent most of his years behind a camera lens. He has traveled the world with his cameras to extract the beautiful, magical and the poetic from the mundane. His prints emanate a mystical and mysterious feel, an almost 3-D effect that jumps off the canvas. Yes, he only prints on canvas these days, not on glossy, matte or silver paper like Ansel Adams or other famous ones.
For this winter exhibit, he chose mostly landscapes in winter, captured from the most famous American wonders I have never had the chance to explore. Among those extraordinary sights, the most
captivating were bonsai like bare trees on snow covered slopes and cliffs. Sunlight reflected on the thick winter coat glowed like a rainbow sprinkled on the white canvas of snow. Though they cling for dear life to rocks or ravines, cracks and slopes, these incredible bare trees stand proud and tall with their broken branches and natural deadwood, as living proof of the undying American spirit. A bit stunted or injured from their battles against the elements, they display their even stronger character and sheer determination to thrive against all odds, in any challenging habitat.
A newly acquired appreciation for that chilling and austere beauty changed my perception of the black and white pen & ink quality of naked winter silhouettes. Funny when my sadness gave way to a new exciting perspective, a whole new world of bonsai or rather winter bonsai, opened up. I had the good luck to stumble onto Bill Valavanis’ blog and the Winter Bonsai Silhouette Expo revealed itself to me. This extra-ordinarily elegant event was last held on December 5-6, 2015 in Kannapolis, North Carolina, near Charlotte.
Bill Valavanis has been one of the prominent figures in American Bonsai on the East Coast, a life-long devoted bonsai teacher and a premier bonsai magazine publisher. He generously shares his bonsai
travels on his blog. He is one of the most heavy weight supporters of Steve Zeisel, the father, sponsor and organizer of the Winter Silhouette Expo. This year’s exhibit is the third. The show attracts a bigger and bigger crowd, not only because of its famous headliners and exceptional bonsai, but mostly because the participants are given a blank canvas to express their creativity, away from the familiar conforming trends. My hat to you, Steve, for starting such an important event for our bonsai community and promoting a dramatic expression of naked trees caught with their… foliage down.
Here are some excerpts from Bill Valavanis’ blog: Creativity ran wild this year, which was not present in the first Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo three years ago. Although most exhibitors and visitors came from the southeast, many traveled from the northeast as well as Florida. The quality of bonsai in Florida is rapidly becoming more refined and three of the top awards went home to Florida.
All events are free and open to the public… Sponsored by bonsai hobbyist Steve Zeisel, this exhibition is unique on the east coast featuring deciduous bonsai without foliage so the true beauty can be appreciated. You can’t fake the beauty of deciduous bonsai, or at least, it is very difficult,
because everything is exposed to the viewers once the leaves drop.
Shown here are some of the images of the 2015 winter bonsai. These photos are shared by Joseph Noga, one of the foremost bonsai photographers in the United States, from Winterville, North Carolina.
It would be boring to see an exhibit of only bare deciduous bonsai so a few evergreens were included to provide interest. Some of the evergreens showed their winter coloring in keeping with the theme of the exhibition. Three awards were presented: Best Silhouette, Best Evergreen and Best Fruiting Bonsai. The public selected a People’s Choice Award as well.
Calendar of Events
2016
JAN 1 Happy New Year!
JAN 6 HBS monthly meeting on Collecting from the Wild
with Brian Gurrola at Hermann Park Garden
JAN 9 HBS Saturday Study Group at Timeless Trees, 9AM – 12 Noon. Free, refreshments provided
JAN 16 Bring-Your-Own Tree workshop with Rodney
Clemons at Timeless Trees. Morning session 9AM – 12 Noon and afternoon session 1PM -4 PM. Cost: $40 for each session or $75 for both.
FEB 3 HBS monthly meeting on Repotting Conifers with Howard and Sylvia Smith at Hermann Park Garden
FEB 6 HBS Saturday Study Group at Quality Feed &
Garden in the Heights, 9AM – 12 Noon. Free, refreshments provided
FEB 8 Happy Lunar New Year of the Monkey! FEB 13 Basic Bonsai #1 Class, Timeless Trees Nursery,
9AM – 12 Noon, $60 per person. Focus will be on repotting. Students will receive a tree (boxwood, yaupon, or ficus), a ceramic pot, soil, wire, a handbook, and a pair of scissors. We will repot the trees into a pot, and make initial branch selection.
FEB 20 Shohin meeting at Persimmon Hill Bonsai, Austin, TX. Bring back previous workshop materials or new trees to work on.
FEB 20 Club dig at Brian Gurrola’s ranch. To sign up for transportation or for more details, contact Brian.
FEB 27 Shohin Study Group with Ray Gonzalez at
Timeless Trees, Rosenberg, TX, 9AM-Noon. Cost: $25. Focus will be on repotting. Soil provided.
MAR 2 HBS Monthly Meeting at Hermann Park Garden MAR 5 HBS Saturday Study Group at Maas Nursery,
Seabrook, TX, 9AM – 12 Noon. Free, refreshments provided
MAR 19-20 Master Class Workshop: Advanced
Techniques with Pedro Morales, repeated due to popular request.
I was honored to participate and work with Steve Zeisel in this year’s Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo and congratulate him for another stellar event. His vision and taste, combined with the support of bonsai hobbyists and professionals, in a unique venue is providing the bonsai community with another major event for appreciating and learning about bonsai during the dormant season. For more gorgeous or dramatic bonsai at the 2015 Winter Silhouette Expo, visit Bill Valavanis Bonsai blog, at: http://valavanisbonsaiblog.com/2015/12/09/2015-winter-silhouette-bonsai-expo/
In the first few years I live in the US, when winter arrived, I threw all the coats I owned on to cover my frame from head to toes, snuggled up in a cozy sofa with a good book and longed for the narcissus and daffodils to peek out and rescue me from my incurable SADness (Seasonal Affected Disease). That was when I realized I run on solar energy. No sunlight, no juice for my battery, no go! On a day where the sun went into hiding, all around me somber and peaceful landscapes blend together in many shades of grays, interrupted here and there by dark silhouettes of leafless trees.
Yet winter is not without its beauty. When I could not run outside to enjoy the sunshine, I stayed inside long enough to begin looking inward. The lonely holiday season became time for reflection. As my years pile up, I have witnessed enough cycles of life, enough changing seasons of my own existence, to see that the bare bones of a lonely tree hold within the promise of vibrant green, golden and red foliage, and for some, prolific sweet fruit.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe returned to me with a beautiful thought: Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it.
The monochromatic images of austere trees magically gave way to bonsai in other seasonal colors, shapes and splendors. I now see how all the other looks complement each other to form an ever changing big picture of the cycles and seasons of life. They all witness how natural forces balance our ecology and paint bonsai in their holistic beauty.
Wishing you and your loved ones (including the beautiful bare and quiet ones in the garden) a wonderful New Year!
Shawn Nguyen
Check out timeless-trees.com for weekly classes with very knowledgeable artists and masters. Stop by the nursery on Friday and Saturday to see the huge selection of bonsai, pots, tools, supplies, books and soils to select from. Make sure you get on the mailing list to be updated on Houston Bonsai news.
Quality Feed & Garden and Ken stand ready to help you with bonsai selection, bonsai care, pots and supplies. He will also personally have free classes for HBS every 3-month to help you start with your first bonsai. Check the Calendar of Events for dates. Ask for 10% HBS discount.
Come stock up on bonsai soils, pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers and other supplies. The plant doctor is always on duty, so bring your unhappy bonsai for a free thorough check up. Don’t forget to ask for a 10% HBS discount.
The New Year is upon us and JRN II is ready to greet the 2016 with thousands of seasonal flowering plants and bonsai. They are styled and well maintained by our resident bonsai artist. Remember to ask for 10% discount.
Visit artist Andrew Sankowski at the Mossrock Studio & Fine Art Gallery for the finest gifts and most uniquely beautiful bonsai pots in every shape, form and color. Personalized pots or gifts can be commissioned year round.
Andrew Sankowski 26002 Oak Ridge Drive Direct (281) 684-4411
The Woodlands, TX 77380 Fax (281) 363-9032
Surreal oil-painting like Photography
by Mr. Thanh Vo The winter landscapes shown in this issue by the Vietnamese photographer Thanh Vo can be viewed and ordered directly from his gallery. He also has thousands of other landscapes and lifestyle photographs of the world to select from as well.
Mr. Vo lives in Houston, Texas with his most devoted wife and children.
Please contact him at 713-446-2493 or by email: [email protected].
Houston Bonsai Society, Inc. P. O. Box 540727, Houston, Texas 77254-0727
www.houstonbonsai.com
HBS Board Members President Hurley Johnson [email protected]
1st Vice President Scott Barboza [email protected] in charge of Education 2nd Vice President Dean Laumen [email protected] Secretary Barbara Adams [email protected] in charge of Membership
Publicity Ken Cousino
Treasurer Wayne Malone [email protected] Webmaster Quyen Tong [email protected]
Member at Large - O Nandita D’Souza [email protected]
Member at Large - O Vern Maddox [email protected]
Member at Large - O Sharon Barker
Member at Large - O Clyde Holt [email protected]
Member at Large - E Brian Gurrola [email protected]
Member at Large - E Ron Ahles [email protected]
Delegates Past President Alan Raymond [email protected]
LSBF Delegate Peter Parker [email protected]
LSBF Alternate Terry Dubois [email protected]
BCI Ambassador
TTSBE Representative Alan Raymond [email protected]
Refreshments C.J. Everson [email protected]
Website/email Gary Teeter [email protected]
Newsletter editor Shawn Nguyen [email protected]
The Bonsai News of Houston is a monthly publication of the Houston Bonsai Society, Inc. Copyright © 2011. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the editor or a member of the Board of Directors. Exceptions exist, however, for certain not-for-profit and non-profit bonsai organizations or associated bonsai and bonsai nursery newsletters, including without limitation the American Bonsai Society. HBS participates fully with reciprocation of contents and material between other LSBF member organizations and others. Authors who submit articles for this newsletter thereby give permission to such organizations to reprint, unless they expressly state otherwise. Space for advertising in The Bonsai News of Houston can be requested by contacting the newsletter editor or a member of the HBS Board. The rates for a business-card-size ad (approximately 3 1/2" x 2") are $6 per month, $30 for 6 months and $50 per year (12 issues). A full-page ad is $25 per month. Rates are subject to change without notice. 3½" x 2" classified ads are run free of charge for one month once per 12-month period for non-commercial members. For special requests or questions related to The Bonsai News of Houston, contact the newsletter editor or a member of the HBS Board.
