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The Bonsai News of Houston A Monthly Newsletter of the Houston Bonsai Society Inc.
Volume 51 Number 3 March 2020
Dr. Hoe’s Chinzan Satsuki Azalea grown in Houston for 17 years from nursery plant (Photo: Hoe Chuah)
The Houston Bonsai Society usually meets on the first Saturday of the month at Trini Mendenhall Community Center, 1414 Wirt Road, Houston, TX 77055. Board meeting starts at 9 AM, refreshments at 10 AM, and program at 10:15 AM.
Upcoming Events (more details in Calendar of Events)
March 7 HBS monthly program: Growing beautiful azalea bonsai on the Gulf Coast with HBS' own Hoe Chuah. Hoe has been growing these fantastic azaleas for years and will share all his success tips and tricks. For Show & Tell with Ray, please bring in your azalea bonsai or pre-bonsai for consultation with Hoe.
March 14 Saturday Study Group at Quality Feed & Garden, 9 AM- 12 PM. Free, refreshments provided. Bring your trees and tools to work with other club members.
March 21 Come to the free HBS Nursery Crawl led by Hurley Johnson. Join us to visit 4 - 5 local nurseries as a group, to stock up on pre-bonsai. Some of these nurseries are wholesale only. Learn how those with an experienced eye search for material. We will enjoy lunch together.
March 28 Kusamono companion plants with Soon Cheah, Timeless Trees, 9 AM - 1 PM, $45 include 2 pots and plants, shells and wood for possible combinations. Soon who is known for her natural "mixed style" Kusamono. In her wonderful class, you’ll learn how to put together Kusamono just in time for the State Convention. You just have to bring your creativity!
March 28 Basic Azalea Care with Dr. Hoe Chuah. Timeless Trees, 1:30 – 4:30 PM, $50 include a Satsuki " Chinzan" azalea and Kanuma for re-potting in class.
Friday-Saturday, March 27-28 from 9-5: Lake Charles Bonsai Society’s 31st Annual Bonsai Exhibit will be held at the SWLA Garden Conference & Expo at Burton Coliseum, 7001 Gulf Highway, Lake Charles, LA 70607 (across from the LC Airport). http://www.gardenfest.org/
Upcoming Events Growing Azalea Bonsai
with Hoe Chuah
Showcase of the Month
Azaleas
March Bonsai Care
Hurley Johnson
President’s Letter
Flowering of a
Chinzan Satsuki Azalea - Murphy’s Law
TTSBE letter
Danny Coffey
Club Dig
at MBP Bonsai Nursery
LSBF Bonsai Vision
2020 in San Antonio
Azalea Bonsai
March Bonsai Tips
Winter is our primary time for repotting. Generally, we are done with the conifers before March, then start on Deciduous. The old saying is “the best time to repot a deciduous is when the buds just start to swell”. However, we frequently have mild winters, and the trees think winter is over. Mother Nature has a few tricks up her sleeves. As warm and mild as most days are, we still have some cold fronts coming our way. Yesterday was a pleasant, sunny February day, with the high around 78, and tonight is in the mid 30’s. We always have a cold front that comes in about the time of the Livestock Show and Rodeo.
I start with the hardiest deciduous first, like Cedar Elm and finish up with azaleas, oaks, yaupons and bald cypress. When the oak trees bust out with new leaves, you can believe winter is over. Deciduous should be repotted ever 2 or 3 years, more often for younger more vigorous trees. If roots are coming out the drain hole, it is probably time. For the flowering trees, such as Camelias, wait until they have finished blooming, then repot.
Make sure to use a well-draining mixture so that water can escape, and the air can go back in.
Fertilizing is necessary once the trees start to grow. There are many choices, and some will yield different results. Fertilizers with High Nitrogen numbers (usually the 1st of three numbers) will result in longer internodes. Organic type of fertilizers work best for me. They break down slowly, are a slow steady diet of nutrients. The only problem is that they usually only last about 3-6 months. Chemical based fertilizers usually come in a formula that can be absorbed quickly. They can last from 2 months to as much as a year. (The Osmocote variety is a slow release formula).
Liquid fertilizers, and water-soluble fertilizers should be applied at ½ strength, but applied twice as often. I prefer granular fertilizers, since they dissolve a little each time you water. Putting some in Tea Bags or Wedding Rice bags is an easy way of application. Fertilizer cakes, homemade, or some like Bio Gold are also a great way to fertilizer.
Ron Smith shared a great bit of wisdom about fertilizers. “fertilizers come in all shapes, forms, strength, etc. But the only bad fertilizer is
the unopened bag in your garage.” It will never work until used. Hurley Johnson
President’s Letter
This past month, I have been busy finishing up winter work on deciduous trees and 15-20 repots. With the slightly warmer weather, my tropicals have started push new growth and several need pruning already. So, it looks like it is time to switch over to more springtime activities like regular fertilization and insect and fungus control.
Don’t miss the opportunity to join Hurley on the “Nursery Crawl” on March 21. It will be a great chance to visit nurseries including some wholesale nurseries we cannot normally get into, and to get advice on how to pick nursery stock for bonsai material.
Bonsai Vision 2020 will be in San Antonio from May 15-17. Boon Manativipart, Arthur Joura, and Roy Nagatoshi will be the headline artists and the San Antonio club has located and collected quite a bit of material for the workshops. Get on-line and register before all of the workshops fill up. Now is also be a good time to think about what trees you might like to exhibit at the convention and what work you need to do with them between now and then. I would love to see Houston well represen-ted in the exhibit again this year.
I’ve been spending some time trying to decide what my bonsai education plan should be for the next few years. Have you thought about what activities you want to undertake to improve your knowledge and skill? Something to think about.
Pete Parker
Flowering of a Chinzan Satsuki Azalea -
Murphy’s Law
I started this ‘Chinzan’ satsuki azalea from a nursery gallon plant about 17-18 years ago. It was grown in a flower bed for about 7-8 years, lifted and trained as a bonsai in a pot since then.
I prepared this tree for the April 11-14 American Bonsai Society Convention hosted by the Houston Bonsai Society, and expected it to have partial blooms based on past experience. Unfortunately we had several days of unusually cold weather in late March; as a result the Chinzan was covered with swelling buds but not a single bloom during the show. A week later, flowers started to come out and had about 80% blooms by the following week. So it went from a tree with no flower to fully covered with flowers, but only after the show! A bummer.
At the show on April 14, 2019
Professional azalea growers use plant growth regulating hormone such as gibberellic acid and greenhouse temperature to control flower blooms for sale on special occasions. We, hobbyists, have to rely on past experience when did flowering occurred, mother nature, with little or no control over the exact timing of flowers except crossing our fingers. Hind sight, I should have sprayed it with gibberellic acid which I have at home, and hoped for the best. May be worth to experiment to gain some knowledge.
May 2, front view.
I brought the full bloom Chinzan and a few other cultivars, their flowers were on the way out, to share in our May 4 society meeting. On the way home, my wife and I stopped by Costco to buy some stuff.
Although we parked the car away in a shady spot, when we got home, flowers on top of this Chinzan had suffered sun scorch. Instead of enjoying the flowers for one more week, I removed them today and will start the satsuki azalea after flower maintenance routine, such as trimming back and thinning the branches to improve air flow, light penetration and forced back leaf budding, and fertilize the tree to thank it for putting out so much flowers.
May 4, Houston Bonsai Society meeting, fully covered with flowers.
I also brought a Chikuho whip, Hoshi no kagayaki and Kongo no hikari in gallon pot for sharing. The Wakaebisu at the end was by another member.
Sun scorched flowers after sitting in the car.
Less scorched area.
Started removing the flowers.
May 7, back to no flowers like April 14, except no flower buds.
Moral of the story, head home right away with flowering tree in the car! At least cover the plant for protection, tinted windows won’t protect your plant. Posted on 2019/05/06 By Hoe Chuah on bonsaipenjing.wordpress.com The full article can be read at: https://bonsaipenjing.wordpress.com/2019/05/06/a-chinzan-satsuki-azalea-murphys-law/
There are so many other bonsai articles Hoe had
written for our Houston climate you can read, while
you visit his blog.
Houston Bonsai Society would like to thank Dr. Hoe
for sharing the many posts you have written on
bonsai success, your many travels for bonsai, and
also all your contributions as well as your spouse
Soon’s to the club activities over the years.
A Happy New Year wish from
The Texas State Bonsai Exhibit Now entering our 20th year of development, TTSBE continues to strive to expand its programs and offerings to the community through the education of the art of bonsai. We hope that you will be able to take part in one or more of the many exciting events that we are offering in 2020 including assisting with the movement and care maintenance for our collection of bonsai, attending Kathy Shaner’s seminar/ workshops, and sales of various trees, shirts, and other promotional items all for the support of TTSBE.
It is our mission to expand awareness of the bonsai art by creating and maintaining a permanent exhibit for care and public display of outstanding bonsai from Texas artists and others in the region. In order to meet our mission and provide services in our community, we rely on the generosity of individuals and businesses for support. Without the assistance of individuals just like you, We wouldn't be able to provide beautiful bonsai on display at The Zilker Botanical Gardens and during LSBF sponsored exhibits throughout the state.
We ask that you make a commitment to support our annual appeal by making a monetary donation. This year our goal is $5,000, and we hope that you will be able to make a contribution. Your generosity will make a difference in our plans to expand our presence at Zilker Botanical Gardens by allowing us to continue in our work.
For donations, you reach us via mail or online at https://www.ttsbe.org/donation. Remember that every donation makes a difference, regardless of size.
Thank you in advance for your support!
Sincerely,
TTSBE Board
Please enjoy the latest newsletter by The Texas
State Bonsai Exhibit with highlights on some of the
trees of the collection. Share along to any other
Bonsai friends and groups to help spread the word.
Here is the link:
https://www.ttsbe.org/ttsbe_newsletter_2019_fall.p
df
Thank you, and happy Bonsai!
Joey McCoy
Director, TTSBE
A few photos from our
last month’s meeting with
Danny Coffey
At last month’s lecture-demo with Danny Coffey, we were treated to a well documented lesson on how a collected deciduous Trident maple, began its bonsai journey.
Danny, a young but very experienced teacher, shared his real life work to transform raw material into works of art. He explained every single step, from collecting to preliminary pruning, to soil and defoliating.
To improve on the nebari, he combed out the roots, secured them with screws to the board. To address the bare spots without roots, Danny attempted some delicate root grafting, using young seedlings.
After a couple of years of wild sprouting and growth to build up strength, Danny began defoliating the tree at strategic timing. Note that sacrificial branches that were left to run wild, so these new branches can fatten up fast.
The demo tree Danny worked on after the lecture was a multi-trunked quite mature Trident Maple purchased from Brussel’s. It was more a raft than a clump, with many trunks and very unruly branching. Danny reduced the 4 trunks to only 3, and shortened the branches drastically.
It is customary and usual in the Bonsai Art which originated in the Orient, to avoid number 4, strictly because the Chinese pronunciation of 4 or death sound uncomfortably similar. For that same reason, besides twin tree bonsai (father & son, husband & wife…), odd numbers of trees per composition are preferred.
Since Tridents are rather vigorous trees, he did not hesitate in drastically simplifying its silhouette. He felt within a few months, it would be filled with thick and lush foliage. That’s when the long shoots can be cut back for finer secondary ramification.
After Tim Roberts helped Danny repot this beautiful demo tree in a Sarah Rayner’s beautiful pot, he was the luck winner to take it home.
Thanks Danny for a great lesson full of valuable tips. Congratulations to Tim Roberts for winning such a wonderful prize!
Club Dig at Mike Hansen’s
MBP Bonsai Nursery & Studio On February 22, Chris Rinaudo and Ken Cousino led HBS on a Club Dig to MBP Bonsai Nursery & Studio in Pflugerville. Mike Hansen greeted the jolly bunch in great spirit. He tagged along with each digger to help them out with a lot of tips and tricks.
The trick was to dig around the rootball as much as possible to expose the nebari. Getting down and dirty to identify suitable trees was hard, but everyone was all smile. Here is Chris Rinaudo baring as much of the roots as he could, while taking instructions from the master.
Teamwork made the task a little lighter and fun.
This dug up trident was cleaned up, big roots shortened, root base recut flat, placed on a board, then transferred into a wooden box. Some folks use plain river sand, others use good bonsai soil for good drainage from the start.
Once potted, the tree will be left alone to grow wild for a few years, until it’s ready for major pruning, styling and wiring, maybe repotted in a nice pot.
(Many thanks to club members who made the trip to Austin and sent these photos to me. )
These boxes may be purchased but they’re easy to make with pine or cedar boards. In this case, all current branches were unacceptable, so they all had to go. In no time, new foliage will pop out from this straight trunk. It’s best to allow them to grow strong and wild to build up energy. In a few years, most will be discarded, only a few would be kept. Here, one single branch was left for future apex.
It will take many more years for a collected tree to become a prized bonsai, but stock trees grown in the ground would appear hundreds of years old within a decade or so.
Check out this trident maple forest composed of similar collected trees grown in their first few years of life in the ground. If you missed out on this trip, please mark your calendar to join this adventurous bunch next year to discover the joy of collecting.
Shawn Nguyen
REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR THE 2020 CONVENTION at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2020-texas-bonsai-convention-registration-77963704539.
All paper documents can be found at http://www.sanantoniobonsai.org/2020-bonsai-convention and http://www.lonestarbonsai.org/2020-convention/ Thank you,
Ryan O Publicity Manager/Editor San Antonio Bonsai Society www.sanantoniobonsai.org/ Facebook: @sanantoniobonsai / Twitter: @SATXBonsai / Instagram: sanantoniobonsai Treasurer The Texas State Bonsai Exhibit www.ttsbe.org / Facebook: @TTSBE.org/ Twitter: @TXStateBonsai
Calendar of Events.
2020
March 7 HBS monthly program: Growing beautiful azalea bonsai on the Gulf Coast with HBS' own Hoe Chuah. He has been growing fantastic azaleas for years and will share all his success tips and tricks. For Show & Tell with Ray, please bring in your azalea bonsai or pre-bonsai for consultation with Dr. Hoe.
March 14 Saturday Study Group at Quality Feed & Garden, 9 AM- 12 PM. Free, refreshments provided. Bring your trees and tools to work with other club members.
March 21 Free HBS Nursery Crawl led by Hurley Johnson. Join us to visit 4 - 5 local nurseries as a group, to stock up on pre-bonsai. Some of these nurseries are wholesale only. Learn how those with an experienced eye search for material. We will enjoy lunch together.
MAR 27-28 Lake Charles Bonsai Society’s 31st Annual Bonsai Exhibit at the SWLA Garden Conference & Expo at Burton Coliseum, 7001 Gulf Hwy, Lake Charles, LA 70607 - (across from the LC Airport). http://www.gardenfest.org/
March 28 Kusamono companion plants taught by Soon Cheah, Timeless Trees, 9 AM - 1 PM $45 include 2 pots and plants, shells and some wood for possible combinations. Soon is known for her natural "mixed style" Kusamono. She received the Best Kusamono Award at the 5th US National Bonsai Exhibit in 2016 with her husband, Hoe Chuah for the Best Tropical Bonsai. She will teach how to put together several Kusamono just in time for the State Convention. You just have to bring your creativity!
March 28 Basic Azalea Care taught by Dr. Hoe Chuah, Timeless Trees, 1:30 – 4:30PM, $50 include a Satsuki Chinzan azalea and Kanuma soil for re-potting in class.
APR 4 HBS Annual Auction
APR 6 – 13 Will Bradley visits Houston
APR 11 Saturday Study Group at Maas Nursery
MAY 22-24 Brussel’s Bonsai Rendezvous, hosted by Brussel’s Bonsai Nursery, 8125 Center Hill Road, Olive Branch, MS 38654. 800-582-2593 - featuring Rodney Clemmons, Danny Coffey, Marc Noelanders, Kathy Shaner, Suthin Sukosolvisit, Young Choe, Byron Myrick, and John Powell. $250 registration fee includes all lectures-demos, workshop observation, continental breakfast, lunches, dinners, refreshments and door prizes all weekend. Special Rendez-vous room rate of $97 at Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott. More details at: https://brusselsbonsai.com/rendezvous-join-us/.
Go to Timeless Trees’ website and subscribe to weekly Current Events to stay in the know about weekly events and classes offered locally and about HBS activities. For over a decade, Timeless Trees Nursery and Studio has provided novices and serious bonsai students a very wonderful environment to further your knowledge in the Art of Bonsai with workshops led by local artists and teachers, or on occasions, with one-on-one study with visiting bonsai masters. You can find all sizes of bonsai, of all varieties, great pots and display stands, supplies, fertilizers, soils, tools and books as well as gift certificates for your bonsai lovers and you. The resident bonsai guru Hurley is also the go-to man for all bonsai questions.
Quality Feed & Garden and the resident Dr. Ken stand ready to help you with fruit trees, bonsai trees, basic tools, pots and soils like Akadama, Lava, Pumice, Kanuma, and “Dr. Ken’s Special Bonsai Soil mixes in 10 lb. & 50 lb. bags.
There are 2 separate nurseries at this location, one for garden shade and fruit trees, a second for decorative trees and bonsai.
Free bonsai classes are offered every 3 months for the Houston Bonsai Society study group. Newbies are welcome. While you explore this unique store, you can also pick up a few pet birds, chickens and ducks and their feed. HBS members get a 10% discount.
If you are looking for auspicious Feng Shui flowers and plants to decorate your home, garden and ponds for all occasions year round or just for gifts to friends and families, JRN II got them all.
The greenhouses are home to countless rare plants and exotic tropical bonsai, aquatic plants for ponds, and the most unusual gifts for all occasions from birthdays, anniversaries, grand openings, house warming parties, Christmas, as well New Year celebrations. Take a stroll in the shop and around the garden to check out the bonsai figurines, boats and pagodas, bonsai supplies, tools and soils as well as bonsai pots, garden statues and Japanese lanterns. You will never know what kind of surprises are waiting for you to take home.
For advice on all plants and bonsai, please ask Thuy Doan.
Visit artist Andrew Sankowski at the Mossrock Studio & Fine Art Gallery for the finest gifts and uniquely beautiful bonsai pots in every shape, form and color. If there is a potter who knows bonsai pots, it’s Andy. He also keeps a greenhouse full of a beautiful bonsai collection.
As a master potter who offers weekly pottery classes, Andy also mixes his own proprietary clay blends and over 100 of his own colored glazes. Bring your unusual trees for him to make unusual personalized pots. Pots as gifts for the upcoming holidays for friends and families, or just for yourself, can be commissioned now. While you are on the tour of gallery and studio, check out the masterpieces of many talented local artists.
Andrew Sankowski 26002 Oak Ridge Drive Direct (281) 684-4411
The Woodlands, TX 77380 Fax (281) 363-9032
Houston Bonsai Society, Inc. P. O. Box 540727, Houston, Texas 77254-0727
www.houstonbonsaisociety.com
HBS Board Members
President Pete Parker [email protected]
1st Vice President Janny Van Beem [email protected] in charge of Education 2nd Vice President Ryan Vollert [email protected] Secretary Chris Lannen [email protected] Public Relations Ken Cousino [email protected]
Treasurer Eldon Branham [email protected]
in charge of Membership Webmaster Anthony Cutola [email protected]
Member at Large - O Gale Childers [email protected]
Member at Large - O Ellis Montes [email protected]
Member at Large - O James Fuller [email protected]
Member at Large – E Scott Barboza [email protected] Member at Large – E John Williams [email protected]
Delegates Past President Hurley Johnson [email protected]
LSBF Delegate Hurley Johnson [email protected]
LSBF Alternate Pete Parker [email protected]
BCI Ambassador
TTSBE Representative Alan Raymond [email protected]
Refreshments
Website/email Anthony Cutola [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 $10 per month, and $75 per year (12 issues). A full-page ad is $50 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.
