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Bonsai Northwest Melbourne
Established: 1973 A-19332L
September 2018 Newsletter
In this Issue: • Next Meeting
• Coming Events
• Last meeting
• Sponsors
• Elm Re-Style
Club Details www.bonsainorthwest.com.au
PO Box 1091 Niddrie Victoria 3042
President: David Nassar Contact: Barry 0422 619 641
Meetings are held at the Aberfeldie Community Club, 7B Batman St Essendon at 7:30pm on the first Monday of the month (no meeting in January)
Social Media Click on icon to access:
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Next Meeting – 3 September - Demonstration This month we have AABC visiting tutor (VTP) demonstrator Evan Marsh from Sydney doing a demonstration at our monthly meeting night.
Evan is a very talented upcoming young bonsai artist and has studied extensively in Japan. Whilst Evan specialises in mini (shohin) bonsai, he works on all sizes of trees.
He has even worked on Quentin's prized collection, including the large Mugo pine pictured below, which was in the exhibition at the convention.
At Bonsai Northwest we pride ourselves on promoting talented new bonsai artists and we are sure you'll be impressed with Evan. As also pictured below, Evan helped wire up a huge Japanese white pine at the workshops with Bjorn recently.
The Library and sales table will be open from 7pm to 8pm
Coming Events NBPCA Conference 2018 Universal Penjing 18-20 September 2018, Canberra. www.act.gov.au/UniversalPenjing Northern Suburbs Bonsai Club Exhibition 22-23 September 2018, Bundoora Hall, 20 Noorang Ave, Bundoora. Entry is by gold coin donation Vietnamese Bonsai Exhibition 13-14 October 2018, 10am–4pm. Vietnamese Cultural Heritage Centre, 90 Knight Ave, Sunshine North Entry $5. Bonsai Society of Victoria Exhibition 13-14 October 2018, 9am–4pm. Box Hill Town Hall, 1022 Whitehorse Rd, Box Hill Adults $5, Children under 16 free Ballarat Bonsai Society Inc. Exhibition 3-4 November 2018 Robert Clarke Centre, Ballarat Botanical Gardens Goldfields Bonsai Society Exhibition 3-4 November 2018 Botanical Gardens, Froomes Road, Castlemaine Geelong Bonsai Show 10-11 November 2018, Saturday 9am-6pm, Sunday 10am-4pm. Geelong Masonic Centre, Regent St, Belmont Adults $5, Concession $3, Children accompanied by adult FREE
Last meeting
Sponsors:
Ology.net.au - Damian 0412 698 259
Elm Re-Style by Ian Barnes I won this little Chinese elm bonsai in a raffle at a bonsai show. It is nothing special as a bonsai, but the price was right! I took it home and sat it on a shelf with my other elm bonsai, with a view to studying it for a while to consider what I might do with it. (One should “follow the request”, ie, listen to your tree, it will tell you what it wants to become). The tree was observed over summer, in full foliage, and over winter, without foliage. In late winter, as buds began to break, it was time to start a re-style. The bottom part of the trunk has nice movement, up to the first branch. After that, there are two rather ugly straight sections of trunk which don’t sit comfortably with the promise of the lower section. (Design integrity requires that every part of a bonsai should appear as though it has been shaped by the same environment, ie, all parts of trunk and branches should have similar curves).
Chinese elm in mid-August, 2015, The lower trunk has nice movement… …but the upper trunk has ugly straight sections. as buds begin to break. The decision is taken to cut the trunk off at the first branch and to use the first branch as the new trunk, wiring it to shape new curves sympathetic to the promise of the lower part (and to improve taper).
Cutters at the ready… Trunk chop! Branch wired and shaped to continue the curve of the lower section of trunk. I decided to remove the tree from its small bonsai pot and grow it on in a larger “orchid pot”. (These pots are available for purchase, in various sizes, from the Club Sales table on Club nights). It will be planted in an open potting mix. My recipe is: 1 part Turface, 1 part Pumice, 1 part Crushed Granite, 1 part Bark Nuggets, + 5% Zeolite. (For a discussion of the components of bonsai potting mix, see a previous newsletter article titled, unsurprisingly, Potting Mix).
The tree is removed from its bonsai pot. Planted in an open potting mix, in an “orchid By October, 2015, the tree is shooting all There are some ugly roots there, which pot”, the tree will be grown on for a while. over the place. (I haven’t killed it!) will have to be dealt with (later!) I allow the shoots to extend 6 or so nodes, then select the ones I want to keep and prune back to 1 or 2 leaves.
Branches are selected and pruned, Oct 2015. By late December 2015, the tree is growing … and branches are pruned again.
strongly… The tree is allowed to grow through another cycle of seasons (watering and feeding), then branches are selected, pruned and wired into position.
November 2016 and the tree is growing profusely. Branches are pruned and wired.
By August 2017, the tree has sufficient form to go back into a bonsai pot.
August 2017, buds just beginning Tree is removed from orchid pot and roots The ugly large “tubers” are removed. (I hope there are to break. raked out. enough “feeder” roots left for the tree to survive!) A glazed pot is required as a deciduous tree is considered “feminine”. A medium-depth round container with slanted sides is selected to emphasise the trunk of the bonsai and the illusion of height.
August 2017. February 2018. The tree survived the major root prune to fit it into the small pot and put on a lot of new growth over the spring and summer. Now, all that is required is to water and feed it, prune new shoots regularly to increase branch ramification and occasionally re-pot, to maintain it in the elegant small container. I quite like the result! The tree stands 23cm (9”) tall (measured from the top of the soil to the apex of the tree), so I guess I will call it a Shohin. (A miniature bonsai is generally accepted as less than 25cm tall, or, able to be held in one hand. All miniature bonsai are termed shohin these days. For a full discussion of bonsai sizes see a previous newsletter article titled Miniature Bonsai).
Elms (Ulmus species) Genus of about 45 species of deciduous, semi-evergreen trees occurring in woodland, thickets and hedgerows in Northern temperate regions. Ulmus have alternate, oval to elliptical toothed leaves. Most species display good autumn colour. (Note: Zelkova species are classed as a separate genus of Ulmus). The most common Ulmus species used for bonsai is the Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia). English Elm (Ulmus procera) is also used. Position: Full sun. Small pots need some shading to prevent drying out. Watering: Never allow soil to dry out. Water well in summer; maintain evenly moist in winter. Feeding: Once buds open in spring, feed weekly with high nitrogen for first month, then every two weeks until late summer with balanced feed, then nitrogen-free until leaf fall. Do not feed when out of leaf. Repotting: Annually, in spring as buds extend, until around 10 years old, then repot as necessary. (Inspect root development and repot when roots fill pot). Basic free-draining soil mix. Pruning: Allow shoots to extend 3 or 4 nodes then prune back to 1 or 2 leaves as required. Elms respond well to leaf cutting in mid-summer. Pruning of large branches during spring and summer can cause heavy calluses; the size of the scar can be reduced by doing major pruning in late summer and autumn. Wiring: In mid-summer. Care should be taken as bark marks easily. Wiring is easier after leaves have fallen, but branches become brittle in winter and only gentle wiring should be attempted. Propagation: Sow seed in autumn or spring. Take greenwood cuttings in summer, hardwood cuttings in winter. Air-layer after spring growth has hardened. Pests and Diseases: Elm bonsai are not affected by Dutch Elm Disease (the beetle requires the volume of wood of a fully grown mature tree). Watch for aphids, scale insects, leafhoppers and gall mites. Do not use systemic insecticides on elms. Styles: Suitable for all styles. Especially good for the “broom” style, which replicates the natural shape of Ulmus.
Elm in nature (winter). Broom style elm bonsai.
Postscript In April 2018, we went to Japan for the cherry blossom, leaving a niece to look after our house, the dogs and my bonsai. (There were strict instructions to water the bonsai at least every second day). Unfortunately, she is not much of a gardener and failed to keep the water up to my trees. We returned home to find many of my bonsai dead, including the elm shown in the foregoing progression. The shohin is now a stick! RIP.
Vale shohin elm.
(Hmm, perhaps I will write a newsletter article on the importance of watering… )
