Saturday, July 31, 2010

Potted spruce.


Potted today. Happy with results. Lots of work still to be done. Wiring,shaping, etc. Looking forward to showing at next meeting and getting some opinions and advice.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

BSSJ's First Article in the Cherry Hill Courier Post




The Cherry Hill Courier Post ran a small article about us on Thursday, July 22nd issue in the All About Mt. Laurel section. Nice little article. Hope to have bigger ones in the future.

Nice read and I didn't see any glaring errors.

Tom

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Update on spruce II



Here's what the pruce looks like now Tom. Keeping my fingers crossed that it survives the trauma of Kamikazi Bonsai. I'll keep you posted.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Update on spruce.


It's taking pains to slowly develop this spruce but will be well worth the effort when it is finally done and potted properly. Started with what you have already seen and progress is bein made. Slowly and painfully.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Photos from July 10th Workshop


CHARLES LARKE AND MAC MCMULLEN WORKING ON CHARLES' NEW SPRUCE


JOHN GRISAFI WORKING ON ONE OF HIS FICUS AND HE BROUGHT AN EXCELLENT HEDGE MAPLE


STAN AND JOAN KARP WITH SOME OF THEIR JUNIPER PROCUMBENS


JAY BURTON & YETTA BERGMAN WITH SOME OF JAY'S GREAT NERIFOLIA


TOM, MY APOLOGIES FOR THE BLURRED PHOTO BUT I WANTED TO SHOW YOUR EXCELLENT TREE.


FIGS ON TOM & CONNIE KRUEGLS' REALLY NICE FICUS

July 10th, Morning Workshop

July Workshop.

Had a nice turnout of about 15 people for our July Workshop at Clover Garden Center, even though we did not have a Reporter or Photographer from the Courier Post.

Fairly cool and rainy morning with some nice trees to work on and a lot of the usual conversation, advice, ifs, ands and buts, offerings of opinions, etc.

Charles Larke has a new spruce to work on aided by Mac McMullen.

John Grisafi worked on one of his small ficus and brought in a large hedge maple.

Joan & Stan Karp were opening up and trimming some of their juniper procumbent.

Jay Burton and Yetta Bergman were talking about the finer points of his fine ficus necrophilia

Tom & Connie Krugel brought in a wonderful ficus which had hundreds of little, but inedible figs on it. Really neat.

These workshops are a great place to have fun, do some needed work on your trees and share a lot of good information and stories.

August’s meeting will be in the evening, at Clover Garden Center, Wednesday, August 11th, 7PM to 9PM, to work on trees and discuss upcoming activities of the club.

Hope to see you then.

Tom De Simone
President
Bonsai Society of South Jersey

Friday, July 2, 2010

July 2010

Good Afternoon Bonsai Enthusiasts.

Happy July!!!!! Hope your bonsai are thriving even with the protracted heat wave we just had AND REMEMBER, this weekend is predicted to be very hot at 95+ on Sunday and Monday so be sure to water thoroughly, morning and evening if possible but at least once for sure.

Our monthly meeting will be a workshop at Clover Garden Center on Saturday, July 10th from 9AM to 1PM. This is an excellent time to work on any tropicals you might have or to wire up any conifer or deciduous trees.

This article was forwarded to me by Carl Rosner of Margate, NJ. Just for increasing your knowledge of bonsai and gardening in general.

Dear Gardening Friends, 

Not all insects are pests. Some actually make perfect pets for the gardener! They will not damage plants, only the insects that damage plants. This bio-control is known as Integrated Pest Management, and beneficial insects are an important component.

We can make our gardens friendly to their habitats such as planting perennials that provide a place to lay eggs and give shelter - yarrow, fennel, daisy, baby's breath, parsley and many others. Allowing for a grass path will provide a home for ground beetles, and a birdbath or water feature with a perch of rock or stick will help keep them around during dry weather.

What you want to create is the proper balance by increasing the numbers of
predators to prey and use only organic and nontoxic garden products like insecticidal soaps and sticky traps. Don't wait for a pest problem to be out of control. Plan for your good bugs to the rescue before the potential problem occurs!

Typically, Ladybugs eat over 5,000 Aphids and other soft-bodied pests during their one year life. Ladybugs are one of the few beneficial insects that can be stored, dormant, in the refrigerator for a few weeks, as long as they don't freeze or dry out. This allows you to use a few at a time, as needed.

Tiny Whitefly Parasites lay their eggs inside Whitefly pupae, so a Whitefly Parasite hatches instead of a Whitefly. You'll need a magnifier to see them, but they spell death for greenhouse Whiteflies.

Predatory Mites feed on Spider Mites and their eggs, they also breed twice as fast! Each Spider Mite Predator sucks the juice out of about 5 Spider Mites a day, or 20 of their eggs. Predators disappear when the Spider Mites are gone.

Aphid Predators have worked so well in many greenhouses, that, by summer, Aphids may be hard to even find. Breeding populations of predators are usually established from a single release, but regular weekly releases during the growing season speeds up control.

Green Lacewing larvae look like tiny "alligators", and voraciously attack almost any prey they can grab, using pincer-like jaws. After injecting a paralyzing venom, they suck the body fluids from their helpless victim.

Praying Mantis are not only fun garden pets, but they eat anything and everything they can catch! Praying Mantis constantly entertain while they eat insects all summer long.

Create a favorable home for your Beneficials ahead of time…
Reminder-- Beneficial Insects don't tolerate most pesticides very well, so it's very important not to apply residual pesticides (such as Malathion and Sevin) for at least a month before releasing your beneficials. While you're waiting out this month period, use soapy water sprays (such as Safers) or Sticky Traps right up to the day you let out the beneficials. Also botanical sprays (derived from Pyrethrum and Rotenone, for example) can be used with a one week wait afterwards. The small amount of time you spend creating more favorable conditions for Beneficial Insects will be well worth your while!

Let the Good Bugs clean up your pests and have fun watching them! 
Until next time,

Alias Mrs. Charley