I've also included some of the trees which were on display at our first, informal show. Photos were taken with the painting background and we have to do a better job but here they are. All in all, not bad. But we can make them all better.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
October 13th Meeting
Here are some photos we took at the last meeting, Wednesday, October 13th. Alec gave an excellent presentation on Moss and its affects on bonsai, its pluses and minuses, etc. This was a very informative and amusing presentation.
I've also included some of the trees which were on display at our first, informal show. Photos were taken with the painting background and we have to do a better job but here they are. All in all, not bad. But we can make them all better.
I've also included some of the trees which were on display at our first, informal show. Photos were taken with the painting background and we have to do a better job but here they are. All in all, not bad. But we can make them all better.
Schedule for 2010/2011
Good Afternoon Bonsai Enthusiasts,
I am going to post this on our Blog and on our new Website. This is the schedule for the rest of this year and for the first six months of 2011. If you have any questions, please contact me.
November 10, Wednesday Evening
Regular Club Meeting, Clover Garden Center
7 PM to 9 PM
Subject: Winter Care--Flex Houvig
December 8th, Wednesday Evening
Holiday Party, Dr. Karen Harkaway’s House
In Mt. Holly, NJ. Pot Luck Party for members
and significant others, spouses, etc.
January 12th, Wednesday Evening
Regular Club Meeting, Clover Garden Center
7 PM to 9 PM
Subject: Care of Tools, Flex Houvig
February 9th, Wednesday Evening
Regular Club Meeting, Clover Garden Center
7 PM to 9 PM
Subject: Pot Selection, Jay Walter Burton
March 12th, Saturday Workshop
Clover Garden Center
9 AM to 1 PM
Repotting conifers and deciduous trees
March Weekday, Collecting Trip
To Whitesbog Cranberry/Blueberry Farm
In the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
April 9th, Saturday Workshop
Clover Garden Center
9 AM to 1 PM
Air Layering Workshop, Ski Dombrovski
April 16th, Saturday Club Trip
Mid Atlantic Bonsai Conference & Show
Hershey, PA
May 14th, Saturday Workshop
Clover Garden Center
9 AM to 1 PM
Repotting, Pruning, Wiring, etc.
All types of bonsai
June 8th, Wednesday Evening
Regular Club Meeting, Clover Garden Center
7 PM to 9 PM
Subject: Ramification, Dr. Karen Harkaway
July 13th, Wednesday Evening
Regular Club Meeting, Clover Garden Center
7 PM to 9 PM
Subject: Fertilizing Techniques, “Doc” Stone
Print this or save this to your computer. Any changes will be E-Mailed and posted.
Have a wonderful day,
Tom De Simone
President
Bonsai Society of South Jersey
I am going to post this on our Blog and on our new Website. This is the schedule for the rest of this year and for the first six months of 2011. If you have any questions, please contact me.
November 10, Wednesday Evening
Regular Club Meeting, Clover Garden Center
7 PM to 9 PM
Subject: Winter Care--Flex Houvig
December 8th, Wednesday Evening
Holiday Party, Dr. Karen Harkaway’s House
In Mt. Holly, NJ. Pot Luck Party for members
and significant others, spouses, etc.
January 12th, Wednesday Evening
Regular Club Meeting, Clover Garden Center
7 PM to 9 PM
Subject: Care of Tools, Flex Houvig
February 9th, Wednesday Evening
Regular Club Meeting, Clover Garden Center
7 PM to 9 PM
Subject: Pot Selection, Jay Walter Burton
March 12th, Saturday Workshop
Clover Garden Center
9 AM to 1 PM
Repotting conifers and deciduous trees
March Weekday, Collecting Trip
To Whitesbog Cranberry/Blueberry Farm
In the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
April 9th, Saturday Workshop
Clover Garden Center
9 AM to 1 PM
Air Layering Workshop, Ski Dombrovski
April 16th, Saturday Club Trip
Mid Atlantic Bonsai Conference & Show
Hershey, PA
May 14th, Saturday Workshop
Clover Garden Center
9 AM to 1 PM
Repotting, Pruning, Wiring, etc.
All types of bonsai
June 8th, Wednesday Evening
Regular Club Meeting, Clover Garden Center
7 PM to 9 PM
Subject: Ramification, Dr. Karen Harkaway
July 13th, Wednesday Evening
Regular Club Meeting, Clover Garden Center
7 PM to 9 PM
Subject: Fertilizing Techniques, “Doc” Stone
Print this or save this to your computer. Any changes will be E-Mailed and posted.
Have a wonderful day,
Tom De Simone
President
Bonsai Society of South Jersey
Friday, October 1, 2010
Critique by Robert Steven
Recently, BonsaiBark blog offered critiques by Robert Steven. The blog editor would receive pictures of your tree and forward them to Mr. Steven. Robert Steven is a world renowned and published bonsai artist.
After little thought, I decided to send a picture of my Ficus salicifolia "89" to BonsaiBark to be critiqued. This is the picture I sent.
This picture was taken soon after I pruned away the summer growth which I had allowed to grow wild. So what we see is the weak, messy foliage which was shaded by the wild growth above. Also, this trimming exposed much of the upper front of the tree which was previously hidden by foliage. In this view, the pot appears too large and the finish is marred by hard water deposits. The stick in front of the trunk is for moisture monitoring and should have been removed,etc.. Obviously, I should have thought this out better. Lesson learned.
The next picture is the virtual that Mr. Steven sent to BonsaiBark to be posted along with his critique.
The most obvious change is the pot. It is smaller and looks nicer to me. I don't like the color, tho. Moving up, the soil color was changed. I agree with Mr. Steven that the soil color now looks more natural. We don't see many trees in nature growing in red lava. He also added a little moss to the soil surface. This is a nice touch.
Looking at the nebari, notice that it is more powerful on the left side. And there is less space between the edge of the pot and the surface roots. Generally speaking, a tree in nature grows more strongly toward the side with stronger rootage. With this in mind, Mr. Steven shortened the right side of the canopy. I like this change because it makes the tree look more natural and less symmetrical. This leaves the size of the leaves. Mr. Steven thought the leaves were too big. The fact of the matter is that in 1989, there was a sudden freeze in Florida. At the nursery owned by Jim Smith, the famous tropical bonsai grower, his Ficus salicifolia froze that night. All foliage and small branches were lost. However, the tree survived. When the new leaves matured, they were strangely larger than before. Somehow the tree had changed. Jim named it Ficus "1989". Anyway, I did not qualify this tree as a "1989". This may or may not have changed Mr. Steven's assessment of my tree's leaf size as being too large.
So, what do you think???
After little thought, I decided to send a picture of my Ficus salicifolia "89" to BonsaiBark to be critiqued. This is the picture I sent.
This picture was taken soon after I pruned away the summer growth which I had allowed to grow wild. So what we see is the weak, messy foliage which was shaded by the wild growth above. Also, this trimming exposed much of the upper front of the tree which was previously hidden by foliage. In this view, the pot appears too large and the finish is marred by hard water deposits. The stick in front of the trunk is for moisture monitoring and should have been removed,etc.. Obviously, I should have thought this out better. Lesson learned.
The next picture is the virtual that Mr. Steven sent to BonsaiBark to be posted along with his critique.
The most obvious change is the pot. It is smaller and looks nicer to me. I don't like the color, tho. Moving up, the soil color was changed. I agree with Mr. Steven that the soil color now looks more natural. We don't see many trees in nature growing in red lava. He also added a little moss to the soil surface. This is a nice touch.
Looking at the nebari, notice that it is more powerful on the left side. And there is less space between the edge of the pot and the surface roots. Generally speaking, a tree in nature grows more strongly toward the side with stronger rootage. With this in mind, Mr. Steven shortened the right side of the canopy. I like this change because it makes the tree look more natural and less symmetrical. This leaves the size of the leaves. Mr. Steven thought the leaves were too big. The fact of the matter is that in 1989, there was a sudden freeze in Florida. At the nursery owned by Jim Smith, the famous tropical bonsai grower, his Ficus salicifolia froze that night. All foliage and small branches were lost. However, the tree survived. When the new leaves matured, they were strangely larger than before. Somehow the tree had changed. Jim named it Ficus "1989". Anyway, I did not qualify this tree as a "1989". This may or may not have changed Mr. Steven's assessment of my tree's leaf size as being too large.
So, what do you think???
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Whitesbog scounting trip.
J.W. Burton, Paul Bemish and I rode out to the Whitesbog Cranberry/Blueberry Farm on a scouting trip for collecting in the Spring. Very neat place. Lots of open space, lots of lakes and lots of cranberry bogs which are currently being harvested. Yum, yum. Jay's nephew owns the farm and we have his permission to both trespass and collect.
We found a number of areas with a prolific amount of pines, white cedars(?), oak and holly which can be collected this Spring. Should be easy since the soil is so sandy. We will have to see how many of these trees are independent and how many are the continuation of roots from mother trees. We marked a number of likely candidates and we will see what happens this March and April.
Here are some photos:
This is a very low type of little grass or shrub which may make an excellent accent plant. Seems to grow right in the pure sand. I don't know what it is but I will try and find out.
We marked a number of small pines like this. They were out in the open and didn't seem to belong to any big pines that we could see. Very bushy, very conical and very, very healthy looking.
I think we found about 20 of these of various sizes that are there for the taking. How they will take to being potted and clipped, etc. should be interesting.
Here is Paul looking over an unused irrigation canal which has become overgrown with trees of various types. Most are too hard to get to but you can collect some on the edge (just don't fall in. :-))
This is Jay standing next to a white cedar. We're not sure of the species but we only found them right on the border of water streams or lakes or ditches. This has a formal upright growing habit and it is a very graceful and pretty tree in my opinion. I pulled a very small one to see if Chase Rosade can identify it for us.
Here are some photos of the farm and the land it is on. Jay says there are 3,000 acres, mostly woods with a lot of bogs. The area holds deer, turkey, fox, racoon, maybe a bear or two and of course, lots of snakes. We had to remove a box turtle from one of the roads we were on. Definitely SUV country.
We found a number of areas with a prolific amount of pines, white cedars(?), oak and holly which can be collected this Spring. Should be easy since the soil is so sandy. We will have to see how many of these trees are independent and how many are the continuation of roots from mother trees. We marked a number of likely candidates and we will see what happens this March and April.
Here are some photos:
This is a very low type of little grass or shrub which may make an excellent accent plant. Seems to grow right in the pure sand. I don't know what it is but I will try and find out.
We marked a number of small pines like this. They were out in the open and didn't seem to belong to any big pines that we could see. Very bushy, very conical and very, very healthy looking.
I think we found about 20 of these of various sizes that are there for the taking. How they will take to being potted and clipped, etc. should be interesting.
Here is Paul looking over an unused irrigation canal which has become overgrown with trees of various types. Most are too hard to get to but you can collect some on the edge (just don't fall in. :-))
This is Jay standing next to a white cedar. We're not sure of the species but we only found them right on the border of water streams or lakes or ditches. This has a formal upright growing habit and it is a very graceful and pretty tree in my opinion. I pulled a very small one to see if Chase Rosade can identify it for us.
Here are some photos of the farm and the land it is on. Jay says there are 3,000 acres, mostly woods with a lot of bogs. The area holds deer, turkey, fox, racoon, maybe a bear or two and of course, lots of snakes. We had to remove a box turtle from one of the roads we were on. Definitely SUV country.
Monday, September 6, 2010
My Bonsai
Happy Labor Day my friends! Today is my favorite day of the year. After a verry long and hot summer, my trees finally got some quality time from me.
Today, all my tropicals were cut back after nice growing season. Pruning for movement was the order of the day.
My F. salicifolia "89" took the most time. Each and every branch tip was cut back to allow more sun and air into the canopy. Each cut was made after careful consideration of directionality. Before pruning, the apex was completely obscured by foliage. Hope to see everyone at the September meeting!
Today, all my tropicals were cut back after nice growing season. Pruning for movement was the order of the day.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
New Tree Composition
Just did a nice little Shohin Bonsai about 10" tall. The tree is a Hedge Maple (Acer Campestre) that I purchased at Ski Dombrovski's and the pot was made here locally in the Delaware Valley. I don't have enough of these and too many big ones.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Ms. Rosner's painting to be used as bonsai background
**** Mr. Carl Rosner of Margate, NJ is an artist, an art teacher and a bonsai enthusiast in his own right. I have passed along articles and websites he has passed along to me. He is an unofficial member of our society and he has been very, very kind and contributed one of his paintings to the BSSJ. I will post a photo of the painting on our Blog. The painting is of the blue sky with white clouds. This is an excellent background to photograph your bonsai and we will start shooting some photos in September. If you could E-Mail him personally to thank him, that would be excellent.
arteacher3725@yahoo.com
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