We'll be carving and wiring junipers for this meeting of the Matsu Bonsai Study Group.

We will break for lunch, but this time we'll be grilling out! Burgers are on the menu, so if you would like something different please feel free to bring your own.

Be sure to bring plenty of trees to work on. If you don't have enough to keep you busy or just want to practice there will be material on hand. As always, do your best to be on time.

For more information about the Bonsai Study Group please visit this link: http://www.matsubonsai.com/blog/page/Bonsai-Study-Group.aspx

For the next meeting of the Matsu Bonsai Study Group, Saturday June 11th, we will primarily be focusing on Japanese Black Pine Pinus thunbergii (黒松 kuromatsu) and Satsuki Azaleas.  Now is the perfect time of year to perform very specific tasks to improve your bonsai, particularly these two species.  We can learn a lot about bonsai and tree care in general from studying the growth habits of pines and azaleas.  One is apical dominant, the other basal dominant.  

For Japanese Black Pine we will be working on decandling and needle pulling.  It's all about energy balance and working towards a specific goal.  Timing is everything, and that's what we'll be discussing.

Satsuki Azaleas may still be in flower, but now is the time to remove the flowers and trim back to 2 shoots, 2 leaves.  Being basal dominant means that the top may not be as strong, so we'll leave 3 leaves towards the top and in weaker areas.

We'll also discuss the finer points of Show Preparation.  Bonsai in the Bluegrass is happening next week and the show trees need their final tweaks done.  These trees have been worked on all year to get them ready for the show.  Now is the time for the final adjustments.

We will break for lunch, but this time we'll be grilling out!  Burgers are on the menu, so if you would like something different please feel free to bring your own.

As always, do your best to be on time.

For more information about the Bonsai Study Group please visit this link: http://www.matsubonsai.com/blog/page/Bonsai-Study-Group.aspx

It's time for another meeting of the Matsu Bonsai Study Group, this Saturday April 2nd from 10am - 5pm.  For this meeting of the Matsu Bonsai Study Group we'll focus on tasks for Spring. We'll discuss defoliation of trident maples, pinching of pines and junipers, and perhaps perform some carving and light wiring.

Be sure to bring plenty of trees to work on. If you don't have enough to keep you busy or just want to practice there will be material on hand.

RSVP, as space is limited.

As always, please do your best to be on time.

http://www.matsubonsai.com/blog/page/Bonsai-Study-Group.aspx

Another grafting technique Peter Tea demonstrated to the study group while he visited was approach grafting on a Japanese Black Pine.  A new apex, first, and second branch were grafted to make a much shorter tree.  More grafts were practiced by the group further up the trunk.  I'll report on the progress of this tree in another thread later this year.  More grafts will likely be needed in the future to improve the tree.

Peter Tea was in this recently for our Matsu Bonsai Study Group. One of the things covered was grafting. Peter said the method I have been using, with the little baggies, is old school. He was kind enough to share with us the grafting technique using the 1" Parafilm grafting tape.

One of the benefits of using the Parafilm method over the baggies is that you needn't worry about shielding the scion from the sun. Also, there's not need to worry about when to cut the bag and acclimate the graft to a less humid environment.

For this meeting we will focus on the proper technique for repotting bonsai. We'll work with established bonsai as well as young trees in training. Bring plenty of trees to work on, soil, and tools. If you run out of things to work on or simply wish to work on some of mine, please let me know.

If time allows we will also work on air-layers and a few other advanced techniques.

Please do RSVP, as space is limited.

As always, please do your best to be on time.

For more information on the Matsu Bonsai Study Group, please follow this link.

Peter Tea will be our special guest at the first meeting of the year in February. Peter is an outstanding young bonsai artist, a graduate Boon's Bonsai Intensive program, winner of the Joshua Roth New Talent Bonsai Competition, and all around great guy. He quit his day job some months ago and has been making his living as a bonsai artist in the San Jose, CA area. In March of 2011 Peter will be leaving for a 3-year apprenticeship in Japan.

For more information on Peter Tea please visit his website (http://www.peterteabonsai.com).

This is a special paid event. Registration is sold out.