It's been an incredibly busy June.  Aside from repotting time, June is by far the most busy time for me and my trees.  Maples and other deciduous trees are in need of trimming and defoliating.  Wiring can be done at this time as well.  And all trees are in constant need of water and fertilizer by this time of year.  But, the two types of trees that take up the majority of my time are pines and azaleas.

Japanese Black Pines and Satsuki Azaleas require a lot of work during the month of June.  The azaleas are trimmed and thinned to two shoots and two leaves after the flowers have faded.  Pines have all been decandled and last year's needles have been thinned to 3-5 pairs.  All are looking quite bare, but will be full again in no time.  Then, the process will start all over again next year.  The work never ends.  It's a good thing the work is enjoyable.

Thankfully, this is the last day of the month.  Now I can get back to a more regular schedule.  Watering, fertilizing, trimming, thinning, and wiring, oh my.

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What has your Spring been like? 

This past weekend was spent decandling Japanese Black Pine bonsai. The benches are absolutely filled with pines, so it was a very busy weekend.

Decandling is a technique reserved for trees that are nearer to completion.  The process is used to regulate and control the candle and needle growth of show ready or nearly show ready trees.  For younger trees and trees that are still in development different techniques should be used to develop the trunk and branch sizes desired for the completed trees.

For those that have been following the development of this particular pine, I have posted a picture of the decandled black pine.  You can read more about it's previous development here and here.

This tree has really progressed over the last few months. The plan is to repot this tree into a nicer pot next year, and to correct the planting angle. It should be ready to show in another year or two.

Last night I attended a lecture/demonstration by Peter Adams. It had been 13 years since he last visited Cincinnati, long before I joined the club.

For his demonstration Peter worked on a medium sized Chinese Elm. The elm had some previous training, most likely while it was being grown for mass production in China or Korea. The shape was quite pleasing to start with, without the exposed roots so common on imported Chinese Elms of the same size. The pot was a cheap Chinese oval with a new shiny blue glaze. Peter commented that the pot was too "young" and detracted from the beauty of the tree.

Mr. Adams spent a great deal of time talking about the shape of deciduous trees. He was very engaging while discussing the sweeping branches and the flowing movement. "Have the courage to make your branches grow upwards," he said. "Look at the deciduous trees in nature, the branches may grow downwards, but then sweep up," he added.

Chinese elms are most definitely not pine trees. They have a decidedly different shape. There is a delicate quality to a well shaped elm tree. Mr. Adams brought out his sketch pad to show the attendees two options that he saw while studying the tree. His background in art showed through in his drawings. He was able to pick two different trees with incredibly beautiful lines. He asked the group for a consensus and then went to work.

With deciduous trees much of the initial work is correcting the flaws developed during the growing phase. Many branches were shortened or removed. Knots were thinned to make a better overall shape. The top 1/3rd of the tree was removed and a new branch brought up to create a new top. Wire was applied to form the basic structure of the branches.

Towards the end of the demonstration Bonsai with Japanese Maples by Peter Adams was passed around. This wonderful book cemented the ideas that Mr. Adams had been sharing with the group. Wonderful drawings, pictures, and descriptive texts are found within. Briefly flipping through the pages was enough to convince me that this will be my next bonsai book purchase. He truly has a knack for deciduous bonsai.

The finished tree looked incredible. With most of the demonstration material it will be raffled off at the meeting next month. Be sure to buy your tickets!

This Saturday, June 21st, I'm hosting an informal study group and bonsai workshop at my home in Shepherdsville.  If anyone is in the area and interested in attending please feel free to contact me.  We'll be working on Japanese Black Pine and Satsuki Azaleas.

Removing the candles on Japanese Black Pine is a great way to control growth.  Mid to late June is the perfect time of year to carry out this work.  Short internodes and smaller needles can be developed by utilizing the growth that emerges later in the year.   Bring your own tree to the workshop, or work on one of the many that I will have available.  Just interested in watching?  That's fine too.

In addition to the pine work we'll aslo be working on Satsuki Azaleas.  The flowers have come and gone, so now the real work can begin.  Thinning and trimming can now be done to help develop fine branches and ramification.  Make sure that the branches end in pairs.  Wiring can also be done at this time to give shape the branches.  Same deals goes for azaleas in this workshop.  Bring your own, work on what's available, or just watch.

See you Saturday!  Please contact me for directions.

Back from Alameda and boy are my arms tired.  Travel is getting more and more troublesome in the United States.  Even more so when you travel across the country with layovers.  But, Boon and his Bonsai Intensive course are well worth the effort.  There simply is no one else doing what he does in the States.

The Bonsai Intensive series is a great way to learn whether you're a beginner or someone that's been doing bonsai for 30 years.  There is always something more to gain.  Boon does a great job of tailoring the class to the individuals.  Pick what you want to work on from a yard full of impressive bonsai of all species, shapes, sizes, and age.  Not many places can offer the same experience.

The best part of the intensive sessions is the knowledge you bring home with you.  This week we spent the time working on thinning and decandling Japanese Black Pine and Red Pine.  There some work done with Satsuki Azaleas and Shimpaku and Rocky Mountain Junipers.  Now it's time to put it all to work here at home.

This week I will be working heavily on my Japanese black pine bonsai trees.  The time of year is just right to decandle.  I also have quite a bit of work to do on several Satsuki azalea.  That seem to be the problem with owning both Japanese black pine and Satsuki azaleas, the timing of the work.  Both trees require a lot of work during the month of June.  But, it's the kind of work you don't mind doing.  It's all a lot of fun. 

I'm off to another Bonsai Intensive with Boon Manakitivipart this week.  I should be able to check in on the blog and approve comments and respond as needed, but not much else.  Boon keeps the students incredibly busy during the 3 day course.

This will be my 2nd Summer Intensive.  Summer work includes decandling Japanese Black Pine, Satsuki Azalea trimming/thinning, and wiring and pruning various other trees. 

Judging from the email recipients on the email Boon sent last week we have a full class comprised of a great group of folks, all of which I have met at one time or another.  Three full days working on world class trees, what could be better?

I plan on posting a full report next week.  See you then!

Thanks to GrandmasterB for creating a great contest for 1000 Entrecard Credits.  And thanks to Jeff at BuzzMyBlog who put up half of the prize credits.  And thanks to all of the readers of Matsu Bonsai, GrandmasterB, and BuzzMyBlog  sites.  It's the readers that make contests like these possible and successful.

If you're not familiar with Entrecard you can read more by visiting www.entrecard.com.

This prize will come in handy, as I'm working on a new website set to launch in early July...

Stay tuned to the Matsu Bonsai blog for some exciting updates in the near future including a great new contest on this bonsai blog.  Winner gets a great new Matsu Bonsai coffee mug.  Details will be announced in July.  Stay tuned!

I've never met someone who knew everything there was to know about bonsai.  The truth is that there is just too much to know.  You could learn all there is in a particular area for a particular species.  Travel a few hours in any direction and you could find that what you knew is incorrect or irrelevant in another region.

There will always be gaps in our knowledge with any subject.  Even experts in their field still keep and consult volumes of reference material.  There are entire libraries devoted solely to law and medicine.  I don't mean to imply that there is the same quantity of information available for bonsai as there is for law or medicine, but there is quite a bit and it continues to grow.

New and different techniques are developed for bonsai all the time.  The best example of a new technique that changed the landscape significantly was black pine decandling.  It was once normal to starve Japanese Black Pine bonsai of food and water in order to maintain short needles.  With the discovery and refinement of decandling techniques it is now normal to feed vigorously and provide plenty of water to pines.  This technique has been shared with the bonsai community, and is now almost universally accepted.

It's through 'trading of skills' that the bonsai community gains knowledge.  There are all kinds of opportunities to learn new techniques in bonsai. It is better to have others around us that might complement our own knowledge and fill the voids where we may be lacking.

Add a new dimension to your bonsai.  Work with others to learn new skills and take your trees to the next level.

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How do you learn new skills?  Are there things that you know you don't know?  Join the discussion below.

Join me on Shelfari

I'm a big fan of bonsai books.  I've posted recently about bonsai communities and bonsai study groups, but a good book can come in handy.    Bonsai books offer a way to read and learn about techniques you might otherwise never know about.  They can also be a great resource when looking for a specific species, trying to find ideas for shapes and styles, or to match a tree and pot choice.

I've recently discovered a great site that offers a unique service.  Shelfari provides its users the ability to share knowledge about books they have read, own, and recommend.  From the Shelfari site:

Based in Seattle, Shelfari introduces readers to our global community of book lovers and encourages them to share their literary inclinations and passions with peers, friends, and total strangers (for now). Shelfari was the first social media site focused on books, and will continue to innovate as it brings together the world's readers. Our mission is to enhance the experience of reading by connecting readers in meaningful conversations about the published word.

Shelfari’s members:

• Build virtual bookshelves to express themselves to their friends and to the world
• Discover books that are popular in their trusted circles of friends
• Influence peers by rating and discussing books online
• Discover and learn from people with similar reading tastes
• Participate in online book groups to further explore literature and share ideas
• Interact with and learn from authors

Shelfari was officially launched in October 2006 with Josh Hug and Kevin Beukelman as the co-founders., Amazon.com invested in Shelfari in February 2007 and Shelfari immediately formed a board of advisors combining a list of high profile individuals. For further information on Shelfari, check out the featured links on the left hand side.

So, why don't you join me on Shelfari?

In addition to bonsai I have a few other passions.  One of those passions is playing the guitar.  I first picked up a guitar at 13 years of age.  I had some previous musical training with violin and piano, but the guitar was the one for me.  I enjoyed playing music with friends through school and afterwards, but only as an occasional hobby

A few Years ago my love of the guitar made me finally decided to become a more serious musician.  It was at this time that I sought out teachers who could help me in this journey.  I traveled to music camps and found a few guitar teachers locally.  I took lessons ever week for a few years.  It was during these guitar lessons that two different teachers suggested that I start teaching students how to play the guitar.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH BONSAI?

One spring I was reminded of my love of plants and the outdoors.  I stumbled across a garden center that had a greenhouse full of wonderful bonsai trees, pots, tools, and supplies.  I was thrilled.  I had always had an interest in bonsai, but never had an opportunity to follow that interest.  It was at this garden center that I found out about a bonsai club in the area and decided to investigate.

STUDY

The Greater Louisville Bonsai Society was a small club that was meeting once at month at that time.  I attended a meeting in the basement of a strip-mall and was immediately hooked.  I joined the club that very same day.

STUDY

Through the bonsai club I was able to take workshops conducted by other club members as well as traveling bonsai artists.  It was through these various workshops that I really began to grasp some of the fundamental aspects in bonsai.  I learned to wire, trim, and repot a tree.  I learned basic styling techniques.  I was able to do hands on work while getting advice from the other members of the club.  All of this was invaluable in my learning bonsai.

STUDY!

Not long after joining the club I learned of several conventions in the area that happened at different times throughout the year.  Having been bitten by the bonsai bug quite hard I made it a must to attend at least one major event a year.  It is at the conventions that one can get a lot of exposure to some really great teachings of a variety of bonsai experts.

GO FORTH AND TEACH

I thought it odd all those years ago that two of my guitar teachers would suggest that I begin teaching students how to play the guitar.  It was only recently that I started to understand.  When teaching, it is often the teacher learns just as much as the student. 

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On March 1st, 2008 I launched MatsuBonsai.com, an online bonsai store and bonsai blog.  In addition to selling bonsai related items I am also marketing my services.  If you are interested in learning more please feel free to contact me to find out more.