This weekend (Jan 16-17, 2010) marks the 11th Annual Bay Island Bonsai Exhibit at the Hall of Commerce, Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend this year, but I'm looking forward to seeing reports from the show:

Bay Island Bonsai
Bonsai Tonight
Bonsai Sashi-no-eda
Peter Tea Bonsai
Scott's Bonsai and Peppers

And I'm sure there will be plenty of discussion at:

Bonsai Study Group

I attended the 10 Anniversary Exhibit last year, and I have a feeling this year will be even bigger and better. I can't wait to read all of the reports. Maybe I can make it out in 2011 for the next Exhibit.

Matsu Bonsai Study Group dates for 2010 have been posted to the Bonsai Study Group page.  For 2010 the meetings will be more focused on specific topics.

Topics for 2010 include:

• Grafting for Bonsai
• Repotting
• Show Prep
• Decandling
• Wiring 

Items needed for the Bonsai Study Group meetings:

• Trees
• Tools
• Wire
• Soil 

As always, if you need to borrow a tool or a tree to work on, plenty will be available. 

Congratulations to my friend, Peter Tea, winner of this year's Joshua Roth New Talent Competition.  This event is normally held at the annual American Bonsai Society (ABS) Learning Seminar.  But, unfortunately this year's ABS event was cancelled.  Luckily the Golden State Bonsai Federation (GSBF) stepped in to host the event at the GSBF Convention.  I was unable to attend this year, but the reports I'm getting are that the event was a complete success.

To see the results of Peter's New Talent Competition tree, click here.

Peter is a great bonsai artist and fellow graduate of Boon's Bonsai Intensive program.  He was also one of the workshop instructors at the GSBF convention working on Hokkaido Elms. I'm trying to convince Peter that he needs to move to Louisville, so if you run into him be sure to mention it.  :)

This Saturday, November 7th from 10am until 5pm will be the next meeting of the Bonsai Study Group.  For this meeting we'll be discussing care for Fall and Winter preparation.  We'll also spend some time discussing fertilizer and wiring techniques.  Work will primarily revolve around fall cut back, soji cleanup, and Winter preparation.  If you run out of things to work you're free to work on some of mine.  We'll break for lunch around noon, so bring a treat or join us for nearby fast food.

Items needed for this meeting:

• Trees
• Soil
• Wire
• Wire Cutters
• Scissors
• Concave cutters
• Bent tip tweezers

Please RSVP and do your best to be on time.

I have posted this tree before in How To Bend a Western Juniper. Now, several months later I was tasked to finish the job.

On October 31st I completed my 9th and final Bonsai Intensive with Boon Manakitivipart. For this Western Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) we had initially bent the tree in May 2009. I finished styling and wiring the tree during my last Intensive.

Here's the tree before work started in May 2009, and again after work was completed at that time.

The end of October is an incredibly busy time of year for me.  On Saturday, October 24th I'll be hosting another meeting of the  Bonsai Study Group from 10am until 5pm, with a break for lunch.  During this session we'll primarily work on Fall cleanup and preparation for Winter.  That means cutting back some of the unneeded and unwanted growth and general thinning and arranging of branches.  We'll also discuss the removal of the top layer of soil and replacing it with fresh soil and the purpose behind this activity.

On Sunday, October 25th I'll be heading up to Cincinnati for the last day of their annual fall show at the Krohn Conservatory. I've been attending this show for several years now and it's improved each and every year.  The time and effort that this club spends teaching new and old members alike really shows, with their efforts with the Continuing Bonsai Education group and the Advanced Bonsai Study Group.  This year I'll be donning a vest and answering some questions for a few hours Sunday morning.

Next week, October 28-31 I'll be in California for my 9th session of Boon's Bonsai Intensive.  I'm really looking forward to this trip.  By the way, if you haven't seen Boon's newly redone site I suggest you check it out.  

October has arrived, and with it cooler weather.  The shade cloth has been taken down and the trees are doing their final bit of growing for the year.  With the cold and wet rainy growing season we had this year it's very important that Soji, Fall cleanup work is done before putting the trees away for Winter.  Now is the time to plan the many chores of Fall.  This includes cleaning and thinning pines and junipers, refreshing the top layer of soil, trimming back refined maples, and pulling weeds, etc. 

This weekend is the Carolina Bonsai Expo at the North Carolina Arboretum.  Unfortunately other duties prevent me from attending this year, but I'm looking forward to hearing good reports.

If you're not planning on attending the Carolina Bonsai Expo this weekend, how about a meeting of the Greater Louisville Bonsai Society?  This will be a "Tree Maintenance" workshop.  I've agreed to give a brief talk on preparing Japanese Black Pine for Winter.  Some of the topics I plan to cover are the Fall cleanup work and storage requirements, with a follow up Bonsai Study Group meeting October 24th.