Welcome!

15 February 2018 Meeting:
Topics discussed:
Repotting:

• The top of the tree reflects the base; finer soil equals finer roots, which equals finer branching (or ramification).
• Goal of good soil is to produce the right mixture of water & air.
• In our climate, we use the 'Boon' mixture (named after a Master in California): 1/3 Akadama, pumice, & grit.
• Repot a mature tree about every 5-7 years.
• Use aluminum wire on deciduous trees.
• Look at the flare at the base of the tree. Remove or reposition crossing roots.
• Keep some of the original soil, as it contains very valuable 'Mycorrhizal fungi'.
• Already fertilizing with 5-5-5 Dr. Earth fertilizer.
• For deciduous trees, use 1 scoop Bone mix & 1 scoop Akadama. Lay down a thin layer of larger particles first, then use smaller particles above that and around roots.
• When securing tree, you may need to use a chop-stick to borrow a hole for the wire. Pull, then twist wire when securing.
• For top-dressing, use grated orchid moss, mixed with water, india ink, and some live yard moss. When dried, sprinkle over the top layer of soil. This top-dressing encourages moisture toward the surface, and encourages fine roots at the top layer.

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6 December 2017 Annual Planning Meeting:
We had a very good Annual Planning Meeting this year, and our new 2018 Schedule of Events is now posted, as of 2017-12-09. 2018 should be full of great events, so please plan and look forward to more details as the year progresses.

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16 November 2017 Holiday Dinner:
We had a great time at our annual holiday dinner this year! Lots of fun, gifts, food, and fantastic fellowship. Thanks to all of our officers for all your work putting this great event together again this year, and for making it so much fun for all!

• Members, please don't forget to attend our next annual planning meeting, to help us make next year another exciting success!

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19 October 2017 Meeting:
Topics discussed:

• Winter Beds - Download the Guide Here!

Fall Colors:

• We saw some beautiful fall-color specimens this meeting, shown by their owners. Thank you for sharing!

Fertilizing:

• Use no-nitrogen fertilizers every 4 weeks this time of year.

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20 July 2017 Meeting:
Topics discussed:
Fertilizing:

• Rapeseed balls for Junipers and Firs.
• Kelp meal - sprinkle on surface.
• Use doubled up terracotta pots for cuttings.

Soil:

• An inexpensive substitute for Akadama is 'Spill cleanup' or cheap cat litter.
• Granite - a little more acidic.

Pots:

• Large, plastic pot alternatives can be found at Fred Meyer - they include one large drainage hole.

Wood Hardeners:

• Can obtain from WoodCraft; use matt finish.
• Bondo has a product that repairs dry rot.

Cut Wounds:

• Vasoline can be used for cut-wound sealing, or petroleum jelly. Easy to put on the end of a chop-stick.

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16 March 2017 Meeting:
Topics discussed:

• Tool Talk - Download the Handout Here!

Fertilizing:

• Fertilize right out of the ground, March through June or July.
• Do not fertilize right after repotting - allow 4-6 weeks for roots to recover.
• Apply iron to Pines & Junipers to green them up.
• Sumo Cakes (4.5, 4.5, 4.5) - https://www.sumocakes.com.
• Rapeseed Fertilizer Cakes (5, 2, 1) - Stone Lantern Rapeseed.
• GreenDream Fertilizer Cakes (7, 5, 5) - Stone Lantern Green Dream.
• Dyno-gro Fertilizer (7, 9, 5) - Stone Lantern Dyno-gro Bonsai Pro.
• Fish Emulsion (5, 1, 1) - Walmart Alaska Fish Emulsion Plant Food.

Other topics discussed:

• Best to wire in Summer and Fall; not in Spring.
• Best time to repot evergreens is in June/July, after foliage is very strong; evergreen strength is in the foliage.
• When pruning Maples, always seal wounds. Maple wounds dry out and die back very easily; they also allow for infection.
• Demonstration on cleaning pots to prepare for display.
• 'Bar Keepers Friend' cleaning product can help clean stubborn hard-water stains from pots, etc. - Walmart Bar Keepers Friend.

• Bonsai Calendar: When to work on your Bonsai trees (Website)
  Bonsai Empire
  This is a great website, especially for new members.
  

  Visit site...
• Flowers on Pine Candles... Leave alone? Take off? (Article)
  "The first. Best to leave them alone. It's true that flowering weakens a tree a bit. But pine candles are also quite delicate when growing..." (Michael Hagedorn, Crataegus Bonsai, MAY 2016)
  

  Read More...
• Schefflera, "The Indestructable Bonsai" (Article)
  "Schefflera and Brassaia are two related species of plants both commonly called 'Schefflera'. They are found in nearly every nursery and garden center's indoor foliage area or in the terrarium plant section..." (Jerry Meislik, APR 2016)
  

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• Pines: Big Difference Between 'Decandling' and 'Breaking' Pine Shoots (Article)
  "There's a storm of confusion around these two techniques, and it's one of those things we don't want to get wrong. Pines take a couple years to get back on track, once off track, and so they make us look at our mistakes for a long time..." (Michael Hagedorn, Crataegus Bonsai, APR 2016)
  

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• Juniper Styling Tips: Pinching vs Cutting - Which is Best? (Article)
  "Pinching or cutting your juniper foliage and needles. Which one is the better method? Traditionally, the technique for pushing back growth in junipers was to pinch the needle tips of the juniper foliage. By doing so, it would push the foliage back so that the branch would not get as long..." (Eastern Leaf, DEC 2015)
  

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• What is a 'Money Tree' Plant? (Article)
  "The Money Tree (Pachira aquatica) is a plant that has many legends and beliefs originating from China. Although there are many tales and stories as to its beginnings, the most common story is that a truck driver in Taiwan had decided to braid the trunks of five small trees in a single pot. A more legendary tale floats around of a very poor farmer who was very down on his luck and spirit. One day, he found a very curious looking plant with braided trunks..." (Eastern Leaf, DEC 2015)
  

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• Dormancy and Dropping of Leaves (Article)
  "Fall has just started and the weather may be cooling down in your area. For all trees, the decrease in temperature and season change will start to affect your bonsai tree..." (Eastern Leaf, OCT 2015)
  

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• Repotting: Common Pitfalls (Article)
  "Repotting season is a conflicting time for most bonsai enthusiasts. For some, it's a happy time since some are finally able to pot their finished tree into a bonsai pot. For others, it's doing routine maintenance to ensure the health of the tree..." (Eastern Leaf, OCT 2015)
  

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• How to Repot a Bonsai (Video)
  "Repotting your tree is one of the most important things you can do for your bonsai tree..." (Eastern Leaf, OCT 2015)
  

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• Preparing your Bonsai Pot (Article)
  "Preparing your pot is an essential step to repotting your tree. In this tutorial, we'll go over the steps to properly prepare your pot for a new tree..." (Jason Chan, Eastern Leaf, OCT 2015)
  

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• Two Watering Tips for your Bonsai Trees to Beat the Heat (Article)
  "1. Water your tree more than once a day...
  2. When you water your tree, make a few passes at it..." (Eastern Leaf, AUG 2015)
  

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• Clip and Grow Method: Developing a Pad Layer (Article)
  "The clip and grow method is a great way to familiarize yourself with the growth patterns of your tree. For beginners, it's also a great method to train your tree without needing to apply wire to your tree..." (Eastern Leaf, AUG 2015)
  

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• Developing Branches on a Black Pine (Article)
  "To develop ramifications on your black pine bonsai tree you often have to deal with leggy growth..." (Eastern Leaf, JUL 2015)
  

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• Wiring a Bonsai Branch (Video)
  "Wiring is one of the essential techniques for working with your bonsai tree..." (Eastern Leaf, JUL 2015)
  

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• Fertilizing Mistakes - Black Pines (Article)
  "The most common issue ... is when new enthusiasts fertilize improperly. E.g. when a tree looks sick or weak, fertilizing it too heavy in hopes that the extra food will save it. Most often this causes the complete opposite result." (Eastern Leaf, JUL 2015)
  

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• Eastern Leaf Knowledge Center (Resource)
  A resource-center of popular articles on tips, techniques, and methods for caring for your trees... (Eastern Leaf, 2016)
  

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• Bonsai: (Pronounced 'bone-sigh') The art of growing trees in trays or pots. Derived from 'bon', meaning 'tray' and 'sai', meaning 'tree' (Pessey & Samson, 1992, "Bonsai Basics", p16).
• Besaki: Beautiful Stone; used in formal display. Viewing Stones offer a story and serve as companions to the Bonsai in formal display.
• Jin: Deadwood branch.
• Kusamono: Companion Plant; used in formal display.
• Mycorrhizal: Fungal associations between plant roots and beneficial fungi. The fungi effectively extend the root area of plants and are extremely important to most plants. Original soil contains this beneificial fungi close to the roots; care should be taken whe repotting, to maintain a good portion of this resource.
• Nebari: Exposed surface roots, located at the base of the tree.
• Ramification: The training and development of secondary branch structure from the main branches by regular pruning, encouraging thick foliage and pad-development.
• Schefflera: The 'Indestructable Bonsai'. A popular in-door/tropical species of tree used in Bonsai. 'Dwarf' variety of the full-sized Brassaia.
• Shari: Deadwood on trunk.
• Suiseki: Companion Stone; used in formal display. Note, the word 'stone' is used in Bonsai terminology; not 'rock'.
• Yamadori: Wild trees collected for training as Bonsai.

• Japanese Bonsai Terms, from 'Bonsai4me'...
• Bonsai Terms, from 'Bonsai Experience'...
• Bonsai Quick-Reference Guide, from 'Bonsai Empire'...

• Calendar of Events Page

• Additional Boise Air Terminal weather info...