June 2018 Meeting this Sunday 17th, West End Hall Castlemaine from 11am
Founded 2001 Incorporated 2002
Presidents Notes
Paul Showell President. 54 705545 Helen Wheeler Secretary 54 762286 David Rojo Treasurer 0458 811 205 Newsletter– GoldfieldsBonsaiSociety GBS Facebook page
Hello Members, Its Winter already, what happened to Autumn? We seemed to have had a lot of lovely mild to warm weather followed by a cold week and finally some rain and all the leaves fell in a day or two. And it has been cold since. Last month we were privileged to have Gerard Schoofs join us for the day and present us with an excellent talk on Australian Natives as bonsai. Gerard has some wonderful trees and brought several along for the ride. As well as the excellent trees from Gerard's collection he also presented a slideshow of trees from the VNBC exhibition and elaborated the pros and cons of the various species. We all gained a lot and Helen has a summary on the next page. Well this month we have Trevor doing a demonstration on making Muck for slab planting and also in root over rock. Trevor is also going to talk about matching trees to pots, we don’t all get a chance to make our own pots like Trevor, so it will be interesting to hear what goes into the selection process of what colour and shape best suits what tree. Coming up next month we have three busy weekends in a row, with our usual monthly Meeting 15th followed by the National Conference 20th to 23rd and finally over the last weekend of the month. GBS will be holding a winter exhibition at the town hall in Daylesford. Over the Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th July, we will have our first Winter exhibition for several years. It is a great chance to display our deciduous trees in their winter silhouettes and hopefully get a bit of interest from the Daylesford locals and visitors alike. I have yet to put together a flyer but it will be out shortly. I’m sure all our members will be eager to help out and some of our bonsai friends from across the state will pay us a visit. Unfortunately the Showell’s wont be there this Sunday but I’m sure you will all have an enjoyable day. Paul
May Meeting - Special Guest Gerard Schoofs NATIVE BONSAI
Our guest speaker at the May meeting was Gerard Schoofs. Gerard is a member of three bonsai clubs. He likes native species because the trees have a variety of forms, foliage, bark and trunks. He has a many native bonsai in his own collection. He said that natives in nature grow mainly in poor soils and many are not long lived. Their root structure in the wild is extensive because they forage for water and nutrients. Native bonsai planted in pots grow differently, they can make many fibrous roots quickly because food and water are readily available and the plants will live longer. Gerard suggests that natives be planted into pots to grow on rather than in the ground as many are sensitive to root disturbance. SPECIAL POINTS.
Be careful when fertilising as many don’t like overfeeding Native plants need more water than others Very few have a single apex, so pick more than one trunkline when styling. When you get the tree into a general shape then is the time to cut back the foliage. Many have sensitive root systems. Remove any pests immediately as they are attracted to sap and will cause damage. Paperbark melaleuca is a good beginner tree Gerard showed slides of trees from the recent Native Bonsai Exhibition and spoke re species, design and structure of the trees shown. There were some interesting discussion points. Thank you Gerard.
GBS Happenings From our Facebook page.
Simon has shared the history of one of his trees through a series of photos spaning 25years. “The 25+year journey of one Tree. This poor little Juniper suffered neglect with the occasional watering in the same pot for about 20 years until it almost died. The last five years have been a spasmodic search for identity, and continues.� Simon.
June bonsai actions (thanks for the notes Geelong Bonsai Club) Sun
place trees in as much full sun as possible. Sheltered branches die back
Water
do not overwater deciduous. Group for ease of watering; tilt pots if necessary
Clean
remove fallen leaves from pots and benches to keep slaters & slugs away
Spray
after leaf fall, deciduous trees prone to mildew with weak solution of lime sulphur spray
Fruit
lighten or remove load of berries or fruit to avoid depleting tree for next season
Pots
Put pots on angle in wetter months for better drainage
Repot
mark pots not draining well for later repot with more open mix
Inspect
deciduous trees for faults and improvements
Shape
pinch off spent azalea heads
Show
start planning
Potting
plan what to repot or pot and prioritise
Other
read, plan, develop, take notes, look at other people's trees
Up Coming Events
Mauro Stemberger Tour 2018 (BFA)
31st Australian National Bonsai Convention To be held in Melbourne, 20 -23 July 2018. Titled “Bonsai Exposed”, the convention will feature Bjorn Bjorholm from USA, as the Headliner. The Victorian Demonstrators are Joe Morgan-Payler, Hanh Tran and Michael Simonetto. Venue- Mantra Bell City. For more information go to: http://www.aabcltd.org/ 2018 YVBS Show
2018 Bonsai Show to be held at the Wandin North Public Hall on the weekend of 23rd and 24th June.
Ballarat Bonsai Society have their Creswick Dig scheduled for the 21st July 2018. For details contact Alex McKee on 03 5345 1074
June 23rd and 24th Senior Citizen Hall, Golden Square, Bendigo There will be Workshops on the Saturday morning and the Sunday morning and afternoon. Mauro will do a Demonstration which will be free to Bendigo club members on the Saturday afternoon.
Will Baddeley in Bendigo 2018
Will is from the UK and will be in Bendigo for a Demonstration and Workshops on 27th October. Details TBA. This will be our normal meeting day, which will be held at the Golden Square Senior Citizens Hall (now called the Golden Square Community Hall). If you want to know more about him, look on wildwoodbonsai.blogspot.com.au or facebook. There are also’ you-tube’ videos as well. Information can also be found on bonsaiempire.com under artists. Contact details for Bendigo Bonsai Club Inc. Mail to: PO Box 889 Bendigo VIC 3552 Email address: secretary@bendigobonsaiclub.org.au
Goldfields Bonsai Society Program 2018 June 17th—Making muck, matching trees to pots. By Trevor July 15th—Preparing trees for exhibition in Daylesford July 28th + 29th—Winter exhibition, Daylesford Town Hall August 19th—Simon urban yamadori? September 16th—Visit a members collection—Warren’s in Bendigo and nursery visit October 21st—David talk on Azaleas. Preparing trees for the exhibition.
November 3rd + 4th—Exhibition. November 18th—Christmas Breakup
Meeting this Sunday 17th Hall open from 11am.
Bring Lunch.
Bring something for the display table. Trevor will be doing a demonstration of making Muck and also a talk on matching trees to pots