NORTH FLORIDA BONSAI CLUB

August 2020

Bonsai Events

• Beginner workshop August 3, 10, 17th

• Club member assistance is needed for the Aug 10 & 17th nights

• August 10th NFBC Meeting @ 7pm

• Assisting with the beginner workshop

• Bring trees to display and inspire our workshop participants

• September 14th NFBC Meeting @ 7pm

• BYOT workshop with visiting artist Reggie Perdue

• Soil Mixing Day to be scheduled

Florida Bonsai Events

• D&L Bonsai Nursery is open but has postponed BYOT workshops • Signup for their newsletter or visit their

website for more information

• Kawa Bonsai Society meeting and BBQ and Auction is being rescheduled

Vicki’s Tigerbark Ficus just three weeks after

defoliation and repotting.

Ron and Joe offering helping hands during a previous

beginner workshop.

August Meeting

This month’s meeting will be a little different. We have the beginner workshop

scheduled for our normal meeting and members will be asked to help with the

class. Beginners will styling and repotting their workshop trees on Aug 10th and

17th. Members are encouraged to come both nights to provide hands on

assistance to our beginners.

We also ask that you bring a tree to display at the event. There is nothing more

inspiring to a person starting out than seeing developed bonsai. Think of this as a

“learning” display where all level of trees are welcome. We want to show the

beginners how we apply various techniques (large chops, wiring, sacrifice

branches, etc.) so trees with these development techniques are encouraged to be

show alongside more “finished” trees.

July Events Recap

Our July meeting was super informal and turned into a great hands on event. It is

fun every so often to have an informal meeting where everyone can bring in trees

to work on and have shared learning sessions. It was great to see so many

collaborative ideas and discussions on how to style the trees.

Personally I was presented some great options on how to correct the apex on my

willowleaf ficus and was able to find a solution that I probably wouldn’t have

arrived at on my own.

If you need photographic evidence of some of the artistry that went on just take a

look at Tina’s green island ficus that she turned into a very convincing wind

influenced tree. What makes it even better is that Tina also made the bonsai pot!

Beginner Workshop

The workshop has been sold out! Thank you to everyone who helped spread the

word. If you know someone who is interested please have them email Tristan at

Yodasworkshop@aol.com to be added to a waiting list for our next event.

Soil Mixing Event

We are running low on club bonsai soil. We will be scheduling a day to mix

additional buckets. In the meantime please bring back your empty buckets and

lids to the upcoming meetings. The more buckets we have the more soil we can

make at one time.

Seasonal Advice

Care for August is very similar to last month’s summer care practices

1. Most important is stay on top your watering. Your plants might start showing

signs of heat stress depending on the species and your ability to keep them

watered.

2. All the heat and humidity is a breeding ground for fungal issues. It is a good

idea to water your plants earlier in the day (if possible) so the leaves will be

dry when going into the night hours thus decreasing the chance of any leaf

fungus.

3. Your tropical bonsai plants will continue to grow quickly throughout the

summer. These plants will need to be fertilized on a regular basis.

4. Depending on the size of your collection, pruning will become a full time job

with all the new growth! Always have a pair of scissors in your hand when

inspecting your plants. After allowing the new growth to produce about four

to six leaves cut it back to about two or three leaves. The result of

continually trimming your tree will be twiggy branches, thus producing a

more refined bonsai.

If there is ever a question on what to do you can always reach out to someone in

the club for help.

Special Feature

Anne came across this article in BusinessWeek about Bonsai Mirai. It is a short enjoyable read that I hope you enjoy. If you come across content you would like to share with everyone in future newsletters please send it to me at joshuareubenbrown1@yahoo.com

Bonsai Classifieds

If you have something you are interested in selling/trading please send pictures and contact information for inclusion in future newsletters.

NFBC Membership

- Membership is $36 for the year o Prorated dues for the remainder of 2020 are $18

- Visitors are always welcome at meetings and events

Soil

- We are running low on bonsai soil and will be scheduling a day to mix more

- The cost is $25 for a five gallon bucket. Please contact an officer a few days ahead of time if you would like to have a bucket brought to the next meeting.

Bonsai Supplies

- Tristan has wire for sale in multiple sizes.

Trees

- Al Blood has a very nice large boxwood for sale. Contact him at lawrenceblood@bellsouth.net to get more information.

- Josh has bonsai and pre-bonsai available. Please contact him at joshuareubenbrown1@yahoo.com to schedule time to come take a look.

Vendors

- American Bonsai Tool (www.americanbonsai.com) is providing our club a 10% discount on products. To receive the discount use the coupon code ‘NFBC10’ at checkout. There is no minimum purchase and shipping is free on orders over $99.

- Bonsai Empire has offered our club a discount on their Fundamentals of Intermediate course. Enter the discount code “NFBC” to get 20% off these courses.

NFBC Officers

Tristan Kincaid President

Bruce Washington Treasurer w/ Ron Price

George Armstrong Secretary w/ Tina Mattucci

Josh Brown Website