I ’ M R E A D Y F O R M Y C L O S E U P

G E T T I N G O U R B O N S A I R E A D Y F O R S H O W T I M E

Presentation by C. Fischer 3/19/2021

W H Y S H O U L D I S H O W M Y B O N S A I ?

• You will see adjustments that should be done (pot, wiring, cleanup, trimming) • You can see the progression through years of showing • Someone might give you advice and help about your tree • You and the tree get to tell your stories. You can get to know others by their

trees

Ideas include:

• Show your favorite tree (if you can choose a favorite!) or one with a story

• Show a tree that you’ve changed the design

• Display a tree that a former member owned

• Display a tree that shows how it looks as a newly designed bonsai

• Pick one with a pretty or unusual foliage or foliage that is just starting to burst

• Many times we will display a tree that is being trained with a unique technique such as using guy wires to shape

We are lucky this year because you could photograph a tree that looks its best now!

B O N S A I S E L E C T I O N I D E A S

Check for unwanted guests

Thrips, red spider mites, aphids, scale (black on olives), leaf rolling caterpillars love the fresh new foliage of our trees

If you see ants, then look for something they are feasting on such as aphids or scale

Ants can also make a nest in your soil

Use a spray to get rid of ants

iI the damage is too bad you will have to select a different tree to show

P E S T S - G O O D A N D B A D

The caterpillar, leaf roller, thrip, and scale are bad pests for our bonsai. Even though this caterpillar is probably going to be a swallowtail. Just move the good guests to another area. I always feel lucky if I find a praying mantis and the

spiders grow up big and eat smaller pests.

Pick companion items that reflect the season of your display

flowers in the spring

brown grasses in the fall

Also pick companions that would reside naturally in the same environment as your tree (a wild iris with a pine)

Many of us enjoy making a collection of companion plants as much as working with our bonsai

A C C E N T P L A N T S O R C O M PA N I O N P L A N T S ( K U S O M O N A )

T O K O N O M A

A tokonoma is a dedicated space to display items for artistic appreciation.

In this triangular display we see:

• focal element - the tree

• closeup element - an accent plant or kusomona

• distant view - the scroll image

Imagine you are walking through a forest and to your right you see a tall tree, on the ground is a colorful flower and off in the distance you see more trees at the top of a mountain.

S I M U L AT E D V I E W I N G A L C O V E S

For our live shows, several members display their bonsai in a three element arrangement

Or they might choose to just utilize two elements

We give a feeling of separate views by separating the displays with a piece of bamboo

You can do the same at home with a blank wall or door as a backdrop and a table for your tree and accent

The Kusamura Bonsai Club website (kusamurabonsai.org) has many helpful resources. Two are helpful regarding your pot selection:

• Tree Styles

• Selecting the Right Pot

H E L P F U L A R T I C L E S

If you are lucky enough to participate in the workshops conducted by Rita, then you probably already have received advice on whether your tree would look best in a rectangle, oval, glazed, or unglazed pot. We even have flashcards of pots and trees that you can use to visualize a tree in a pot.

Do you have a favorite pot for this olive?

P O T S E L E C T I O N

Gently clean your pot of hard water marks or residue from fertilizer

An older pot should look old so don’t clean your pot so much that it shines likes its brand new

You can buy an eraser made to remove hard water marks from pots.

A cloth with a tiny bit of vinegar to rub just the outside edge of your pot.

A soft cloth with a bit of walnut oil is nice to clean a pot but not make it too shiny

What ideas do you have to clean your pots?

P O T C L E A N U P

Crean Mate is on bonsaitonight.com website

At a live show, we always display our trees and accent plants on stands. Certain attributes of a stand are important to the display

Size

Color and Shape

Height and type of Wood (i.e. bamboo stands are used in summer shows)

In 2021 it is Ok to use something you might have around your house. Maybe a butcher block from the kitchen, or a large floor tile, or a little table.

S TA N D S

For the future take a look at our site (https://kusamurabonsai.org/ClubShow/ClubStands/index.html)

It is acceptable to discretely wire branches that need a slight adjustment

If your wire is really shiny you can disguise it by using a sharpie pen in black or brown

Hint: You can also adjust a branch without wiring by bracing a cut twig from a tree in your yard between branches on your tree. A heavy wire can also be used as a brace.

This is a good time to also look for old wires that can be removed

Do you see anything in this display that you would change?

W I R I N G

A fine moss is nice on the surface of our soil but not attractive if it is growing up the side of the trunk or over the surface roots

Use tweezers to remove the moss from the tree

Apply vinegar to stubborn moss and brush it off later with a toothbrush

You can also spray water on moss and use a fine tip of a skewer to gently remove it

Add fine moss to the outer edge of your pot and gradually add more towards the center if you have enough

Some trees also look good without moss with the soil hidden by a consistent top dressing material

M O S S O R N O M O S S

Hide distracting soil with a top dressing of moss or small evenly colored material such as a finely sifted acadama

In particular you want to hide a brightly colored soil component such as a white pumice

You can even remove the pumice on the surface with tweezers

T O P D R E S S I N G

Remove weeds and even those beautiful accent plants that are residing in the pot. This is the same tree that is in the previous slide; however I now have a beautiful fern growing in the pot.

If I show this tree this year, I will try to remove that .

Can you see any other work I should do with this tree?

W E E D S A N D O V E R G R O W N M O S S

Take care to clean up your accent plant by removing weeds, trim the foliage if needed, arrange the foliage, and clean the pot.

Don’t forget to select a stand also for your accent plant.

A C C E N T P L A N T S O R C O M PA N I O N P L A N T S

W H Y P H O T O G R A P H O U R T R E E S

• Documents your history of the tree

• Is nice for insurance purposes • Is useful to gain advice • A photograph can show areas for

improvement that you eyes might not see by just looking at your tree

C A N Y O U S E E A N Y P R O B L E M S W I T H T H I S T R E E ?

M Y B I T S O F A D V I C E

• Worry about keeping your trees healthy above styling them

• Learn the guidelines but don’t become trapped by them

• Bonsai is an art and art is subjective so expect conflicting opinions

• You learn more by doing • Photograph the progress • Share your journey in bonsai as

you might inspire others

B O N S A I I S A J O U R N E Y I T TA K E S P R A C T I C E

If it gives you joy

it may delight others too.

Celebrate your joy.

C. Fischer