NEXT CLUB MEETINGS

Green Square Community Hall

3 Joynton Avenue Zetland.

7pm Tuesday 10 December 2013

Party –Bring Christmas decorated bonsai, a plate for season greetings and be ready for fun bonsai learning games.

7pm Tuesday 11 February 2014

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CONTACT DETAILS

� 0432 461 025

�info@sydneycitybonsai.org.au

� sydneycitybonsai.org.au

�� PO Box 486 Summerhill NSW 2130

COMMITTEE

Patron Dorothy Koreshoff

President Bryan

Vice President Sue

Secretary Constantine

Treasurer Chris

Public Officer David

Newsletter Editor Roslyn

Librarian Marianna

Catering Philip

Committee Lee & Tony

MEMBERSHIP

Full Membership $40.00 Concession $25.00 Family $55.00 Pensioner $25.00

SCBC wishes to thank Sydney City

Council for their continued

support for our club by providing

the hall at a reduced rate.

Welcome to the December Newsletter

Club Christmas Party

What to bring.... Plate for season greetings with enough for 4 max MUST bring a bonsai tree, any tree... Just a tree for a fun door entry game Also bring a bonsai tree decorated with a Christmas theme.

Get in the Christmas spirit with fun activities and prizes including: ...Bonsai trivial pursuit (2 teams) Pin the branch on the tree Last Tree Standing Best Decorated Christmas Bonsai Tree

Looking forward to seeing all members to celebrate the end of a great year of

SCBC meetings

In this issue:

• Root over rock bonsai style page 2-3

• Root over statue reworked by Lee page 3

• Wiring with cable ties page 4

• Bonsai tips for Sydney summer page 4

• Natural disaster: Privet restyle page 5

• Leaf size reduction & Events Calendar page 6

LIBRARY REMINDER!

Bring back ALL Club library books if you haven’t already done so

p1.

ROOT OVER ROCK BONSAI STYLE

December club workshop

Root over rock is an outstanding bonsai style. Years are needed for the tree's roots to fully embrace the rock so plan to start to develop one now.

Peter’s Trident Maple is over 20 years old with roots fused to rock

ROCK: the rock has to be substantially larger than the sapling so when the tree has developed and matured the rock still has a presence in the design and is not completely overgrown by the tree. A rock should have some character but don't waste a beautiful rock in this style as many trees can eventually obscure the majority of the rock.

Example of rocks suitable for root over rock bonsai

Lee’s “Mermaid” Fig was 5cm tall in 2003

Chris’s 15 year old “Root in Rock” Fig shows how roots can “swallow” rock if rock size is too small.

STOCK PLANT: You need to start with a very young tree with roots that are pliable enough to shape on the rock. A plant with well established roots will not be able to be moulded to the rock.

Method 1: plant a young tree in a very deep pot with good soil in the bottom 2/3rds and sand in the top area. Ensure the roots are planted so they are growing straight down. Once the planting is established the roots will grow through the sand to the good soil, lengthen and be long enough at the next repotting to position them on a rock. This is pretty essential if the rock is a tall one.

Method 2: Wash all the soil from the roots of a young plant and straighten the roots as much as possible. Apply a coating of muck to the rock and position the tree and the roots in the most artistic position for its shape and the shape of the rock. Apply another thicker layer of muck around the roots, gently wrap with twine that will disintegrate in a few months. Plant the tree and rock in a pot deep enough to cover the rock to the bottom of the trunk.

At the next repotting bare the roots taking care not to knock the tree off the rock, remove or reposition any awkward roots, make any necessary position adjustments if you can. Replace the muck and the twine and repot in fresh soil. This process continues annually until the use of muck and twine are no longer necessary.

Root over rock Trident Maple in training. Lee has designed this set up for the main roots to grow into a square pot. She has wrapped the roots and rock with Glad Wrap to keep the roots close to the rock and added a black plastic collar to give sufficient moisture and growing room.

What is bonsai “muck”?

Muck is a special "soil" mixture with many applications in bonsai. It is a sticky paste that's used as a binding agent to hold objects such as rocks or roots over rock stable in the pot.

Muck is a mixture of fine dry clay, peat moss and a small portion of Dynamic Lifter. For small usage it is far neater to buy a container from a bonsai nursery for a couple of dollars rather than the mess and hassle of making your own.

When muck is needed water is added to make a putty-like consistency. Knead it well, preferably wearing rubber gloves, until it is a firm ball. Smear a layer over the rock where the roots will go, position the roots and carefully smear on another layer of muck to cover the roots. Then cover the root ball with soil and keep watered as normal. The muck helps to keep the roots in place, provides moisture and breaks down over time so it is easy to remove at the next repotting.

If you are doing group or forest settings or even a single plant on a slab, muck can be used to create retaining walls and then covered with moss to look natural.

p2.

ROOT OVER STATUE REWORKED BY LEE

Root over rock bonsai style continued from p2. SUITABLE PLANTS: Trident maples and privets are wonderful for root over rock as the roots will eventually "melt" down the rock and look as tho they have been poured over the surface. It takes time to have this happen which is why root over rock is not a fast bonsai style. Elms are good subjects but elm roots will never adhere to the rock and repotting needs care so the tree does not become dislodged. Positioning also needs care as the roots should look as tho they are adhering to the rock and the roots should not be growing away from the rock. Port Jackson figs are great subjects as well and while their roots don't "melt" down the rock they will adhere firmly. It is recommended to allow the foliage to go rampant in the first years to encourage good root growth. It's a good idea to mark the front of the training pot so you can style the tree as it grows. With the surface roots covered to allow them to thicken and develop it is easy to forget where the front is. A root over rock bonsai offers an enthusiast excellent styling training as the developing root structure can often necessitate a change of the front and the additional challenge of ensuring the developing roots are aesthetically pleasing as well as the upper structure of the tree. This is not a fast style but definitely worth the effort so start now.

Root over statue reworked by Lee

At the November meeting I unpotted the Port Jackson fig that I am developing as a bit of whimsy - Root over Statue. When I got it home I decided it was best to redo and reposition the tree. When the fig was originally put on the head I chose what was then the best front but that changed.

As members so wisely suggested, better to affect the change now before the roots adhere to the statue surface.

The statue head was put on the table to get the right angle and the fig removed and turned and resettled. Roots were artistically placed across the face but positioned so that even large they won’t obscure her features.

Tree repositioned so the better side is the new front

Rubber bands holding roots in position

I used rubber bands to hold the roots in place as Peter suggested. This would not work on a larger construction but was ideal for the size I was working on and indeed ensured the roots clung to the statue while I wrapped glad wrap around the head and worked soil between the glad wrap and the statue and then around the outside.

I have used glad wrap to keep the roots moist and to keep them from migrating into the main soil mass.

Glad wrap used to keep the roots against the statue

It would have been better to have left the upper structure to grow wild to help the roots develop faster but I am well aware that I must keep the fig’s growth under control to try to keep it in proportion to the statue head. Fresh soil, watering and placed back on the bench to develop for another year. It’s fun and nice to have something a bit different on the bench.

Tree collared and potted

Collared and potted for another year with wire marking the front of the setting so styling can be properly done as required. When the roots are clinging to the statue I will make a base of waterproof Knead-it to give the statue a strong base so it can be eventually potted with the actual base of the statue head just under the soil level.

WIRING WITH CABLE TIES & BONSAI TIPS FOR SYDNEY SUMMER

Wiring with cable ties

The standard wrap wire method is not always effective on all types of branches and there are other methods that can be used to get the placement you are after. To reposition larger branches guy wire can be very useful.

Another method that can be applied to older branches that don’t bend easily is strips of wire secured with cable ties.

Wiring with cable ties

A heavier gauge of wire would be used and two to 4 lengths run down each branch secured at intervals with small cable ties. The more you need to bend the branch the closer the cable ties have to be to provide support for the branch.

Apply the cable ties snugly making sure the wires are spread as evenly as possible around the branch. Bend as required and if the wire moves away from the branch at any place where you need a bend simply add another cable tie.

Cable ties tied snugly and spread evenly around branch

This method has the advantage of your being able to remove existing cable ties and reapply new cable ties as the branch thickens. The wire doesn’t have to be removed and it can stay on longer making it easier than the wrapped wire method. It is more suitable for larger branches or very brittle branches.

Care still must be taken as the cable ties can mark the bark and if you are not vigilant physical damage can occur.

Bonsai tips for summer Here are a few reminders to ensure your bonsai remain alive and healthy throughout the hot Sydney summer.

• Keep the water up

• Afternoon shade in really hot weather

• Don't fertilise if temperatures over 30 degrees - the tree can't absorb it

• By mid February stop defoliation

• Be sure to spray for insects but water 20 minutes beforehand. Don't spray or fertilise a tree with dry soil.

• Keep lanky foliage trimmed to cut down on water requirements

For more extensive bonsai tips for Sydney’s summer check out School of Bonsai – Clinton’s Jobs for December/January at: http://sob.ausbonsai.com/NuClintonsJobs01.htm

National Library in Canberra highlighting their exhibition 'City of Trees'.

“Trees as art” – this unspecified tree caught a members eye when visiting the National Library

cc

NATURAL DISASTER–PRIVET RESTYLE

By Lee A beautiful privet lost 2/3rds of its persona with the dieback of the entire left side. Heartbreak and despair left two options – otto bin or restyle – the way to go was obvious. It is not an accepted practice to have a lot of deadwood on deciduous or evergreen trees mainly because the normal climatic conditions would cause the deadwood to rot off. But like anything else there are exceptions and deciduous and evergreens can legitimately be found in nature with serious dieback.

Privet restyle following natural disaster where 2/3 of tree was lost to dieback

The smaller branches were removed on the dead portion, the bark stripped off and the trunk sanded back to the bare wood. Cavities from previous branch and root removals were rotting so the rotted wood was removed and a tunnel "Dremeled" from the cavity at the very apex to a cavity below it to allow drainage. The rot in the root cavity on the left was sculpted so water would not accumulate. Anytime you have deadwood it is necessary to ensure that no area is sculptured to allow pools where water can stand as that speeds up natural deterioration. The tree had lost so much that the original pot was now far too large so it was repotted into a smaller pot once the carving work was done. Never repot a tree and then carve, carving should only be done when the tree is rock solid in the pot to prevent root damage.

The next step is to restyle the foliage pad. It needs to fill in the back left more and the right extension reduced so the pad is far more compressed to balance the tree. The large amount of deadwood immediately conveys a story of survival against hardship. The visual strength of the deadwood becomes a major feature that will balance the tree when the shape of foliage pad is improved by wiring and leaf development. The tree has deliberately been planted a bit high to encourage the surface feeder roots to dry and die while lower feeder roots can grow to fill the bottom of the pot. This will allow the dead roots to be removed thus lowering the surface level and showing more of the stunning nebari. Dieback disasters such as this can be useful in improving your styling skills and one should always work towards the best outcome.

Deciduous Bonsai Design Bonsai artist Harry Harrington, author of the Bonsai4me website has worked with bonsai enthusiast Samuel Brierley from New Zealand, the owner of a 40cm/16" tall Siberian Elm/Ulmus pumila, to style a deciduous bonsai.

The Elm had aesthetic defects including an ugly crossing root, a number of circular wounds that were obviously man-made and the top half of the trunk lacked taper, coming to an abrupt halt where the tree had been chopped in the past.

Siberian Elm bonsai/Ulmus pumila40cm/16" tall

Before restyle(June 2012) After restyle (November 2013)

Check out the detailed development of this deciduous bonsai design on the Bonsai4me website at: http://www.bonsai4me.com/AdvTech/ATDeciduousBonsaiDesign.html

Rain drips off bonsai leaves

Drought is broken

Artist sleeps

p5.

© 2006 Sydney City Bonsai Club | www.sydneycitybonsai.org.au | info@sydneycitybonsai.org.au p6.

LEAF SIZE REDUCTION

Leaf size reduction

Every bonsai enthusiast knows that leaves will reduce in size but I was quite amazed to see the actual difference between a tree in early training and allowed to simply grow and the same species that has been worked as a bonsai for three years.

Ficus cornonata- Sandpaper Fig

The Buffalo Bonsai Society has reported on their results on leaf size reduction on 5 deciduous species using the technique of defoliation. See the following website location:

http://www.buffalobonsaisociety.com/Defoliation.html

Principles of Leaf Size Reduction Brett Waltson from Evergreen Gardenworks in California explains that “the size of leaves, the length of internodes, and the thickness of twigs are related to the:

1. Balance of the canopy to the root mass, 2. Age and density of the roots, 3. Level of fertility, 4. Presence or absence of hormones, 5. Level of light.

After explaining each these growth principles he focuses on the first two principles which are the most important and concludes:

“The answers to most questions about the timing of pruning, and the correct procedure to achieve design objectives can be deduced from analysis of these two principles.”

For the full article go to: http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/leafsize.htm OrlandobonsaiTV has a similar YouTube video on the principles leaf size reduction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_RVXxT6N0g

EVENTS

Date Event Details

March 28-30, 2014

Bonsai by the Beach Bonnie Hills Beach, Port Macquarie.

August 21-24 2014 AABC Convention QT Gold Coast Staghorn Av Gold Coast, Queensland