It's been another incredibly busy week.  Not much has been done to the trees other than light fertilization and heavy watering.  The temperature and humidity continues to rise.  Growth will slow down soon as the heat hits the maximum for the summer.  Hopefully we'll have several more weeks of heavy growth before things come to a hot screeching halt.

On Saturday, July 19th I'll be heading to Doug Philips house for an informal study group.  Doug has invited all members of the Greater Louisville Bonsai Society to attend.  It should be a great day filled with bonsai and barbeque. If anyone is interested in attending please contact me for more information and directions.

Here's more information from Doug:

The bonsai day starts at 9 am and will end around 4 pm. Bring a hunk-o-meat for the grill and a pot luck item….also, bring plenty of trees to work on…it has been my experience that some people have finished up and have left early because of no more trees to work on… I look forward to seeing you! Cheers dp

I had very limited spare time last week, but was able to work on a project that I've had planned for the last year or two.  I've had the rock pictured below for a few years now.  It's perfect for root-over-rock.

I've paired the rock with this low rectangle with soft corners. I've had the pot for a while, but was never sure which tree to place inside. Once the pot is all cleaned up it will be ready for Spring potting.

Several Japanese Black Pine seedlings were planted in the Spring of 2007 in preparation for the root-over-rock project. Next March I'll make the final selection and plant the black pine onto the rock. Pictures will be posted on this bonsai blog at that time.  The wire on the rock shows the proposed shape to the tree.

The following tree was grafted this Spring.  The bag has been trimmed to let the emerging candle to fully extend.  More of the bag will be removed this fall.  The grafting tape will remain until the following Spring.

In February a suitable bud was selected from the apex.  Before the tree was too far out of dormancy the bud was grafted onto the back of the tree to form a new back branch.  The scion was cut into a "V" and a slice was placed into the trunk.  The bud was then securely attached to the tree.  A plastic candy bag was placed over the graft and sphagnum moss placed inside.  This helps keep the moisture level high.

Here is the tree just after the graft was attached.

The graft:

And the graft as of July 2008:

It's been an incredibly busy June.  Aside from repotting time, June is by far the most busy time for me and my trees.  Maples and other deciduous trees are in need of trimming and defoliating.  Wiring can be done at this time as well.  And all trees are in constant need of water and fertilizer by this time of year.  But, the two types of trees that take up the majority of my time are pines and azaleas.

Japanese Black Pines and Satsuki Azaleas require a lot of work during the month of June.  The azaleas are trimmed and thinned to two shoots and two leaves after the flowers have faded.  Pines have all been decandled and last year's needles have been thinned to 3-5 pairs.  All are looking quite bare, but will be full again in no time.  Then, the process will start all over again next year.  The work never ends.  It's a good thing the work is enjoyable.

Thankfully, this is the last day of the month.  Now I can get back to a more regular schedule.  Watering, fertilizing, trimming, thinning, and wiring, oh my.

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What has your Spring been like? 

This past weekend was spent decandling Japanese Black Pine bonsai. The benches are absolutely filled with pines, so it was a very busy weekend.

Decandling is a technique reserved for trees that are nearer to completion.  The process is used to regulate and control the candle and needle growth of show ready or nearly show ready trees.  For younger trees and trees that are still in development different techniques should be used to develop the trunk and branch sizes desired for the completed trees.

For those that have been following the development of this particular pine, I have posted a picture of the decandled black pine.  You can read more about it's previous development here and here.

This tree has really progressed over the last few months. The plan is to repot this tree into a nicer pot next year, and to correct the planting angle. It should be ready to show in another year or two.

Last night I attended a lecture/demonstration by Peter Adams. It had been 13 years since he last visited Cincinnati, long before I joined the club.

For his demonstration Peter worked on a medium sized Chinese Elm. The elm had some previous training, most likely while it was being grown for mass production in China or Korea. The shape was quite pleasing to start with, without the exposed roots so common on imported Chinese Elms of the same size. The pot was a cheap Chinese oval with a new shiny blue glaze. Peter commented that the pot was too "young" and detracted from the beauty of the tree.

Mr. Adams spent a great deal of time talking about the shape of deciduous trees. He was very engaging while discussing the sweeping branches and the flowing movement. "Have the courage to make your branches grow upwards," he said. "Look at the deciduous trees in nature, the branches may grow downwards, but then sweep up," he added.

Chinese elms are most definitely not pine trees. They have a decidedly different shape. There is a delicate quality to a well shaped elm tree. Mr. Adams brought out his sketch pad to show the attendees two options that he saw while studying the tree. His background in art showed through in his drawings. He was able to pick two different trees with incredibly beautiful lines. He asked the group for a consensus and then went to work.

With deciduous trees much of the initial work is correcting the flaws developed during the growing phase. Many branches were shortened or removed. Knots were thinned to make a better overall shape. The top 1/3rd of the tree was removed and a new branch brought up to create a new top. Wire was applied to form the basic structure of the branches.

Towards the end of the demonstration Bonsai with Japanese Maples by Peter Adams was passed around. This wonderful book cemented the ideas that Mr. Adams had been sharing with the group. Wonderful drawings, pictures, and descriptive texts are found within. Briefly flipping through the pages was enough to convince me that this will be my next bonsai book purchase. He truly has a knack for deciduous bonsai.

The finished tree looked incredible. With most of the demonstration material it will be raffled off at the meeting next month. Be sure to buy your tickets!

This Saturday, June 21st, I'm hosting an informal study group and bonsai workshop at my home in Shepherdsville.  If anyone is in the area and interested in attending please feel free to contact me.  We'll be working on Japanese Black Pine and Satsuki Azaleas.

Removing the candles on Japanese Black Pine is a great way to control growth.  Mid to late June is the perfect time of year to carry out this work.  Short internodes and smaller needles can be developed by utilizing the growth that emerges later in the year.   Bring your own tree to the workshop, or work on one of the many that I will have available.  Just interested in watching?  That's fine too.

In addition to the pine work we'll aslo be working on Satsuki Azaleas.  The flowers have come and gone, so now the real work can begin.  Thinning and trimming can now be done to help develop fine branches and ramification.  Make sure that the branches end in pairs.  Wiring can also be done at this time to give shape the branches.  Same deals goes for azaleas in this workshop.  Bring your own, work on what's available, or just watch.

See you Saturday!  Please contact me for directions.

Back from Alameda and boy are my arms tired.  Travel is getting more and more troublesome in the United States.  Even more so when you travel across the country with layovers.  But, Boon and his Bonsai Intensive course are well worth the effort.  There simply is no one else doing what he does in the States.

The Bonsai Intensive series is a great way to learn whether you're a beginner or someone that's been doing bonsai for 30 years.  There is always something more to gain.  Boon does a great job of tailoring the class to the individuals.  Pick what you want to work on from a yard full of impressive bonsai of all species, shapes, sizes, and age.  Not many places can offer the same experience.

The best part of the intensive sessions is the knowledge you bring home with you.  This week we spent the time working on thinning and decandling Japanese Black Pine and Red Pine.  There some work done with Satsuki Azaleas and Shimpaku and Rocky Mountain Junipers.  Now it's time to put it all to work here at home.

This week I will be working heavily on my Japanese black pine bonsai trees.  The time of year is just right to decandle.  I also have quite a bit of work to do on several Satsuki azalea.  That seem to be the problem with owning both Japanese black pine and Satsuki azaleas, the timing of the work.  Both trees require a lot of work during the month of June.  But, it's the kind of work you don't mind doing.  It's all a lot of fun. 

I'm off to another Bonsai Intensive with Boon Manakitivipart this week.  I should be able to check in on the blog and approve comments and respond as needed, but not much else.  Boon keeps the students incredibly busy during the 3 day course.

This will be my 2nd Summer Intensive.  Summer work includes decandling Japanese Black Pine, Satsuki Azalea trimming/thinning, and wiring and pruning various other trees. 

Judging from the email recipients on the email Boon sent last week we have a full class comprised of a great group of folks, all of which I have met at one time or another.  Three full days working on world class trees, what could be better?

I plan on posting a full report next week.  See you then!

Thanks to GrandmasterB for creating a great contest for 1000 Entrecard Credits.  And thanks to Jeff at BuzzMyBlog who put up half of the prize credits.  And thanks to all of the readers of Matsu Bonsai, GrandmasterB, and BuzzMyBlog  sites.  It's the readers that make contests like these possible and successful.

If you're not familiar with Entrecard you can read more by visiting www.entrecard.com.

This prize will come in handy, as I'm working on a new website set to launch in early July...

Stay tuned to the Matsu Bonsai blog for some exciting updates in the near future including a great new contest on this bonsai blog.  Winner gets a great new Matsu Bonsai coffee mug.  Details will be announced in July.  Stay tuned!