by Earl Ekman

It doesn't seem possible, but it is time for our annual Christmas party. Where has the year gone? The party will be at the King Buffet, 1801 Priority Way (See Directions Page 2), Saturday, December 3rd at 6PM. Free wine will be available for those who want a drink before and during the meal. The meal is a buffet so eat all you want. This is the same place we partied last year. I'm sure we will have a good time.

This past year has been a very enjoyable one with Kenny Popp showing us slides from his trip to New Zealand, Dana Quattelbaum conducting a demo and workshop, John Callaway doing a Phoenix graft workshop, a pottery workshop with Linda Kossmann, a great field trip to Hollander's Tiny Trees and Dave Bogan's Garden. However, the highlight of the year is George Buehler's newsletter. This is something we might take for granted but when I sit down and look back at the articles George has written and the quality of the newsletter it just amazes me. I want to thank him for all the hard work and the terrific information he presents to us month after month. Thank you George, we are very fortunate to have such a gifted bonsaist and newsletter editor.

This summer we got together and planned the meetings for 2006. The group came up with a varied and interesting schedule. Tom McCurry will be doing a demo/workshop using Saunder's boxwoods and Rodney Clemmons will be coming in from Atlanta, GA to do a demo/workshop on planting on rocks, Gene Sewell and Tom McCurry are going to be presenting a demo/workshop using willow leaf ficus. There will be a garden tour, canoe trip for collecting viewing stones and a workshop for building display stands. The complete schedule and dates are presented on page two. 2006 should be a great year.

This coming year will be our 35th year and it seems like we should do some special things to celebrate this milestone. Perhaps we can do something special at our May show, or try to get an article published in the newspaper, or print up a special shirt or cap or pin. Let's do something! If you have any ideas, please contact me so we can start planning.

SPECIAL REMINDER! Dues are now due. There will be an increase this year. Dues are increasing to $35 per year which includes the paper copy of this newsletter. Dues for electronic copies are $30 per year.

Recently I had my 70th birthday, and it gave me reason to reflect back on some of the wonderful things that have happened in my life. My children and Sandy are enough to keep me more than happy, but I give thanks for all the wonderful people I have met while participating in the art of bonsai. It has had more of a positive impact on my life than I ever imagined it could have. Not just because it's a great hobby but because it has brought all you wonderful friends into my life. Thank you for making my life so complete.

Earl

by George Buehler

The year is almost over. I don't know where the time went. There were many things I wanted to do this year but just didn't get them done for several reasons. Perhaps next year I can try again. I'm sure a number of you are in the same situation. The weather has slowed down my putting away my bonsai for their winter nap. As I write this, quite a few still have green leaves with no sign of changing. I guess the temperature will plummet quickly soon. All my evergreens are still on their stands with several putting on new growth. This worries me since this new tender growth can be nipped with the cold winter weather. There doesn't seem to be anything I can do but wait.

There are a number of bonsai things to do in the next several months:

• Get pots ready for use next spring.
• Decide which trees need repotting and which pot they will go in, as well as decide on major style changes.
• Get my soil ready for next spring – purchase, sift, etc.
• Check my supply of wire, fertilizer and insecticide to make sure I have enough for next year. (Sometimes, you can get good deals on both fertilizer and insecticide/fungicides at this time of year since some merchants don't want to carry them over until next spring. If the price hasn't been reduced, ask the merchant if he can give you a discount.)
• Read several bonsai books that I purchased this year but haven't gotten to yet.
• Enter my hand written notes into my bonsai journal – remember I wrote about keeping notes on my trees in one of my editorials?
• Work on a number of articles for this newsletter – anybody out there want to submit articles (hint, hint)?
• Make up my bonsai Christmas list.

 

2006 will offer members a variety of workshops, field trips and events. I hope that more of you will find the time to attend our meetings. Mark your calendars or enter the tentative dates in your hand-held.

I hope to see each of you at the Christmas party on December 3. Last year the food quality and variety was great. We had a great time and camaraderie. If you can't make the party, I want to extend all the best for the holiday season and new year.

by George Buehler

Lee Squires recently sent an email advising me to check out a web site on moss (www.mossacres.com). This site is operated by a commercial supplier of four types of moss and is located in Northeast Pennsylvania. It appears that three types of moss they offer could be used in bonsai. However, they supply living moss and generally sell in large quantities (square feet quantities). If you're looking for moss for large areas (i.e. rock gardens, etc.), this might be the web site to visit. For smaller quantities, personal collecting is probably the best bet.

Mossacres does have several technical sections on moss, mainly related to the four types of moss they sell. In reading through this information, I realized that I really didn't know too much about the way moss grows, its nutrient needs or the best way to keep it healthy in our bonsai. I started my search for more information and decided that what I found would make a good article for the newsletter. I found several interesting articles on moss on the BonsaiTalk forum and requested permission of the author (Will Heath) to reproduce it here. As I went over the article, I decided that although the information was accurate, a number of areas would benefit from additional information and clarification. I am using the general layout of Mr. Heath's article (with permission) plus additional referenced information.

WHAT ARE MOSSES?

Moss is a type of simple or nonvascular plant (i.e. Non-vascular plants are plants that lack water-conducting vessels in their tissue). Mosses belong to the class Musci, in the division (or phylum) Bryophyta. There are seven subclasses of mosses1. If you really want to learn more about the various subclasses, you can visit the referenced web site.

Mosses are mostly one cell thick, have no true roots (they have rhizoids instead of true roots), and have no stems, flowers, or fruit. Instead of seeds they produce spores for reproduction. That is about as technical as we will get.

Mosses spread in multiple ways, but unlike flowering plants, they depend on moisture to reproduce. Mosses reproduce by spores, which are analogous to the flowering plant's seed; however, moss spores are single celled and more primitive than seeds. Spores are housed in the brown capsule that sits on the seta (see Figure 1). As the spores ripen, they are dispersed from the capsule; and some land in areas where there is enough moisture for them to grow. The young moss looks like a very thin tangled mass of branching green hairs. Buds will appear next on the green hairs, from which tiny stalks and slim ‘leaves' will grow2.

Other plants that are not related to moss, but share the name "moss" includes club moss, flowering moss, carrageen, reindeer moss, and Spanish moss. The Japanese have gardened with moss for centuries. Valued for its reduced need for watering, the greenness of moss is considered to add a feeling of lushness and serenity to Japanese gardens3.

HOW DO MOSSES ACQUIRE NUTRIENTS?

Mosses also have different mechanisms which they use for acquiring nutrients. Some mosses are able to take up nutrients from water flowing over them (ectohydric moss), thus they have very effective absorptive surfaces. Other mosses (endohydric moss), sequester nutrients directly from the soil or substrate on which they are growing and transfer the nutrients to their growing tips. Other mosses obtain their nutrients directly from the air.

With this in mind we can see that the physical and chemical nature of the substrate as well as its water holding capacity, is extremely important in establishment of mosses. In general mosses grow best on poor quality soil (even stones) and don't need additional fertilization. A mild solution of an acid fertilizer seems to help (see below) but is not necessary. The only necessary application to mosses is water – the more the better.

While we are on nutrients, there are some things that must be avoided to ensure good moss growth. There are several ‘moss killers' on the market today. These are designed to rid people's roofs, lawns, and sidewalks of moss. I found the contents of several on the web. Although not all of the items listed next are found in each of the products, a general theme is evident: iron, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate and bleach. I remember reading an article about cleaning your pots (while the tree was still in the pot) with bleach. If you had moss on it, I believe it would be killed (or at least hurt) by the bleach application. I use soluble iron periodically when I fertilize my trees. In looking back, I remember that after using this, the moss in my pots seemed to lose its bright green color. I wonder now if it was from the iron in the fertilizer. A number of people use Superthrive in conjunction with a fertilizer. Superthrive does contain iron, zinc and other micronutrients. However, since it is in such small concentrations, it probably doesn't affect the moss very much. A suggestion is in order: if you use iron, Superthrive, or similar fertilizer additives, it probably would be a good idea to avoid wetting the moss on your bonsai soil with these materials. Instead pour it over the bare bonsai soil.

GROWING MOSS

First off, it must be stated that the city of Louisville water supply has an average pH (a measure of acidity/basicity) of about 8.34 [neutral is 7.0; 8.3 is basic]. The ideal range for growing moss is 5.0 – 6.0. Somewhat lower readings are fine, but anything over 6.5 should be adjusted with MirAcid or Aluminum Sulfate. If you are starting a moss bed, you do not have to wait following soil amendment prior to transplanting, just be sure to water the chemicals in well so that they are not pooling on the surface. I have also found that misting the moss with a dilute solution of MirAcid during the growing season seemed to help the growth. This may be because it is acidifying the basic water or soil.

TRANSPLANTING MOSS

Moss transplanting can be performed year-round. However, the most ideal times of the year are spring (Late March through mid-June) and fall (September through November). It should be noted that although the hot summer months are not ideal, it can be done then if adequate moisture is available.

GROWING MOSS

There are several methods to grow moss. I will list four methods: plug growth, dry spore/moss dust, paste method, and tray method.

1. Plug growth

Small pieces of moss are put into a shallow container (such as a plastic grow tray) which has been filled with sand or ordinary garden soil. The moss pieces are placed in irregular pattern in the tray, watered well and placed in a semi sunny area. Daily misting is required. Within a short time, the tray will be covered with moss. An alternative way is to use larger sections of moss, as we use on our bonsai, and place them in a large plastic grow tray. I found however, using this method seems to keep the moss green but it doesn't spread as fast as the smaller pieces.

2. Dry spore/moss dust

Commercial spore can be purchased (i.e. Kyoto moss) from several sources. Additionally, moss can be collected, allowed to dry and minced into a fine dust. This fine dust or commercial moss spores can be sprinkled over a tray containing sand or garden soil, watered gently, and misted daily. Within about a month, you should see a light green color over the top of the soil indicating the moss is growing. The dust can be sprinkled over your bonsai soil, but the results are generally poor since the daily watering of the bonsai causes the spore to wash down into the bonsai pot.

3. Pasting it

The moss is collected and allowed to dry slightly. It is then added to a blender dedicated to this use only, and beer, buttermilk or water is added and blended until a paste with the consistency of mortar is formed. It is then placed on a brick which is in a water filled tray without drainage holes. The brick acts like a wick constantly drawing water up. The paste is spread on top of the brick and misted daily. This technique will allow you to take perfect sheets off of the brick easily, whenever you need them.

The paste can also be used on rocks in shade gardens; the moss will grow as long as it is keep moist. I have seen garden benches, walls, and statues covered and decorated with moss using this technique.

4. Traying it

A shallow container which has small drainage holes is filled with an inch of fines or sand misted until it is damp. The moss is minced very fine with a razor blade and then sprinkled evenly on the surface of the sand or fines. It is then misted again and put in a dappled shade spot, being sure that the top never completely dries out. It will usually require misting once a day. In two weeks' time, the entire surface will be green; and shortly thereafter, you will have a perfect sheet of moss. The moss can be grown in its original container for over a year and it is a handy way to keep moss ready. The main draw back is that the sheet is always some what uneven. However if you are using pieces when applying, that is not a big problem.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR WHEN HARVESTING MOSS FOR BONSAI

• Varied types growing together.
• Differing heights, textures and colors.
• Stay away from the long hair types. These grow very fast and will take over a pot very fast. They grow up the trunk and can cause rot.
• Look for the stuff that looks like the old tomato pin cushion your mom used to use. It should look like green velvet, something you would like to walk on bare footed. Then there is the sort of grey colored moss, it sort of looks like lichen.
• Look for it in parking lots of commercial buildings. They sometimes have large patches of bare ground with all sorts of moss growing. It can be lifted with a kitchen utensil used to ice cakes, a putty knife or similar utensil.
• Moss can also be found in wooded areas or areas that stay routinely moist.

 

A word of caution when collecting moss: depending on where the moss is collected, it may contain residue of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or other harmful chemicals due to it just being there when applications are made. Some of these chemicals may be harmful to your bonsai trees. When this collection method is used, it is a good idea to put the collected moss in a separate container and allow it to acclimate to your area for about a month. With the daily misting of the moss, most of the chemicals are washed away.

There are advantages to cultivating your own moss. When you cultivate, you can have a number of different types of moss always available to you, and you control the size pieces you use. A major advantage of this is that you can use a few different types of moss in the same bonsai, giving the illusion of different plants growing under the tree having multiple textures, This allows for more creativity than a single species.

USING MOSS IN BONSAI

We as bonsai artists use moss to add a dimension to our bonsai that helps with the overall visual illusion. We put it onto the soil surface to give the illusion of grass, plants, and such, growing in scale under the tree. This benefit however is often negated by the fact that moss, if allowed, will make a shield on the surface that water will not penetrate. It can also create a barrier, trapping in moisture and not allowing the soil to dry out. This is the reason that most people will recommend that moss be applied only to the surface of the soil a few weeks before showing the bonsai and removed immediately afterwards.

Moss can be left on your soil year around, if some simple precautions are taken. Always leave spaces between the pieces to allow for water penetration and evaporation. Never butt up the pieces tightly. A good rule is to cover no more than 75% of the soil surface with moss. Try also not to run the moss right up to the pot's edge, leaving the rim area free while ending the moss naturally at this point will look much better.

Be careful with pines and most conifers, as most are dry loving trees. If your moss on these is green and healthy, chances are that you are watering too much. I have had some success keeping healthy moss on a Scots Pine by watering as normal but also lightly misting the moss on a daily basis. Vance Wood keeps his "Silver Moss" growing on the soil of his award-winning Mugho Pine year around. Mughos do like a little wetter soil than most pines, which could be the reason for his success.

References:

1 What is Moss – www.whatis.tv/moss.html

2 Basic Moss Biology, Oregon State University "Living With Mosses"

3 Moss 101/102 – BonsaiTalk Article – Will Heath

4 Annual Water Quality Report; Louisville Water Company; 2005

5 MossAcres technical report, www.mossacres.com

6 Moss – BonsaiTalk Article - Al Keppler

by George Buehler

This article first appeared in our newsletter in 2000. Since we are having a ‘Winterizing Your Bonsai' meeting on Nov 22, I thought this would be a good time to dust it off and run it again to refresh everyones thinking on putting your bonsai to sleep for the winter - ED.

When I visited the North Carolina Arboretum in July, I was disappointed that the bonsai exhibit scheduled to be open early in 2005 was still under construction. Lee Hatcher sent me an email saying to check it out now. The exhibit officially opened on October 8. The arboretum is located in scenic Ashville and is about a six hour drive from Louisville. Visiting the arboretum next spring should be on your list of weekend trips. The Bonsai Exhibition Garden, located adjacent to the Entrance Plaza of the Arboretum's Visitor Education Center, will provide a permanent display area for the Arboretum's bonsai collection. The collection has been housed in temporary quarters since the first trees were donated to the Arboretum in 1992, by the George Staples family of Butner, NC. The Bonsai Exhibition Garden will be open Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

The Bonsai Exhibition Garden was constructed through grants and private donations, including a $750,000 grant awarded by the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority in the summer of 2003. Total construction costs for the project was $1.8 million.

The Bonsai Exhibition Garden includes the following features:

• An upper courtyard with decorative wrought iron gates, stonework, plantings, and a water feature. The entrance and lower courtyard provide an area for gathering, seating and instruction.
• An open-air pavilion, constructed of Douglas fir timbers native to the American Pacific Northwest. The pavilion will be used for demonstrations, classes, and interpretive exhibits and includes restrooms.
• Display areas that showcase a variety of bonsai pieces throughout the year, except during times of extreme cold.
• An expansive deck made of Ipe, a tropical hardwood grown on plantations in South America.
• A lighted, fully accessible boardwalk path and handcrafted benches.
• A "dry stream" comprised of 100 tons of native stone that adds interest in all seasons.
• Interpretive signs that inform visitors about the art and process of bonsai.

 

The Arboretum's Visitor Education Center has a large selection of bonsai books as well as some tools, pots and general plant books.

The Arboretum's bonsai collection is well known for its diverse plant species, use of native plants, and interpretations of familiar Southern Appalachian landscapes.

The North Carolina Arboretum is located next to the Blue Ridge Parkway entrance ramp at Milepost 393. From I-26, take Exit 33 (previously Exit 2) and follow Blue Ridge Parkway signs for two miles to the entrance ramp. Arboretum grounds are open 7 days a week. Property hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., April-October and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., November-March. The Visitor Education Center and bonsai exhibit are open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sundays from Noon to 5 p.m. Parking Fees: $6 per personal motor vehicle. No parking fee applies for NC Arboretum Society members. All day Tuesday, parking is free for all visitors. There is no additional charge to visit the bonsai exhibit.

by Earl Ekman

Fall is in the air and the trees are starting to change colors and drop their foliage. It's a beautiful time of the year. It is time to start preparing for the winter season. At our next meeting, November 22nd, at Bon Air library we will have a panel of Bonsai Society members discussing how to take care of your trees during the winter months. On occasion we have an extremely cold winter so it is very important for the health of the trees to adequately protect them from the cold. Done properly, they should have no trouble surviving. Our panel of experts will discuss when to start winter care and how they do it. They will discuss both outdoor and indoor trees and answer any questions you might have. This is a very important meeting. There will be refreshments, maybe a video and a few trees at this meeting.

Our Christmas party will be Saturday, December 3rd at 6 PM. It will be at the King Buffet, 1801 Priority Way (266-8886). It is located just behind the old Sam's discount store (See directions on page 2). This is the same place we had the party last year. Come prepared to eat all you want. Wine will be served for those who want it. Come prepared for a good time.

One of the real pleasures of bonsai is the people you meet and the friends you develop. A couple of weeks ago, Dan Robinson and his wife, Diane, stopped by for an overnight visit on their way to Ashville, NC. Dan was the featured artist at the North Carolina Arboretum. He was conducting demos and workshops and critiquing their trees. Dan is always inspirational and a true lover of bonsai. He gets you excited about the art, and you can tell he lives and breathes bonsai. I love talking to him and listening to his ideas. He makes you glad you are in the art of bonsai. Sandy and I have been through China with Dan and Diane on two different occasions, and we count these trips as some of the most exciting trips we have ever taken. If you are ever in the Northwest, be sure to stop by Dan's Elandan Gardens in Bremerton, Washington. I'm sure you will love it.

Best regards, Earl

by George Buehler

The bonsai season is almost over for 2005. It was a tough year for most of our trees. With the extremely hot and dry weather during July and August, we can consider ourselves lucky if our trees made it. Now the temperature is getting cooler and they are beginning to turn color. It won't be long before we have to put them away for the winter. Don't forget the wintering program as described in Earl's message. On page 2, you will find the 2006 GLBS schedule. We believe, with the variety of topics, that there is something to interest everyone. We hope to have more people attend these meetings

I am always looking for articles to reprint, information for articles I am writing or ideas for new articles. I use a lot of information from other bonsai club newsletters (I currently get 15 electronic newsletters from various clubs around the country). I also use the web extensively to research information. When using information found on the web or information found in books or magazines, you have to be careful. Information found in books or magazines is sometimes based on the area where the author lives and may not be apropos to our area. Information found on the web is "free" information and sometimes that free information can cost you big time if it isn't correct or not complete. I hope that all of you have noticed in a number of my articles I put the caveat that ‘in my case' or ‘what has been reported', etc. I do this to caution you that the information worked for my situation or it may not be completely accurate since I got it from the web.

Fortunately for me, putting together this newsletter every month has expanded my knowledge in a number of areas. On the reverse side, it has also shown me that I still have a lot to learn about bonsai (do we really ever know everything there is to know?). I have found a number of good web sites that have a lot of good information. I have also marked off my list several web sites where I believe the information is poor, incomplete, or inaccurate. You don't have to be a computer "geek" to get information from these web sites. You just have to be persistent in finding them and in some cases spend a lot of time going over the information on these sites.

Several of what I believe to be better sites are: The American Bonsai Society (www.absbonsai.org), Bonsai Club International (www.bonsai-bci.com), The National Bonsai Foundation (www.bonsai-nbf.com) and The Learning Center (www.bonsailearningcenter.com). The More Than Just Tofu article this month was obtained from The Learning Center web site. You might want to visit some of these sites to see what they offer. If you have a favorite site for bonsai, let me know.

Another area of the web I periodically visit is www.ebay.com. For those of you that don't know, ebay is an auction web site where you can bid on and buy almost anything. They have a section where you can buy bonsai, bonsai supplies and books. You can bid on items or simply purchase them. Periodically they have listings for older bonsai books, so if you are looking for an out-of-print bonsai book, you might check this out. I have bid on several and won a few. You have to have a ‘reasonable' idea of what the item is worth (either actually or to you) and place your bids. One of our members (Ron Smith) often uses ebay to sell old magazines, supplies, pots and even trees. Check it out. Be careful because it can become addictive (as my wife believes I am).

Last months More Than Just Tofu article by Midge Goeth, talked about feeding the birds. On page 8, as a follow up, we are printing a table she supplied on the type of food that a number of birds like. Don't forget that many birds stay around for the winter and need our help in supplying them food. One of the important functions of birds is to help keep a number of the insects that feed on our trees in check. Now that the insect population is dwindling with the cold, the birds need other sustenance.