by George Buehler

As I sit here, the sugar plum fairies are still dancing in my head because Santa hasn’t come yet. Perhaps he will bring me a new bonsai tool or two. Or perhaps he will bring me a book that will tell me how to keep a pine alive for longer than two seasons – a lot of you know that I have had trouble growing pines (among others – sigh!). No matter what you put on your Christmas list, I hope the jolly fat man brought it to you. For my part, I know that no matter what he brings me, I will be thankful.

If you missed the Christmas party, I have included on page 7 a few pictures that I took during that event. We had a good turnout, everybody got a bonsai present from our jolly fat man – sorry Lee, I couldn’t resist – and of course everybody left with a satisfied appetite and hopefully a feeling of camaraderie.

At the bottom of this page, I have listed the officers for 2010, including four new board members. At the last board of directors meeting, it was decided to increase the number of board seats by four. The four elected at the Christmas meeting were Brian Schanding, Don Mougey, Mike Pfeffer, and James York. They were elected by the members present. I know that they will be excellent contributors to the GLBS board.

While I’m thinking about it, I received an e-mail from Brian Schanding the other day. In it, Brian proposed a unique idea. In the December newsletter, I had a short blurb about the Joshua Roth New Talent competition which is held at an ABS event (or another sanctioned event if there is no ABS symposium that year). Well, Brian proposed the idea that we start a scholarship fund to send a GLBS member to compete in the New Talent competition. If you remember, in order to be eligible to participate, the person has to have been in bonsai less than 10 years, and he has to submit pictures of trees that he styled. The next NTC is in April of 2010. In 2011, it will be held in Louisville, and in 2012 in Denver. What do the senior members think? Would you be willing to donate a small amount of money to fund an up and coming member to attend the NTC? If you are, send me an e-mail or contact me by phone (228-8545) to let me know. We have several members who are under the 10 year limit. So let’s support them (and push them toward entering) with a little monetary help. For those of you who have been in bonsai less than 10 years and would like to know more, give me a call or send me a note.

The lava rock is in and stored at Cave Hill. If you want to purchase some, call Lee (895-9997) to set up a time for pick up. Price is $4.00 per 7 lb. bag.

We also will have the soil mixing workshop on Jan. 23 at Cave Hill’s maintenance shop. It will start at 10 AM. Bring your own 5 gallon bucket. Price is $15/5 gallon bucket. Of c

ourse, you can also help put together the components – Lava, clay, organic. Now let’s get to bonsai. What can we do – or should we do – in January?

Make a list of the trees that need transplanting.

Get soil ready.

Are the trees going back in the same pot, or do they need new pots? Do you have the pots or do they need to be ordered – Check with club member Barbara Bogan to see if she has a pot you can use (ad on page 7).

What about wire? I know I go through a lot every year.

Late this month, I start wiring my deciduous trees. NOTE: Be careful when wiring at this time of year since the branches may be brittle (no sap) and can easily break. Also remember that in the spring, the trees expand rapidly, and the wire can cut into the branches quicker.

How are your chemical supplies (insecticides, fungicides, fertilizers)?

And if you still have time left, how about reading those bonsai magazines or books?

Reminder of things to come:

Chris Summers Grafting Demo/Workshop – Feb. 20

Hollander Tree Dig - Mar. 13, with rain date Mar. 14. There still are a large number of trees in the ground at Greg’s.

Mar. 20 Forest Workshop with Lee Squires

2011 Symposium – June 16 through June 19

Earl is going to need a lot of trees for the exhibit. Think about the trees you want to exhibit and start preparation to have them ready for the show. We will need a lot of trees for this exhibit and they need to be high quality. Pick out a few of the best that you have and plan on spending a lot of time this growing season on wiring, trimming, etc.

Raffle items – Look over the bonsai stuff you have – pots, books, etc. – and decide what you are going to donate to the 2011 raffle. Here again, we need a lot of things for the raffle/auction. Donations – we also are going to need a lot of money to make this a successful event. If you don’t have stuff to donate to the raffle, consider making a monetary donation.

As you go around to various doctors, shops, garden centers, ask if they would like to be a sponsor – you’d be surprised. I was talking to my dentist about the seminar and during the discussion I asked if he would like to be a sponsor. He committed to $100. If they ask what they get for the donation, it depends on what they donate. We are putting together a handout with all the information. The target is to have it ready for the next newsletter.

Start saving your money for this event. There will be plenty of high quality trees, pots and other bonsai items to purchase.

There is one final thing I would like to call your attention to with this newsletter. On page 6 we have a new advertiser – Jack Patton’s Backyard Bonsai. Jack has a number of trees for sale – ficus, ginkos, etc. – as well as some pots. Jack tells me that he is going to increase his pot inventory this spring and will also be getting more trees.