by George Buehler

It is getting close to that time of year again – repotting season. I hope you are getting all your tools, wire, soil, etc. ready. At the soil workshop, we had a large group and mixed up several batches of the basic soil mix. Lee went over the do’s and don’ts of using this mix. In a recent ABS Journal article, a comparison of soil mix that is used by a number of people around the country was given. It seems that successful bonsai artists tailor their soil mix to their climate and particular tree types. For instance, the mix used in Seattle differs from the mix used in the southwest. The reason is that Seattle gets much more rain than the people in the southwest, so the mix used in Seattle has to allow for less water retention than the mix used in the southwest where they have less rain. Therefore the mix in the southwest would have components that hold more water than the mix in Seattle. Brian Schanding brought several copies of the article and passed it out to the attendees. You might want to look back at some of the soil articles we presented in this missal over the last several years and compare those to what you can find on the web. When you compare soil mixes used by people around the world, you have to keep in mind the area they are in. What works for one area may not work in another.

On another subject, Lee reminds us in his monthly message that we need to protect our skin when we go outdoors. A large brimmed hat is a must when we are outdoors – even when the sun is not shining. This is especially important for those of us who have somewhat thin areas on top. But it also pertains to you ladies out there.

Surely, we will have some warm sunny days this month – at least I hope so. When we do, this is a good time to get out to your stands and make sure they are still sound. If you didn’t get to it last fall, you should also scrub them down to get rid of any mold or mildew on them. A gallon of water, a cup of bleach, a little dish detergent, and a scrub brush works fine. ‘Nuf said on that subject.

I need to remind you that the club still has some nice starter plants available at a very reasonable price. Lee has been generous in allowing us to use the Cave Hill greenhouses to store the plant. However, CH will soon need the space to grow their own stock. We will be using a lot of the tridents and Japanese maples for the forest workshop in March (more info on that in next month’s news).

Hope to see you soon at a meeting or workshop!