1. CVBS MEETING> The next CVBS meeting will be on
Saturday, April 6, at 9 AM. We will meet at Julian's home.
Julian will give a presentation on the History of Zuisho in
North America including a detailed discussion of air
layering and limb grafting techniques for Zuisho five
needle pine. The presentation will last for about 1 hour.
Those who are interested can tour the bonsai garden
after the program.
SPRING '13 SUCCESSFUL> The annual CVBS spring
symposium was a great success this year. The primary
purpose of CVBS, providing top quality educational
opportunities, was nicely accomplished. Although
conflicts diminished attendance a bit, there were more
than 20 in attendance from several central VA cities as
well as the usual Lynchburg group. Much enthusiasm
was express for the presentation and workshop led by
Owen Reich. He gave great suggestions for refinement of
our trees embellished with a wide variety of useful and
interesting bonsai knowledge. The freshness of his
experiences as an apprentice in Japan added much
depth to his presentation. In the workshop he offered
styling suggestions quickly and gently, offering advice
appropriate for the material under consideration. Several
have asked to have him again in the future and one
neighboring club wishes to explore a jointly sponsored
return.
SPRING IS HERE> In spite of the 5" snowfall sitting on
the deck as I write this, spring is here, almost. Quinces
are blooming, buds are swelling, a few tiny leaves have
emerged on the tridents, and the Chinese quince is
pushing leaves from top to bottom. This means that the
winter chores should be done in the next couple of days
or it will be too late for this year. The main time critical
tasks are repotting, pruning, and thinning of heavy buds
on some of the pines. The snow is actually welcome, not
only for the moisture it brings but because the cold will
hold things back another day or two. Hard freezes after
things start to come out are much more likely to damage
a bonsai than sustained severe cold during the heart of
winter. The balancing act between protecting when
needed and protecting too much is tricky but is part of the
game. I have had good luck by stealing the technique of
Florida vegetable growers. If a hard freeze is forecast
after the leaves are out too far for safety, I get up early on
the cold morning (about 6) and turn on an overhead
sprinkler. I let it rain on the trees until the temperature is
back above freezing, usually by 8:30. Remember to keep
the hose empty of water or you may find it frozen and
unusable at 6:30 when it's time to turn on the water.
If you have seeds to plant for bonsai use, it's time to
think about getting them planted. Don't be disappointed
by finding those precious pine seeds in the back of the
vegetable crisper when you clean the refrigerator in
August.
INTERNET BONSAI> The internet has become very
useful in many endeavors from shopping to solving
crossword puzzles. The ability to find information is
unsurpassed. For those interested in bonsai, this makes
it possible to find information that was unavailable in
earlier years. The accuracy of the information is
sometimes questionable but one can usually get good
guidance as long as it is remembered that things are not
necessarily true just because they in print and adorned
with nice pictures. There are a variety of forums and other
opportunities to exchange information and to ask
questions of others as well. The only limitation is the time
that one can devote to the search and reading process. I
have come across a short online book that discusses
bonsai art. It is an excellent look at the artistic principles
involved in bonsai design. It was written by Andy
Rutledge and can be seen for free (a very good price) at
http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t12958-
artistic-foundations-of-bonsai-design
This is worth reading and rereading.
ADAMS BONSAI HAPPENINGS> Owen had made
arrangements to meet one of his clients here on Sunday
after Spring '13. This gave us time to look around at the
trees in the yard. One thing led to another and we made a
deal. In exchange for some trees that he liked, Owen
detail wired the Old Man Scots while he was here. I have
been planning to do this myself for several years but
there never seemed to be enough time and moving the
tree into and out of the studio is very difficult without help.
It took Owen every bit of a day and a half and a lot of wire
but the result is spectacular. It's worth coming by to see
the significant change that proper wiring by a professional
can make. I had done extensive thinning a month or so
earlier. In spite of the thinning I did, there is actually less
tree than when he began. He did additional thinning but
the artistic content is vastly greater. The tree looks a little
thin on foliage at the moment but the buds are ready and
there will soon be a full set of new needles to show off the
underlying structure. I am now considering entering it in
the Artisan's Cup in Portland next fall. We'll see….
The time since Spring '13 has been taken almost full
time with bonsai work. About twenty deciduous
prebonsai, mostly large ones, were dug and potted for the
first time. Those left in the ground needed to be finish
pruned. All the wounds were sealed to speed smooth
healing. This is a tedious job requiring being in a rather
unnatural position for many hours. I may be getting too
old to crawl around on my knees and elbows with my
head on the ground trying to get the pruning cuts in
prober focus with one of the three lenses in my trifocals.
Thirty of the oldest Zuisho five needle pines were
liberated from their longtime homes in bulb pans and
repotted in larger plastic bonsai pots. These are my
oldest and nicest specimens of Zuisho. The extra room
will hasten further development. They certainly look much
nicer than before. A pot makes a difference! I was
impressed at the fibrous roots systems of the Zuisho.
Even those which had not been repotted in 8-10 years
exhibited fibrous root systems and moved easily. The
Turface based soil was still in excellent condition,
retaining its original size and structure. Though a bit of a
CENTRAL VIRGINIA BONSAI SOCIETY
NEWSLETTER March 25, 2013 vol. 28, no.3

2. pain, each of the trees was wired into their new pots to
prevent being uprooted in strong winds. Most have
developed excellent surface roots. Plastic tubing from the
local tropical fish store was slipped onto the wire to
cushion and protect the roots where they would have
contacted the wire.
About a dozen small to medium Scots will be dug in a
week or so. Their ground bed is on the north side of the
hill where the ground doesn't warm as quickly. As a result
their coming out is a few days behind the plants on the
south slope and the potted plants.
Visitors have purchased several of the largest
prebonsai in the ground. These have been dug and put in
the hands of younger and stronger enthusiasts. Twenty
years ago I would have never sold these but I can only
care for so much these days. I still plant lots of seeds but
like to get them out of the house before they become too
big to handle.
WARREN HILL> Most of the bonsai old timers will
remember Warren Hill as the second curator of the
National Collection at the US National Arboretum in DC.
He assumed that job after a long career as a bonsai nut
and electrical engineer in California. After his retirement
from that position, he settled in Tennessee and
established a fine personal collection and bonsai school.
Unfortunately, Warren experienced a massive stroke
recently as a result of shoulder surgery. He has major
paralysis at present and progress is likely to be slow.
Most or all of his collection was sold a few days ago. He
will be in a period of lengthy rehabilitation. Please keep
Warren and his wife in your thoughts and prayers.
BOOK SUGGESTION> I seldom make recommendations
about bonsai books but this is an exceptional situation.
Bill Valavanis is publishing a 256 page book, Classical
Bonsai Art, which is a historical and educational must
have for your library. It is a pictorial look at the
development of many of Bill's finest bonsai. Not only are
the great pictures numerous ( 675 of them), they are
accompanied by very thorough text explaining the
techniques used in the development of these fine bonsai.
It is personally reassuring to see that many of these fine
trees started as rather ordinary prebonsai material. There
is much to learn in this book and Bill has been very free
in sharing his efforts and techniques with the reader. The
book is even more special considering the 25 year
association that Bill has had with CVBS through his
appearances at our Spring Symposia. He has become a
personal friend to many of us. Bill is offering a
prepublication special price of $50, a $15 saving over the
standard price. US shipping is $5. An order blank is in the
2013 #1 issue of International Bonsai magazine. This
book is destined to become a classic. I have already
ordered my copy!
COMING EVENTS> If you have not registered for any of
the upcoming bonsai events mentioned in the last
newsletters, It's time to get with it. Midatlantic and Bill V's
50th Anniversary Colloquium promise to be two of the
best educational events in some years. The speakers at
both of these events are all top drawer. Try to get to at
least one of them if not both. You won't be sorry.
RANDOM THOUGHTS> One of the goals of bonsai is to
create the image of an old tree. In spite of my efforts to
make trees look old quickly, there is a look that comes
with real age that cannot be artificially created. Several
trees in my collection that were rather ordinary for a long
time have started to attain an appeal that is almost
completely the result of "just being old". That gives some
solace to my dislike of the facts of personal aging. On
today's snow route run (side streets and away from the
snow covered and squishy creek trail) Pete and I bumped
into the "A' team runners who meet daily to run from
Lynchburg College. We ran briefly with them until they
tired of our slower pace. It was fun to have one of the old
hands of that group introduce us as being responsible for
their running addiction. There were a couple of amazed
looks from the younger ones who no doubt were
wondering how two old guys could have escaped from
the home and could be running at a respectable pace. It
was much like the looks that are given to truly aged trees.
I almost forgot how tired I was .
In the last few days, there have been a few minutes of
time to do non bonsai things. Two pickup loads of
prunings from the ground beds were taken to the
compost area and pushed into the woods. Thanks to
tilling up the garden last fall, it only took a few minutes to
use strawberries growing out of their assigned area to
plant several feet of new bed for next year. All the
sprouting potatoes in the basement were used to plant a
couple of short rows in the same area. The blackberries
need to be tied up to their supporting wires before
blooming but that won’t take long and wet ground is not a
factor with that job. I'm already getting hungry thinking
about the coming crop!
Be ready!! Spring is here. See you on April 6.
Julian