Category: Meetings
January 2023 Meeting
Happy New Year Everyone!
Our first meeting of the year is coming up on Saturday January 28th, 9:30am in the indoor classroom of Rockefeller Park Greenhouse.
To begin preparations for the upcoming spring repotting season, we will start with a discussion and workshop on kintsugi! Kintsugi refers to the Japanese tradition of repairing broken pottery using lacquer dusted with gold powder. In addition to keeping the item in service, making a decorative and functional repair allows the piece to tell the story of its history and reminds us to find beauty in imperfection.
For repairing bonsai ceramics that experience wide ranging outdoor temperatures, we must deviate a bit from tradition in our repairs. We will use quick-setting 2 part epoxy to effect a structurally sound and durable repair. I am hoping some members have broken or cracked pots to bring in and participate. Materials will be provided but if you’re planning to participate please send me a message to let me know.
Additionally, if anyone got a new bonsai tree for Christmas and would like to share it, or ask questions about care, please do.
Looking forward to seeing everyone again!
-Adam Shank, V.P.
August 2022 meeting
For this month’s meeting we will be doing a “Swap Meet” as suggested by Rob Giorgi. If you’ve got anything bonsai related you’d like to sell or just get rid of, bring it in! Or bring a tree to work on.
The meeting is Saturday August 27th at 9:30am. Same location as usual, in the classroom at Rockefeller Park Greenhouse.
We’re back!
Hi Everyone,
The June Bonsai Club’s meeting will be held at the Rockefeller Greenhouse on Saturday, June 26th starting at 9:30 a.m. We will be meeting on the patio outside.
At this meeting we will be having a “Swap and Shop” So you can take advantage of selling or trading for some of the pots, tools, plants, trees etc. you may bring.
Also, at this meeting there will be some young trees to be given away and there are four Japanese Maple seedlings that were donated to our club last year on the condition they be given to new members.
Hope we a good turnout for our first meeting back at the Greenhouse in a year!
See you next week,
Carole Roske
Treasurer
Eastern Hemlock
At our April 2019 meeting member David Bennett gave a presentation on utilizing Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) for bonsai.
David talked about some of the benefits of this tree, such as the fact that it is locally available and hardy to the area. It is shade tolerant (though prefers sun), fast healing, has good needle reduction, and tends to have compact growth when cultivated properly.
Because it is fast growing David prefers using guy wires instead of wiring branches and pointed out that hemlocks tend to have a lot of “memory” in them and bends don’t always hold. He also warned that they don’t usually backbud on old wood so that needs to be taken into consideration when styling the tree. They are also strongly apically dominant so need frequent pinching to maintain shape.
What Happens at a Bonsai Club Meeting?
Are you interested in attending a meeting of the Cleveland Bonsai Club but aren’t sure what goes on? Well, it really depends on the meeting!
Some meetings will have a featured speaker on a particular topic. It could be about a style of tree, species, propagation technique, wiring, fertilizer, pretty much anything bonsai or bonsai related. One of the presentations this past winter was about Suiseki (stones).
Some meetings are basically mini-workshops. Attendees can bring any tree they want and work on it at the meeting while getting advice from other members. The pictures accompanying this article were taken at the June meeting. At this meeting, the new club website was unveiled and it was also a workshop. You can see some of the trees brought in to work on.
Anyone is welcome to attend any of the monthly member meetings so if you’re interested in learning more about bonsai feel free to stop in and introduce yourself! We are a good group of folks and welcoming to newcomers of any skill level. There is no cost to attend.
