Hi All,
the workshop this spring was extremely well attended with 14 members bringing a fantastic variety of material to work or get advice on. It was great to see some members that don’t often make regular meetings come along and help out or take the opportunity to spend a few hours working on their trees with us.
This year’s Spring workshop was funded by the society, so was a free event. It was very busy and we almost didn’t have enough space on tables for the amount of material that turned up, it was a pleasure to see a full meeting hall.
Roy had brought a large semi cascade Juniper with him and was seeking any new ideas on improving its styling and image. I believe he had a few suggestions and might remove the very lowest branch step of the cascade to lighten and improve the overall image. We look forward to seeing if he took the challenge or not in a future visit.
Alan Craddock came with a tall literati Scots pine that he had previously asked for ideas on, in our WhatsApp group and he eventually made his mind up and restyled the placement of some of the lower branches into the design that many suggested could be a possible outcome. I think he was happy with the final placement but that could all change of course.
Jon came with several nice trees for us to view, I noticed a particularly well styled upright Larch he had designed. I liked the compact branch arrangement, to me it gave the impression of a tall mature spruce image, nice job Jon. I’m not sure he had much time to for his own work as he spent the majority of the day helping and advising other members on styling ideas as he always does, thanks Jon.
Alan Chappell had an old Oak and a Hawthorn to work on. I watched him completely tease every scrap of old soil out of his oak roots and repot it in a new mix, thats dedication for you.
Berice had a couple of Chinese elms that needed a tidy up and I helped her restyle an awkward larch into a more convincing windswept style. The neglected Itoigawa Juniper she was minding for her Nephew was going home with Roy for a few days of study and rewiring into shape, can’t wait to see the final results of that one as it should make a great small tree for display.
Alan had a couple of problem trees a Scots pine that hadn’t found a style yet and juniper I believe that Alan Craddock and Roy tackled these between them, but I think they went home much more reduced than when they came in but on their way to a better design.
Paul usually known for his Mame trees, had asked for advice on a larch that he needed some confirmation on removing part of an upper branch to improve its design. After some deliberation with him we decided it was the correct course of action, so he was pleased with the idea and will carry out the operation later. He also brought along a nicely shaped Cotoneaster and a small maple.
Bob had an old established white pine and also a 13 year old cutting from a Juniper I had purchased from Alexander Kennedy and sold to Bob back in 2012. He wanted advice and ideas on a style for it. By the end of the day he had at least 3 or 4 suggested ideas including the idea of turning the whole tree into a raft from Roy or taking cuttings for future stock.
Nigel came along with a few trees Beech, Blackthorn and a Box so plenty of work for him.
Richard had two trees for a full repot as the soil in the original pots was compacted and had poor drainage, Both his upright Beech with great Nebari and a twin trunk Box will benefit from the open texture new soil mix.
Darren brought a San Jose Juniper in a semi cascade style that needed quite a bit of refinement, but between us he gathered lots of ideas and advice then began by removing an unnecessary thick branch that just interfered with the new profile and also began forming the foliage pads for a better neater design. Another tree that had good potential for future display.
Rob was in repot mode with a Ficus that had been in the pot so long its trunk had formed the same shape as the pot and exhausted all of its soil, so that was repotted into a larger pot with nice fresh soil. Then Rob tackled an Ash tree that was suffering in poor soil so that was also repotted and he had a clear plan of its new orientation in the pot and some style changes later in the season. Rob admitted he had gained more knowledge and understanding by coming to the meetings and workshop so he is feeling much happier about caring for his Bonsai.
There was lots of repotting going on and advice given about styling ideas it seemed a very busy and industrious day. I feel I might have left some one out so I apologise in advance but if you were missed and wish to add to the report you are very welcome or send any pictures in of final work done to trees.
Mike asked if I would like to make a summary of which pot top use for bonsai, so next meeting I will distribute a pamphlet aid on pot choices see you all then.
Have fun
Kev Denney