May's program featured a great topic: root over rock bonsai. Member Paul engaged the audience with a thorough explanation and demonstration on how to create the root over rock style. He tied the roots a few times instead of thoroughly wrapping them, creating an easier way for the roots to come in contact with more soil. He placed the rock and plant into the training pot, completely submersing the rock. Over a period of time the rock is exposed above the soil surface and the roots have firmly clung to it. He brought a small Japanese maple that he trained in the style. Note how small the maple is, as he points a finger into the foliage.

Here is the latest newsletter:

Eugene Bonsai Society Newsletter
August 2008

Club Website: www.eugenebonsai.org

This Month’s Program:
No Thursday night meeting at the Garden club. Regular meetings resume in September.

President’s Message:
The multi-club picnic was a fun event! It was good to see a good representation from our club. The food was good and it is always nice to find new trees to add to a collection.

On Saturday, August 9, our club is having a field trip to Little Nash Crater, picnic at North Santiam State Park, and a stop at Telperion Farms Nursery in Lyons, OR.
The volcanic cinders at Little Nash come in red, brown or black colors and make an excellent component of bonsai soil. The cinders can be sifted on site. Only one $20 fee is needed for our club to gather cinders. The club will cover that cost and we will get it at the McKenzie Bridge Ranger Station. We will leave Eugene around 8 AM, get our permit and arrive at Little Nash at around 10 AM. It is 54 miles to the Ranger Station and takes a little over 1 hour to get there. Little Nash Crater is 30 miles further. Little Nash Crater is located just east of the junction of Highways 126 and 22. The road is the first driveway on the left after the Little Nash Crater Snow-Park sign. Bring buckets, sifting screens, shovels, and gloves. We will eat our lunches together at North Santiam State Park. The park is located on Hwy. 22, just east of Mehama, and is very close to Telperion Farms Nursery.
This nursery is owned by Chris and Lisa Kirk and has a wide variety of pre-bonsai and bonsai trees. They are known for their collection of imported specimen azaleas. Their website is www.telperionfarms.com. They are looking forward to our arrival.
Thank you Larry S. for arranging another wonderful garden tour on the 13th. One of my favorites was the two pine trees from the same cone at Larry’s. One tree was in a bonsai pot and the other was in the ground and very tall! Thank you, Tony M. in abstention, the group did enjoy seeing your trees! Greg W., thank you for allowing us to tour your extensive collection. Also, the drinks and cookies were a hit! It was a most enjoyable afternoon. Have a good summer. --Karen

Things to consider in August:
Give your trees plenty of water. Herb wrote in one of his books to water three times. The first sprinkle gets the surface wet and allows the water to enter the soil readily; the second gets the soil wet, and the third flushes the junk out. Make sure you have a reliable plant sitter if you leave on a trip. Consider shade cloth, or rotating your trees to the shade, especially during heat waves. Our trees need light, water, and nutrients, but they don’t particularly require high heat levels. Be especially vigilant if becomes windy. The air movement dries the trees very quickly. Your growing location, container type and size, soil composition, and exposure will affect how much water will be needed. Experiment and find what works for you. Greg once told me that summer is the time to make soil. If you use organics in your mix, you can dry it in the sun in short time, so you can sift the fines out. Steer-plus, (composted bark) from Rexius works well. Talk to others in the club how they formulate soil. --Paul

PNBCA Convention 2008:
The PNBCA convention will be in Spokane, WA on September18-21, 2008. Details can also be found at www.inlandbonsai.com.

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