2011 ACBS Show

A well arranged display of several fine bonsai and a steady stream of visitors made for a notable July exhibit from the Akron Canton Bonsai Society. There really is nothing like the annual show to get the creative juices flowing. It really is quite exciting to see each other's trees and how they have progressed this season over last.

Several member trees have now reached a point of refinement that they can be rightly considered specimen trees.

Among the highlights were Dan's (our club president) two amazing junipers which were created from shrubbery that was discarded from a city park several years ago. both are quite large in size and are highlighted with sections of dead wood. These two bonsai get better every year, and it is always exciting to see them. There were also several pine projects, such as Gib's small cascade black pine that was pictured on our show card this time, and some fine scotch pine projects. Mike's 80 year old concord grape has a different look every year, and had three grape clusters for this years show. There were also examples of neatly developed elms, box woods, yews, spruce, and tropicals in the exhibit.

Pictures of the entire exhibit can be seen at our gallery site:
http://picasaweb.google.com/akroncantonbonsai

Leaf Cutting Discussion at July Meeting

Gary talked about reducing the size of leaves on some species of trees. He showed his small sugar maple--a native Ohio tree and an unusual subject for bonsai. The comparison shows the dramatic effect leaf cutting can have. The tree must also be in good health. Also of note-- carlton's cool forest and Ken does some leaf cutting of his own.

ACBS's Annual Summer Show

Akron –Canton

Bonsai Society

presents a

Bonsai

Exhibition

July 22^nd 23^rd & 24^th 2011

(concurrent with Fall's Italian Fest)

Cuyahoga Valley Art Center

2131 Front Street

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Admission: free

The exhibition will feature local bonsai artists and contain examples of various bonsai styles and species, including pines, elms, flowering and tropical trees.

Mike's Pine Discussion Notes from June Meeting

At the June ACBS meeting, we talked a little bit about how to shape our pine projects. The following is a few notes on what we talked about:

• The development of your pine may occur in stages—trunk, branches, foliage pads, refinement and maintenance. Pines are typically a five year project.

• Keep in mind the pine’s growth habit—it has three years worth of needles at this point in the year: the past two which are dark green, and the young light green shoots or candles on the ends of branches. A pine will want to extend outward to get maximum light, and it can grow out of control, if you don’t pinch.

• When pruning your pine remember to keep in mind your purpose. Are you still at the stage where you are trying to develop the trunk, do you want to let a shoot extend some to begin to develop a branch? Are you beginning to create foliage pads?

• Visualize what is happening with the pine’s growth, so you can be selective in which shoots you allow to extend a bit and which you remove.

• Develop and maintain the foliage pads with regular pinching. Keep in mind also that you are keeping the pads compact. Often this means removing the shoots on the ends of branches.

• Remember the Christmas tree growers trick—you can cut into the 2^nd year needles if you need to shorten. New shoots will develop back inside these needles.

• Also, here is one other detail that I forgot to mention that will help the partly developed pine. It is a trick that Ken Huth taught me. Sometimes the pine’s branches will get a “French poodle look.” You can improve this look, and at the same time, begin to develop lines and spaces on your tree. Simply pull off the needles on the underside of the branch. I like to use mechanics gloves to do this, as the rubber covered fingers will easily grip and pull off the underside needles—see photos

Creating lines (underside of branches)and spaces (between branches) will also give your pine the look of an old tree