and humanity are brought together. The art is based on

harmony of simple linear construction and appreciation

of the subtle beauty of flowers and natural material

(branches, stems). BSUNY welcomes them back for

another very interesting demonstration by certified

teachers from three different schools.

Great friend, club member and Show Photographer, Joe

Noga, will be taking individual tree photos during the

show. Ikebana International Chapter 53 of Rochester

will again have its display of the Japanese art form at our

show. Some BSUNY members will have arrangements.

Come help, enjoy and learn

at our annual show and meeting!

www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org

Newsletter of The Bonsai Society of Upstate New York

May 2013 Volume 42 Number 5

O n May 18th and 19th we

will be having our Annual

Spring Show at the Monroe

Community Hospital. This

will take the place of our normal

Tuesday night meeting. Our

two featured speakers this year

will be our own Mark Arpag

on Saturday 18th and a three teacher demo by Ikebana

International Chapter 53 on Sunday 19th. Both talks

will be at 2:00pm.

A Little About… Mark Arpag is an award-winning bonsai

artisan and current secretary of our society. He has presented

many lectures and demonstrations of the art of bonsai. At

the 2nd US National Bonsai Exhibition in 2010, Mark was

presented the ABS North American Bonsai Award for

Finest North American Native Species Bonsai for his

Eastern White Cedar that he collected about 20+ years ago.

And Also About… Ikebana

International Chapter 53

of Rochester is a group of

nearly 50 members that

have a love for flowers,

and a passion for the art of

Ikebana. Ikebana is the

traditional Japanese art of

flower arrangement. This

is a disciplined art form in

which the arrangement is a

living thing where nature

BSUNY Spring Show

Saturday and Sunday May 18-19, 2013 10am to 5pm

2pm Demonstration (both days)

Monroe Community Hospital 435 East Henrietta Road,

Rochester, NY 14603

B illboard 40th Anniversary

Spring Show

All members are invited to come at 5:30 Saturday

evening for a private viewing of our exhibition.

Enjoy some relaxed conversation with fellow members,

and then vote for your favorite bonsai for our annual

Members’ Choice Award in memory of Yuji

Yoshimura. At 6:00 members will adjourn across the

hall to celebrate the society’s 40th anniversary at a

especially prepared dinner, $25 per person.

We need your trees! We need your help!

Set up will start at 4pm Sharp (NO EARLY ARRIVALS) on Friday, May 17th and be

completed by 8pm. Sign up with Bob Pfromm for security during the show. Please

make sure to bring your cleaned and prepared bonsai to the Monroe community Hospital

at 5-6pm Friday to be in show. The trees do not have to be masterpieces but should

look their best. For more information call Bill Valavanis (334-2595) or Harvey Carapella

(426-6548).

2012 Member’s Choice Award Japanese Black Pine by Bob Blankfield

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www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org

APRIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

1. Owen drew a good attendance for

his talk.

2. Harvey looks on as Owen chooses which tool to use to remove a limb of his Japanese

Maple.

3. Owen pauses during wiring to

answer a question.

4. Owen with Ron Maggio, the

winner of the raffle tree. AGAIN!

5. Trees on April meeting display

table.

6. Trees and items Owen brought to

sell at the meeting.

7. Jon Robbins receiving answer to his question about the Princess

Persimmon he purchased.

O ur April meeting featured Owen Reich from Tennessee who has recently returned from studying as an

apprentice under Keiichi Fujikawa, the owner of Kouka-en Nursery located in Ikeda City just north of Osaka,

Japan from 2010-2012. The topic of Owen’s talk and demo for the 56 members and guests attending was deciduous

and broadleaf bonsai. Broadleaf evergreens and deciduous trees have always held the most interest for him when it

comes to bonsai, especially maples, fruit trees, and flowering species. The Powerpoint presentation that Owen started

with contained a lot of great information about a large number of bonsai topics. The demo tree that Owen brought

with him to work on next was a Winged Elm (Ulmus alata)

which is a fast-growing North American native deciduous tree

that is quickly identified by the corky winglike projections

which appear on opposite sides of twigs and branches. Because

it is found growing in wet sites as well as dry, rocky ridges it is

a very adaptable tree. Owen stressed that it takes time to create

the “perfect” tree. He talked about how important it is to look

for a good trunk as it is the hardest thing to change on a bonsai.

Owen also recommended that one make large cuts on trees over

time so they will heal faster and not stress the tree. Making a

lot of serious cuts on the tree in the same year is not good for

the health of the tree. He said you will have a better looking

tree in the end by using this method. Owen

demonstrated proper wiring techniques and

shared many other tricks and tips along the

way. The members asked many good

questions.

Owen has a ‘laid back’ and practical style of

teaching, and shares freely of the knowledge

he has gained over his years doing bonsai in

the USA and in Japan. He plans to return

regularly to Japan to continue his studies and

teach at the Fujikawa Bonsai School.

Thank you Owen

for your interesting &

instructive program!

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2 3

7 6

4 5

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www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org

BSUNY Picnic Reminder

Bonsai enthusiast and long time member of

BSUNY, Rev. Richard (Murph) Murphy

passed away on April 13th at age 75 in

Seneca Falls, NY. Father Murphy was a

Catholic priest for forty-seven years, and

served in the Southern Tier for thirty years.

He was the chaplain at the New York

Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls since 2003. Murph

was a dedicated priest whose hobbies were raising bonsai

and antiques. He had been sick on and off for a number of

years, and relied on a walker to get around. One thing for

sure, that never slowed him down much. He was able to

attend many bonsai meetings and seminars.

Dear friends:

This is to remind you about the picnic supper meeting on June 25h. This special meeting

will be at the usual meeting place, Brighton Town Lodge at Buckland Park. The picnic

promises to be a great time with many attending and plenty of good food. Spouses and

significant others are welcome to come.

The club will be providing hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage, coffee, tea and soda pop. We need those attending to bring

dishes to pass like potato & macaroni salads, baked beans, and desserts. A tray of appetizers, a three-bean salad, and

a lettuce salad would also work well. You could also bring your special dish you make with your secret recipe. If you

would like to bring something, please let me know what you plan to bring, and how many will be attending. I look

forward to talking with you during our May Exhibition at the Monroe Community Hospital. If you can’t be there then

contact me by e-mail at refreshments@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org You can also call me at home after 7:00 pm

at (585) 247-3401.

Thank you!

Rick Marriott

His smiling face will be greatly missed!

BSUNY Members trees in the 2012 BSUNY Exhibition

2013 PROGRAMS

June 10 David DeGroot: Demo & Workshop

June 25 Picnic/Auction/Sale

July 23 Garden Tour At Jerry Kral’s Conifer Garden

August 27 Bring Your Own Tree Workshop

C onifers and deciduous trees make up the majority of bonsai, but there are some bon-

sai fruit tree species that can make interesting additions to your collection.

Quince is among the more exotic choices for a bonsai, but with proper care they can

make a wonderful bonsai. There are two types of Quince trained for bonsai: Japanese

flowering quince (Chaenomeles japonica) and Chinese quince (Pseudocydonia sinensis.) The Japanese flowering

quince is grown for colorful flowers, not fruit. One cultivar posses a rare combination of red, white and pink flowers

creating a great floral display in late winter and throughout early spring for about ten days to two weeks. Japanese

flowering quinces are loved because of their large colorful blooms, then glossy dark green leaves. Their simple,

five-petalled blooms look a little like apple blossom. A profusion of rounded flower buds unfurl in clusters along the

twiggy stems. Without exposure to cold Quinces flower poorly, if at all. Similar to pears, they can tolerate full sun,

but should have at least partial shade in hot summer months.

Chinese quinces are grown for fruit primarily, and some for flowers. Their

fragrant, hard, tart apple-shaped fruit are inedible when raw, and they are prized in

Japan for jelly making. The form of quince in winter can be dramatic with gnarled

and twisted spiny branches with stout thorns.

Japanese Flowering Quince is deciduous and must be grown outdoors. Water

generously but avoid misting as this damages the flowers and may rot the fruit.

Quinces grown in pots tend to have very slender trunks and need to be fattened up

in the ground for several years to make good bonsai. Good luck, have fun, and

enjoy your bonsai.

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Billboard is brought to you by:

PRESIDENT:

Harvey Carapella President@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org

CO-EDITORS & PHOTOGRAPHY:

Tom Friday & Irma Abu-Jumah Billboard@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org

CONTRIBUTORS:

Mark Arpag, William N. Valavanis

Check out these June 2013 Events

June 6-9, International Bonsai Colloquium: 9am to 5pm at Holiday In-Airport,

Rochester, NY. Join us for our informal gathering to discuss a most important topic

Bonsai! Topics covered from A to Z with pearls of wisdom for beginners to experts.

Come rekindle old friendships and make new ones. Featured Artists: Kora Dalager,

David DeGroot, Dennis Makishima, Ryan Neil, Peter Warren, Kathy Shaner & William.

N. Valavanis. Registration $320, Saturday Only $160. Saturday Evening Banquet $40.

For more information visit the International Bonsai Colloquium webpage at:

http://www.internationalbonsai.com/files/1708315/uploaded/Colloquium/index.html

June 10, David DeGroot (WA): David DeGroot has been curator of Weyerhaeuser’s

Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection since its creation in 1989. He is an award-winning

designer and author, who has been studying and practicing bonsai since 1972. He has

studied bonsai with Yasuo Mitsuya, satsuki with Tatemori Gondo and Hayata

Nakayama, and display with Uhaku Sudo. We are lucky to have him at our meeting.

June 25, Summer Picnic/Auction/Sale: At the Picnic the society will be providing

hamburgers, hot dogs, coffee, tea and the usual soft drinks. There will also be a "Sell or

Swap Fair" and an Auction. Sign up to bring a dish to pass. Plan to attend.

Hope to see you at the Spring Show! Don’t Forget, the Spring Show takes the place of our regular Tuesday meeting. Try to

participate in the show somehow. Submit a tree, help setup and/or takedown, sell raffle

tickets, work security. See last months Billboard for the list of Committee Chairs

contact information. There are many jobs to be done. If you don’t know what you can

do, ask. Remember, many hands make light work!

Fruit Trees as Bonsai By Tom Friday

www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org

www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org

5

Pot

The pot should be cleaned

to remove any dirt, stains,

or calcium deposits left by

watering. Some people rub

a small amount of mineral

oil on the pot to improve

the appearance.

General

Considerations

The tree should present an overall healthy appearance. It

should be fertilized properly and treated for any disease

or insect attacks as necessary well in advance of the

show. A tree should not be

taken to a show if it is

diseased or infested with

harmful insects.

Although not a requirement

for an informal display, bonsai

are customarily displayed

on some sort of a stand to

set the bonsai off from the

surface of the display table.

A stand can be a small wooden table, a slab of wood, or a

simple mat of bamboo or some other material. The stand

or mat should be larger than the bonsai pot. A general

rule is that the stand should

be about a third larger

than the pot in length and

depth.

It is customary to include

one or two other elements

in addition to the bonsai

in a display. A small

accent plant, a Suiseki, or

a figurine displayed on the

table next to the bonsai,

or a scroll hanging behind

the bonsai, are all items

that can be used to enhance the display. Whatever is used

should harmonize with the bonsai

and add to the feeling that one

is trying to create. Accessory

items should not overshadow

the bonsai. Everything else in

the display (pot, stand, and

accessory items) should be

subordinate to the tree.

O ne could say that everything we do to style our trees

prepares them for display. The purpose of this article

is not to discuss major styling and training, but to address

the final tasks one must complete prior to displaying a

bonsai. Assuming that major styling work has already

been completed and the design of the tree is approaching

a finished state, preparing a bonsai for a show or display

is primarily a task of attending to detail work.

Foliage and

Branches

The foliage should be

groomed for display by

removing any damaged or

discolored leaves or nee-

dles. On pines the needles

that are pointing straight

down from the branches

should also be removed.

Shoots and/or branches

that extend outside of the

designed s i lhouet te

should be pinched or

trimmed off. Branches

that are not in the correct

position should be wired and positioned correctly. Wiring

should be neat and as unobtrusive as possible.

Soil

The soil surface should be neat and free of weeds and de-

bris. It may be desirable to place moss on the soil for

esthetic reasons. If moss is used, the moss should be

placed in small clumps to provide texture. Moss

placement should be done far enough in advance of the

show that the moss will have a chance to become

established prior to display. If it looks like the moss is

just loosely resting on the

soil as if it were just

placed there recently, it

would be better not to have

it there at all. Mud men or

other such figurines

should not be placed on

the soil. Normally the

only acceptable item that

can be placed in the pot

with the tree, other than

moss, would be a stone

that is used to camouflage

a root or trunk defect.

Preparing Bonsai for Display by Roger Snipes, Inland Empire Bonsai Society, Spokane Washington

www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org