President’s Message
January 2024
Another year with the Midori Bonsai Club has come to a conclusion. It provided us with new opportunities for those that love this beautiful art form we call bonsai to look forward to new learned skills and programing with our club. Our club is filled with many new members that show interest that they want to learn and continue their knowledge with this growing hobby, and for this, we are thankful. And that's why we have this club—to inspire and invigorate this love many have come to appreciate in our club and to pass it on to new members that want to make it a part of their lives.
Now, over this past few years, we have seen many new club members come and also disappear, somehow not really catching on to this passion many of us possess and love. And of course this is disappointing for us that take the lead in our club. At the same time, we understand that bonsai is complex. Learning horticulture skills, while applying our learned technical skills to our trees, can be intimidating and time consuming.
And for many of us that have caught this passion, we realize that we want to learn more. We then realize that it’s a lifetime study before us. At the same time, many of the newer club members are just now being introduced to this possible lifelong pursuit. Do you have the time, lifestyle, passion, and willing desire to commit yourself to such an enduring pursuit? Only you can answer that question. But please, give bonsai a chance. Spend the money up front on trees that have a future that, in time, will make you proud and will provide you with the desired space in our next bonsai clubs show.
Why do I say this? In order to grow in this hobby, there are avenues that afford all of us opportunities to excel and allow us to realize how important bonsai can be to us if we take that chance. The senior members in our club—those who have trees that surprise you with beauty and artistry—have come to understand this enduring commitment. We who take the lead with teaching in our club want to pass this understanding on to you early in your pursuit. That bonsai success comes with a desire to extend yourself, utilizing everything that affords you an opportunity to learn, grow, and reap the benefits that come with developing bonsai trees that are meaningful and a source of beauty for you and others to enjoy.
Bonsai represents a natural form of trees in nature, in the landscapes we love and desire to be a part of outdoors. Bringing this small form of reality into our own crafted hands continues to amazes me. In addition, I wish that everyone in our club will come to appreciate what this timely pursuit of bonsai has meant for me over the past 15 years and have the desire to learn and share it with others you know.
Please everyone, start out this New Year with considering what was said here, maybe re-evaluating how you've approach bonsai in the past, and what it could mean to you personally now and in the future. Take that chance. See what you could do with this living art form. Become a major force within our club as a teacher and innovator for our bonsai community.
I lovingly challenge each and every one of you!
Our First Thursday Meeting of the New Year
We're starting out this month with a re-potting program given by our own John Thompson. This is a timely subject for the next few months of this year. Many of you have trees that were bought in containers that didn't allow your plant to thrive and grow to its maximum size or perhaps the existing soil was depleted. Or it was time to downsize or upsize the container for your tree’s future performance. Whatever the situation is, John is asking everyone to bring in your tree for re-potting. He will work with a few of the members trees that evening and will provide advice that members may need for our Third Thursday meeting in the way of materials to bring in for their re-potting.
At our last meeting, Drew Tucker kindly brought in all the needed supplies that you may need in order for your tree to be repotted. It was up to you to purchase those items that evening for your benefit. Hopefully, you have purchased those needed items then.
Here’s a short review of what we ask for you to bring that evening for the demo.
A container or pot sized for your tree
Bonsai soil that has good drainage
Wire so the tree can be tied into the pot
That's it! John Thompson can take it from there so others can come up and watch the whole process take place.
A mistake many newer members make is to re-pot their trees into too small of a bonsai pot right away. If you want to keep that tree small for the rest of its life, that’s what will be the end result. If you want maximum growth and sizeable trunk size in the shortest time span, repot it into a sizeable container that will supply the soil and space for your plants roots to prosper and grow with vigor and size. Alternatively, skip the container and plant it into your garden for fastest results!
Your Third Thursday Meeting
Whatever questions you may have, or whatever ways you can approach styling your trees, bring it in for observation and timely answers. Re-potting will be the theme for the evening. So bring in your trees, let’s get it done!
Our Christmas Party
I wanted to thank everyone that helped to make our Christmas Party a complete success, especially those that shared their wonderful food items, and those that generously gave of their auction items that finished off the evenings fundraiser. You’re The Best!
Have a great month doing bonsai everyone! And cheers for a Happy New Year! 🌳