President’s Message

January 2025

Welcome to a new year, Midori Bonsai Club! We're putting last year behind us and introducing exciting new programs that will hopefully move everyone forward with this bonsai craze we all love. Yes, we're now over the hump into our winter months, with increasingly longer days of sunlight that will stimulate our trees to slowly awaken and bring about their new spring growth. In addition, we seem to be receiving the needed rainfall this year that will encourage the strong, invigorating growth we all love to see. Looking back over the past years, I found that the years with the most rainfall resulted in my trees coming to life with the greatest amount of beautiful growth and vigor. So it looks like 2025 is off to a good start for all of us!

But how can we keep moving forward unless we challenge ourselves with new trees to work on throughout the year? Friends, it's easy to become complacent and lose our interest in bonsai unless we are actively working on our trees. How can we do this unless we have a sizable collection of trees to maintain our bonsai growth and enthusiasm? In past years, many have failed to realize this important aspect of bonsai and have drifted away from our club. So please take this to heart and add new trees to your collection this year. This will bring new and exciting challenges and enjoyment to this incredible art form we all love.

Many of the bonsai clubs in the Bay Area throughout the coming year will have many vendors at their shows selling pre-bonsai trees, along with our own club conducting a yearly nursery tour together with guided help for you. The hunt for good bonsai material can be exciting and adventurous, and there are many local nurseries throughout the Bay Area that offer plants that make for good bonsai.

Repotting Our Trees

Juan Cruz will be handling this vital meeting, designed to help many in our club understand the importance of repotting our trees and why it's necessary. We have received many inquiries from newer members who would like to repot their one-gallon trees received from the beginners' class into better soil and a pot that has a future for the tree. Now is the time to do this operation, during the dormancy of winter when our trees are resting.

Before we begin, there are necessary items you will need for this operation. Juan will discuss the needed tools, soil, and how to handle the new pot you'll need. Not all trees need repotting, and understanding why we repot trees and the benefits that come with this operation is vital.

Many of you may not have experienced handling the tree once it's taken out of the container, how much of the old soil to leave, and how to handle cutting back the root zone. All of this will be demonstrated that evening, so pay close attention to what Juan does. Everyone will be invited up front to get a better view of the operation.

For Our Third Thursday Meeting

This will be a great chance to get your trees off to a good start by repotting them this month. This special workshop will focus on repotting, and many of our senior members will be there to help you with this vital operation after Juan Cruz demonstrates the process at the last meeting. Make sure you have the necessary materials, along with your tree and pot, so we can get busy and complete the task that evening.

I'm going to ask Drew Tucker if he can be there that evening since he sells many of the repotting tools and soil you may need for the task. So come prepared to purchase those items if necessary.

And Don't Forget About Your 2025 Club Dues

A timely reminder!

Have a great month doing bonsai, everyone! 🌳