NEXT CLUB MEETINGS Welcome to the November Newsletter
November Meeting
Green Square Community Hall
3 Joynton Avenue
Zetland
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•
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7pm Tuesday 11 November 2014
Lee will do a short talk on repotting
Australian natives. Members to bring
in” weird and wonderful”, i.e. unusual
and strange bonsai plants.
Lee will do a talk on when and how to repot Australian natives
including their after care.
Bring in plants for “Weird and Wonderful” bonsai display.
Don’t forget to contribute to the short Member Styling Hotspot led
by President Bryan. One or two trees are needed each month for
open discussion.
7pm Tuesday 9 December 2014
It’s our Christmas meeting so bring a
plate to celebrate. Lee will give a
short talk on accent plants
CONTACT DETAILS
Don’t forget to bring in your
“Weird & wonderful” bonsai on
Tuesday!
0432 461 025
[email protected]
sydneycitybonsai.org.au
PO Box 486
Summerhill NSW 2130
COMMITTEE
Patron Dorothy Koreshoff
In this issue:
•
Sue’s workshop on figs - pages 2-3
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Aerial roots on figs – page 3
•
Chris Di Nola continues penjing theme at Tops Weekend– page 4
Newsletter Editor Roslyn
•
Ceramic artist Gong Linmin demonstrates pot making– page 5
Librarian Naomi & Les
•
Robyn Tarrant – a very interesting potter and ‘Bonsai Events Calendar’ –
President Bryan
Vice President Sue
Secretary tba
Treasurer Chris
Catering Philip
Committee Lee, Naomi & Tony
MEMBERSHIP
Full Membership $40.00
Concession $25.00
Family $55.00
Pensioner $25.00
SCBC wishes to thank Sydney City
Council for their continued support
for our club by providing the hall at a
reduced rate.
page 6
SCBC Christmas meeting in December
This year, we will have a normal meeting including a short talk on accent plants
by Lee.
However! – Please bring in a plate to share and celebrate. There will be special
raffle prizes in honour of the season. You may wish to bring in a decorated tree
but you will be forgiven if you don’t.
Sue’s workshop on figs
Pruning and maintaining bonsai figs
successfully by Sue
When it comes to root pruning, most trees are done in early
spring before new growth, the main exception to this rule are
the figs. Figs will remain dormant during the colder months
and depending on their location within your collection, will
not break dormancy until the night temperatures go up.
Remember, the growth of all trees is controlled by the soil
temperatures at night and the roots will not grow until that
temperature reaches the required level. Port Jackson figs
(Ficus rubiginosa) need a night soil temperature of 16C0,
Moreton Bay figs (Ficus macrophylla) need 22C0 constantly
at night to get good root growth. Without good root growth
the top of the tree will not grow.
Figs can be root pruned when they have broken dormancy.
This can be seen by the tightly closed growing tip breaking
open as it swells with new growth as the thin protective
cover of the new leaf starts to break off revealing fresh new
leaves.
The shape of the tree is paramount –Sue has cut back below the leaf line
A fig in the ground can pull your house down such is the strength
and spread of the stabilising roots. These roots have long ago
been removed in bonsai (never to grow back with figs) leaving only
the feeder roots for growth. By comparison I will say that the root
system of a Japanese Maple in bonsai form is far more aggressive
that the root system of a fig in bonsai form.
The fig that I am root pruning tonight is a Port Jackson fig.
This tree is very old and was grown from a cutting taken
from a fig in a park in 1979.
Sue root prunes the fig ready for repotting
If the tree was a Moreton Bay fig I would not cut the tree in the
same manner. I have found that when I cut the foliage of a
Moreton Bay fig at the time of a root prune I get bunches of foliage
growing from the trunk and in inappropriate places on branches
that in the long run is detrimental to the spread of the tree. When
doing these figs I root prune and repot as normal and will only cut
the foliage after it has grown two new leaves.
The climate in Sydney is not quite warm enough for these figs to
grow as aggressively as the Port Jackson figs and I do not
recommend the use of Moreton Bay figs for bonsai in Sydney. .
Port Jackson fig (ficus rubiginosa) before pruning
One of the best ways to correctly identify a fig is by the figs
(fruits) themselves, as there can be quite a variety of leaf
sizes on the trees depending where they are planted.
You will see when I trimmed the tree back into shape it
became totally bald, I did not cut any leaves off, I merely cut
the tree back into shape and it happened that it was cut
below the leaf line on all branches.
Photo of Moreton Bay fig (Ficus
macrophylla) taken by
BonsaiForMe at Brisbane
Botanic Gardens Bonsai House
http://www.bonsai4me.com/Galle
ry/GalleryBrisbanebotanic.htm
page 2
SUE’S WORKSHOP ON FIGS continued
Cutting or removing fig leaves?
Aerial roots on Figs
Why do some people cut the leaves of their figs in half? Is it to
make them look smaller? I can see no reason for it. The main
purpose of leaf cutting figs is to enable the remaining leaf to
photosynthesise but not grow. If only half the leaf is taken the
leaf is still able grow and will remain a cut leaf (unsightly). If
however just over 3/4 of the leaf is removed it is still able to
photosynthesise but cannot grow. As the surrounding tree grows
the cut leaves will yellow and fall off as new leaf growth appears
because they can no longer grow.
From a talk by Chris di Nola and Noel Summerell
Suitability of various figs for bonsai particularly in
Sydney
There are a multitude of unsuitable figs on the market at the
moment. The first one that comes to mind is the 'Pot Belly Fig'
or 'Buddha Fig' with uncomfortable looking roots like a bunch of
carrots. I don't know how it is grown to get that shape but the
variety is a Ficus retusa or Banyan fig.
Ficus benjamina most often used indoors is generally unsuitable
for bonsai for 2 reasons. First the internodes (space between
each leaf on a shoot) are long, and this tree is incapable of
adjusting the cells in the leaves to cope with different light
situations. Example: an indoor benjamina will have to shed all its
leaves and grow new ones if moved to an outside location. If
taken from an outside position and placed indoors the leaves
will once again shed and grow new leaves to cope with the
indoor position. Most trees can adjust the cells in their leaves to
cope with being moved around, but the Benjamina cannot.
Aerial roots on figs; keep or eliminate according to your
preference. High humidity aids the development of aerial
roots. There are ways to encourage the development of aerial
roots. Get a small plastic drink bottle... put the aerial root in
when it is long enough and when it hits the bottom of the bottle
remove the bottle and let the root grow into the soil.
Straw: slit a straw and put it around the developing root. This is
a natural humidifier and when the root hits the ground and
thickens take a sharp blade and slit the straw on the other side
to remove it.
Other ways to generate aerial roots: Use a plastic bag or glad
wrap. Put stakes around inside pot edge and wrap glad wrap
around the stakes and create a hot house. Use a water tray
and put some stones in it so the bonsai pot is just above the
water surface but the constant evaporation from the tray will
increase the humidity and will encourage aerial roots.
.
Beautiful aerial root development on this Port Jackson fig (Ficus
rubiginosa)
Typical growth habit of Ficus
benjamina makes it difficult to
bonsai
This benjamina successfully
grown in Queensland by a very
experienced bonsai enthusiast.
Some varieties of figs will not shoot back along the branches but
only shoot from the end (frustrating); others will attract a pest at
the time of new leaf growth leaving permanent damage in the
leaves. All of these figs are out of climate in Sydney and if I
were a beginner I would avoid the varieties other than Port
Jackson figs. Port Jackson figs are only available at bonsai
nurseries.
From the November 2006 Australian Plants as Bonsai Exhibition, photographed by
Roger Hnatiuk - https://www.anbg.gov.au/bonsai/images-06-captions/16Ficus_rubiginosa-RH-e-137-3768_IMG.html
“It is something to be able to paint a particular
picture, or to carve a statue, and so make a few
objects beautiful, but it is far more glorious to
carve and paint the very atmosphere and
medium through which we look through. To affect
the quality of the day, that is the highest of the
arts.”
From: Post-Dated – The schooling of an irreverent bonsai monk, Michael
Hagedorn. P 169
page 3
CHRIS DI NOLA CONTINUES PENJING THEME AT TOPS WEEKEND
Chris Di Nola creates penjing landscape using
Ficus nerifolia and scoria rock.
At the Tops Weekend Chris Di Nola continued the penjing
theme by creating a shanshui (landscape) penjing with a hot
tropical feel using Ficus nerifolia and scoria rock.
He explained that he had to use a large heavy tray as a
base because the scoria rocks that he had were too large
and heavy for the smaller more elegant tray that he had. In
preparation, he had sprinkled moss spores and watered the
rocks to get a more natural look.
Chris positions the figs (view from back of landscape)
The understory planting was done following the main placement of
the figs. After checking, Chris noted, that one tree needed to be
tweaked to make the gully angle correct.
Chris explained that the overall scene must tell a story and the
scale (i.e. big ravine or small gully) and theme chosen affects the
under planting. Chris chose a little bush orchid, kingianum, mondo
grass, Cedum dragon’s blood and moss as the understory. The
plants must reflect the overall ecology – for example cactus plants
would not look right nor be appropriate for a hot tropical setting.
Chris carefully positions the scoria rock over a bed of soil
He emphasized that it was important to have a plan prior to
commencing. Soil was put in the tray first, and then the
rocks were carefully positioned. You have to play around
with the rock positioning to get negative and positive space.
You need to set the rocks to reflect a credible geology, for
example rocks all in a general direction or placed to show a
certain flow or movement. You also need to vary the heights
of the rock placing the bigger ones at the back. Sometimes it
is what you don’t explicitly see, that is what is a little bit
hidden that adds value to the landscape.
Understory of bush orchid, mondo grass and dragon’s blood
He filled in between the rocks with soil; put moss strategically
between the rocks and then added pebbles. Chris explained that
the colour of the pebbles is very important. To work in with the
scoria rock, he used zeolite pebbles because of their brownish
reddish tinge. He had two sizes: he placed the larger size closer to
the gully and then put the smaller ones further out.
The main ornament he added was a village nestled in the gully.
This village can only be kept within the scene for display purposes.
With a plan in mind, Chris pre-wires the Ficus nerifolia
In order to create the hot tropical feeling, Chris chose 6-7
year old Ficus nerifolia grown from root cuttings. This fig has
a longer leaf and the plants were still very pliable. Before
planting in the landscape Chris did some generic wiring. His
plan was to create a small gully so when planted he wanted
to figs to be fairly dense but still retain some carefully
thought out negative spaces.
Chris’s completed shanshui (landscape) penjing
page 4
CERAMIC ARTIST GONG LINMIN MAKES A SEMI CASCADE POT
Gong demonstrates pot making at AABC
The ceramic pot-making Master in action
Inspired from a combination of western art and Chinese traditional
art, ceramic artist Gong Linmin has won the Best of the Best in
China’s Arts and Crafts Exhibition many times. He performed the
Zisha pot creation demonstration at the 2011 Japan Takamatsu
Asia-Pacific Bonsai Convention. His pieces are collected by
museums and bonsai enthusiasts world-wide.
At the AABC 2014 Bonsai Convention Gong, a superb
ceramic craftsman from China, made a classic semi cascade
bonsai pot. He started with locally sourced clay that he had
already cut into 5 identical size slabs. If anyone ever rues
the cost of a good bonsai pot they should have been at this
demo.
With movements as precise and minimalistic as a
neurosurgeon, Gong ensured the pieces were flat and
identical and started assembling four pieces for the pot sides
after he had altered the side edges to a 5 degree angle on
both sides. Once together a small roll of clay was blended
into the corners and then a slurry of clay was spread on the
corners inside and out to cement the pieces together, he
used implements to gently and just perceptibly bow the
sides out to soften the shape and impart a hint of curvature
to the sides.
Full and careful attention was paid to ensuring the affixed
corners were smooth and showing no indication of a join.
When that was done he carefully cut a top for the pot and
ensured it was perfectly aligned to the sides. The purpose of
the lid was to trap air inside the pot while he continued to
modify the shaping to as close to perfection as possible and
it also helps the pot dry more evenly. The trapped air
ensured he could work the pot harder without losing shape.
Next the feet were applied. Square slabs were added and
carefully tailored to corner shapes then further modified to
curve inward marginally to maintain the soft curvature of the
silhouette.
Once the feet were in place the drainage hole was cut. Then
he marked and hand cut the top off leaving a near perfect
rim that was then smoothed and contoured to blend in.
Gong's punch line was fabulous. He removed the neutral
Chinese top he was wearing to reveal a T-shirt with a juniper
foliage pad across the side front and short sleeve. Quick
swipes of a paint brush across his arm in varying intensities
of brown. He then stuck his arm in the pot. First as a semi
cascade than an informal upright and there was a tree in the
pot with his arm the trunk and his fingers the nebari. Pure
showmanship and perfect craftsmanship.
page 5
ROBYN TARRANT - A VERY INTERESTING AUSTRALIAN POTTER
Robyn Tarrant – Free form pot maker
The AABC Convention at
the Gold Coast revealed
an interesting potter who
hails from the area.
Robyn Tarrant doesn’t
work in clay; she uses
chicken wire, bonsai wire
and adhesive oxides and
acrylic paints to create
her distinctive pots.
The pots aren’t fired; they dry naturally and are
durable. They improve with weathering and the
constant moisture dies not cause deterioration.
Robyn’s natural looking pots work well with literati bonsai style
Robyn was inspired by her love of very natural looking pots. She was
unable to locate any and decided to make her own. The AABC was her
first selling exposure and by the second day she was all but sold out.
Her unique designs and the very naturalness of her pots will make them
very sought after.
Exquisite freeform pot by Robyn Tarrant
Robyn works with a large variety of textures and colours.
Her pots are freeform and range from popular slabs and
moon bowls to incredibly interesting shapes and textural
finishes. These combinations all blend with a bonsai
beautifully and are especially suited to our natives.
Note the interesting texture and shape of this freeform pot
Robyn has no website yet but she is happy to take special orders and
she will be doing the Queensland bonsai show circuit. She can be
contacted on: [email protected] and when she gets up and
running her business name will be ‘Arty’.
BONSAI EVENTS CALENDAR
Date
Event
Details
7-9 November
2014
Newcastle Bonsai Society Annual
Show
Charlestown Bowling Club, Lincoln Street, Charlestown
2-3 May, 2015
Illawarra Bonsai Annual Show
(Autumn)
Sutherland District Trade Union Club (Tradies), Kingsway, Gymea
15-18 May, 2015
Bonsai – A growing Art. 28th Australian
National Bonsai Convention
The Hotel Grand Chancellor Adelaide on Hindley. 65 Hindley St, Adelaide
© 2006 Sydney City Bonsai Club | www.sydneycitybonsai.org.au | [email protected]
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