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My name is Eric. I’m a dork who loves bonsai…
by Eric SchraderThe Bennett Juniper
Jul 24th: I had the chance to visit the Bennett Juniper, the largest western juniper currently living. The tree is located in the Stanislaus National Forest, approximately 12 miles on back roads from highway 108, east of Sonora, CA. The Forest Service has a handout which provides many details which I will reproduce here:
Background
The Bennett Juniper (Juniperus Occidentalis) is named after Clarence Bennett, a naturalist who devoted himself to the study of this specific species... read more »
Posted in Hiking & Nature |
Tags: Hiking, Junipers | No Comments »
by Eric SchraderPine Pitch Canker - What it means to me
Jul 2nd: I have just, after some hours on the internet, realized that some of the pines I am growing have been infected with Pine Pitch Canker, which is a fungus infection that affects Knobcone, Monterey and Bishop pines as well as many other native California species.
The infection, which seems to be affecting about half my seedlings, is concentrated right at the root base, where I cut the taproots off when they were six weeks old... read more »
Posted in Articles And Stories, Eric's Blog |
Tags: pests, Pines | No Comments »
by Lawrence LeClaireFog City Bonsai June 2007 Issue
Jun 11th: Here is your online version of Fog City Bonsai for June 2007.
This issue features:
May Meeting Notes - Kathy Shaner & Yasuo Mitsuya Transform a Juniper
June Meeting Announcement - Wiring & Review: a Workshop
Before Decandling: Sharpening - Eric Schrader
Bonai, Some Pointers for you Journey - John Boyce
From the Prez………….John Edwards
Upcoming Events, Meetings, and Announcements
Your Summer Bonsai Care Calendar BSSF
Download Fog City Bonsai June 2007 (2... read more »
Posted in Articles And Stories, From the President, Eric's Blog, Newsletter Archive |
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by Eric SchraderA Trip to Monterey
Jun 10th: I had the pleasure of making it to the Monterey Bonsai Club's annual show this year and I was not disappointed with the quality of the trees. A couple years ago I got a tour of Mr. Katsumi Kinoshita's yard in Pacific Grove and saw many of his wonderful and old trees; but I had never gotten a chance to see them in a show setting until now.
Congratulations to the Monterey club for putting on a great show and for some great hospitality... read more »
Posted in Eric's Blog |
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by Eric SchraderBefore Decandling: Sharpening
Jun 1st: Decandling of Pines in San Francisco can happen anytime between now and the end of June depending on where you live, the size of the tree and the length of needles that you want on the tree. But before you go cutting off all the new growth on the tree take a moment and do yourself and the tree a favor: sharpen your scissors. Dull scissors will not only make the job of decandling a lot harder for you, it will make it more difficult for the tree to recover... read more »
Posted in Blogs, Eric's Blog |
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by Eric SchraderOak Repot - Almost lost this one
Apr 30th: I've had this little oak for about three or four years...can't remember exactly. It's an island scrub oak, native only to the Catalina Islands of California. I bought it from an arboretum sale in a gallon can. I made one courage chop to remove all of the existing foliage which was above the present height of the tree; it budded out all over the trunk and has been growing well for the last few years... read more »
Posted in Eric's Blog |
Tags: oak, Repotting | No Comments »
by Eric SchraderFatten em up before the slow roast.
Jan 31st: After selling a couple of my deciduous trees at a recent auction I decided that I had entirely too few trees which are naked for the short San Francisco winter. The Chinese elm that I had been training for 5 years from nursery stock fetched a high enough price that I was able to take a trip to Lone Pine and buy a dozen more trees, with money left over for fertilizer, akadama and other supplies. I bought two Texas Cedar Elms, a European Beech, a European Hornbeam, three Winter Hazels in gallon cans and four small scrub oaks in 4-inch pots... read more »
Posted in Eric's Blog |
Tags: bonsai stock, Fertilizer, Pines, yamadori | No Comments »
by Eric SchraderAn Online video series worth your attention
Dec 28th: I want to share with those of you who have a broadband internet connection a series of online videos which are of excellent quality that give us a glimpse into Japanese, Chinese and other bonsai hot spots without having to travel the world. The videos can be found here:
http://www.bonsaifarm.tv/content/category/4/15/51/
They range in subject and location but all are worth the time to watch. If you do not have a broadband connection then pester me to bring my computer to a meeting, I have them saved and can show them around... read more »
Posted in Eric's Blog |
Tags: pots, video | 1 Comment »
by Eric SchraderGet to work!
Oct 25th: If you attended the Marco Invernizzi workshop either to watch or to work then you know that the time has come to get some work done on conifers and many other trees. I’ve been puttering around in the yard grabbing a tree here and a tree there for some work. I have a lot of pine trees now so I have a lot of needles to pull. I started with the younger trees which are generally smaller and require less work... read more »
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by Eric SchraderA Trip to Michigan and Back
Oct 4th: Dory, Bryce and I took a little trip to Michigan for Yom Kippur this past weekend. Apart from the fact that I hate spending five hours on an airplane it was a quite enjoyable trip. I grew up in California, so I am accustomed to seeing golden brown hills all summer, but it was a refreshing reminder of my six years of living in upstate New York to go to a place where everything is green in the summer... read more »
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