Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building, 1351 Maple Ave, Santa Rosa, CA (across from the Sonoma County Fairgrounds) For more information contact the show coordinator, Bob Shimon at 707-884-4126, or view online at www.rebsbonsai.org.

If you’ve been letting your trees grow this spring and summer you will probably be seeing a lot of new growth by this time.  Cleaning up trees is the next step.  Take a well refined juniper as a good example:  clean out foliage that doesn’t make up part of the outline of the branches.  Remove foliage that is hanging down and that has grown beyond the desired silhouette.  Thin the foliage farther than just to make the tree look good now, thin it so that as the tree starts to send out new growth in March of next year that it is then in the perfect state….for the show!
Maples and many other deciduous trees may have been cut back more than once already this season.  If you’ve been letting things run to fatten trunks, heal wounds, get longer branches or improve the health of the tree then think about cutting back now so that the tree has time to send out more growth before fall.   Taking my own advice, I recently cut a chinese elm back hard.  I had let the branches run to 6-8 inches beyond the silhouette of the tree.  The tree is strong, and now I have cuttings to make a grove.  I expect that it will bud out again before the fall, improving both the health and the ramification of the tree.

Admission to the fair is $14 adults, seniors over 65 and Children 4 to 12 receive a discount; children under 4 free.
For more information call 472-6685

If you grow Japanese black pines for bonsai, then you are most likely aware of a common and persistent pest that plagues the most diligent tree caretakers; adelgids. These tiny, almost invisible, insects feed from the sap of evergreens and are similar to aphids. They excrete a white waxy substance from their abdomens, which is generally your first sign of an infestation. Their presence can be harmless in forests where entire trees can be coated white with their excretions. Other harmful infestations of Asian adelgids have devastated native hemlocks in the Great Smokey Mountains and the northeastern United States. Closer to home, our precious bonsai can be susceptible to adelgids where they can harm the candle and needle formation on your pines. A heavy infestation of adelgids can overwhelm your tree and cause it to die.

Adelgids are sucking insects similar to aphids. They use a tubular proboscis to penetrate into the phloem tissue of the tree where they extract carbohydrate-rich sap of evergreen trees. The insects typically concentrate on the fresh and tender needles and new candles but can sometimes invade under the bark of the tree to access the phloem.

An adelgid’s life cycle is complicated. Typically, adelgids have two generations per year. However, this may vary according to the climate and species. Populations of adelgids are all females that reproduce asexually. In spring, females emerge from their winter hiding spots and lay up to 300 eggs each along the branches of trees. The larvae hatch and crawl to feeding spots (a.k.a. the candles of your prized black pine bonsai). Once they find a juicy spot on your tree to feed, they become immobile nymphs. Adult adelgids emerge from the nymphs in early summer. These new adults may be winged or wingless. The winged adults leave to start new infestations, while the wingless adults start the next generation in your garden.

The problem with adelgids on Japanese black pine is two pronged. First, the tree is weakened by the loss of fluids and food at the new growth. Second, the release of sap and excretions by the insects provide the perfect environment for sooty mold to form. New candles or advantageous buds can be covered in white cottony excretions and mold. The constantly moist area can lead to deformation of the new candle/needles and loss of the buds. In either case, the tree is weakened and loss of the branch or entire tree can occur.
So how do you fight an infestation? To rid your trees of adelgids requires complete diligence and commitment. If the infestation is limited, you should try spraying the candles with a direct stream of water to blast away the white excretions and hopefully most of the eggs. Organic treatments of insecticidal oils or soaps can be applied afterwards. This treatment must be repeated weekly. Try this treatment in the morning of a warm/hot sunny day so the water will evaporate from the candles before night. I have found that if the candles stay relatively dry, the infestation can be limited. Do not forget to avoid wetting the candles with daily watering, especially in San Francisco where we may experience moist and cold fog for an entire week or more.

John Boyce suggests using a pet’s flea collar to kill adelgids. John cleans the plant as described and then places the entire tree in a plastic bag. Toss the flea collar into the bag and seal the top. Keep the tree in a cool shaded area for a day or two. The fumes from the insecticide will fill the bag and kill the insects. Some people have reported decent success with this technique.

If the infestation is serious, your next course of action is to try systemic pesticides. We as conservation- and environmental-minded gardeners/members/citizens are well aware of the hazards associated with using synthetic chemical pesticides. Please follow the instructions, use correctly, and dispose of properly. Malithion and Orthonex have shown only limited success when battling aldegids. A new product from Bayer chemical called Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Care specifically claims to kill adelgids. Early reports are extremely positive.

Because the insects are dormant in the winter, consider a dormant spray such as dilute lyme sulfur. By applying the spray in the winter months, you may kill wintering aldegids before they have a chance to lay eggs in the spring.

Despite which treatment you choose, you must continue with regular applications of the product. So,pay close attention to the buds of your pines for signs of an infestation and treat as needed.

-Lawrence LeClaire

This issue features:

June General Meeting Notes on Satsuki azaleas from Ruben Guzman

July Meeting Announcement - Robert Smith and Bonsai Tool Care

Adelgids - Lawrence LeClaire

From the Prez - Robert Smith

July Bonsai Notes

Upcoming Events, Meetings, and Announcements

Your Summer Bonsai Care Calendar BSSF

Download Fog City Bonsai July 2008 (1.14MB)

The techniques to train Satsuki azaleas for bonsai are very different from raising pine or maple trees. First, azaleas are shrubs, not trees. Trees are top dominant and shrubs are laterally dominant. This means that the weakest growth of an azalea occurs at the top and the strongest growth is to the base and lateral branches of the plant. When pruning or developing a young azalea for bonsai, you must remove vigorous lateral growth to promote apical growth.

Potting: The seasonal cycle of a Satsuki azalea in the Bay Area occurs in March with repotting. Ruben repots his bonsai around the middle of March (St. Patrick’s Day), the time of the year when a tree is beginning to awaken from winter dormancy. At this time, trees are experiencing a growth spurt and will be producing new roots and sprouts. Some literature suggests repotting in the early summer after blooming, but Ruben suggests otherwise. Mainly because plant growth is slower during the early summer and the plant may not recover quickly. In high heat, low humidity areas (such as Ruben’s home in Danville), a soil mixture of red lava, pumice and sand is supplemented with organic material such as peat moss and fir bark to increase water retention. This potting mix is not recommended for San Francisco residents where our humidity is high but lacks the heat. Ruben suggested planting trees in pure pumice or kanuma (a Japanese-imported pumice). While Satsuki azaleas need plenty of water, plants will suffer if their roots are continually soggy. Typically, azaleas are repotted approximately every three years.

Blooming: Satsuki azaleas bloom in late May or June. In fact, in Japan, Satsuki azaleas are known as fifth moon azaleas. Ruben notes that blooming is temperature dependent and during warmer years such as this one, his azaleas bloomed a few weeks earlier than normal. Satsuki azaleas are grown and prized for their blooms, which range in many shades and combinations of red, pink, purple, orange, and white. In fact, a single plant may display many different color patterns due to chromosome instability. Flower shape and size also vary widely. Petals may be long and tubular, wide and round, or even star-shaped. As the flowers fade, the petals are carefully removed leaving the stamens, pistol, and ovary. Once flowering is finished, all flower parts are removed. According to Ruben, removing the entire flower during the blooming phase may cause the plant to flower unevenly the following year.

Pruning: Satsuki azaleas are prolific growers. Plants readily bud from old wood and the base of the tree. All growth is removed from the base of the tree as it forms. After blooming, all growth is removed at the branch points except two sprouts. Choosing which new sprout will remain is simple. Strong growth is always removed to keep the internodes short. Sprouts growing back into the tree or growing straight down or up are removed. The overall shape of the branch is also considered when pruning branches. The ideal branching pattern of a tree is a pinnate form with a single primary branch, secondary branches, and finally tertiary twigs. This pruning should all be complete by the middle of July. At the beginning of November, another pruning and branch selection should occur. When larger branches are pruned from the plant, a ¼” - ½” stub should remain. This small branch will die and can be removed. Flush cuts are not recommended because the trunks are easily scarred.
Wiring: Azaleas can be wired at any time. Great care should be taken when wiring azaleas. Only softer aluminum wire should be used. Some growers recommend wrapping the wire in tissue paper as an added precaution. Azalea branches are very prone to scarring and are brittle.

Fertilizer: For proper development of azaleas into bonsai, they must be fertilized regularly. Ruben uses 1 tsp/gallon of general-purpose liquid Miracle Grow. Other popular fertilizers specific for Azaleas, rhododendrons, and evergreens are recommend as well. Ruben fertilizes his trees every two weeks except for the two hottest and two coldest months of the years. For Ruben, those months are July-August and December and January. When fertilizing your trees, you should note the color of the leaves. If outer edgeof the leaves are turning dark to black, you are using too much fertilizer.

Lighting: Azaleas prefer strong filtered light. Ruben grows his plants under 50% shade cloth. Other resources state either indirect light or a few hours of late afternoon/early morning direct lighting. If a tree does not receive sufficient light during the year, it will not flower. Also note that plants should be protected from high winds that may dry-out foliage.

Cuttings: The best technique for propagating azaleas is from cuttings. Azaleas grow easily from a short 2-3” sprout where most of the leaves are removed. A bit of rooting hormone is suggested. Cuttings are placed in mixture of 50% peat moss and #3 sand. Prior to mixing, the peat moss hydrated. Cuttings should remain moist and protected from direct sunlight under plastic.

Plenty of resources exist in the Bay Area for learning how to grow azaleas as bonsai. The local azalea bonsai club, Bay Area Aioko Kai, meets on the fourth Thursday of the month (except July, August, December, January). You can also read about azalea bonsai in a book written by local bonsai artist Robert Callaham Satsuki Azaleas for bonsai and azalea enthusiasts. El Dorado Bonsai in Placerville, CA offers specialized course in azalea bonsai culture. Contact them at (530)295-0200 for more information.

This issue features:

May General Meeting Review with Gordon Deeg

June Meeting Announcement - Ruben Guzman and Satsuki Azaleas

Before Decandling: Sharpening - Eric Schrader

From the Prez - Robert Smith

June Bonsai Notes

Upcoming Events, Meetings, and Announcements

Your Summer Bonsai Care Calendar BSSF

Download Fog City Bonsai June 2008 (1.5MB)