At our April Meeting John Boyce addressed those gathered with a discourse and demonstration on what bonsai is to him. With over 40 years as an active BSSF club member and in practicing bonsai he has much to share. And he did generously.
To those especially starting in bonsai and to those who find it vexing he advises, ?Start at the beginning with a young tree, which has some potential, and make it your own. Time is going to go by anyway. The enjoyment is in the development . The tree becomes your expression. Don?t simply accept the way a tree is.? He then proceeded to inform us on topics ranging from tree selection to technical tips on cultivation, maintenance and care.
Using an old black pine and a relatively younger chinese elm to illustrate his talk John spoke about when he first acquired the pine, now quite mature with a 4-5 inch diameter base and
extreme movement in the trunk, when it was the thickness of the younger and still flexible Chinese juniper he was offering to the club and demonstrating on. In choosing a tree he urged us to look for movement in the trunk. Straight trees, formal upright style, are difficult to do correctly. Look for good rootage around the base. Don?t try to settle on a front right away if it doesn?t present itself. Wire and shape and encourage budding back. Capture the spring growth spurt and put it to work.
Deciduous trees don?t take as long as evergreens to develop. Feed deciduous trees once a month during the growing season. Bury a broadcast fertilizer below the surface of your soil so that it will be continuously moist and more effective. Organic fertilizer keeps wood more flexible than straight chemical fertilizers. John uses Wilkensons tomato food which lasts 4 weeks and then he replenishes it. Stop ferilizing deciduous trees in September.
When styling, the trunk should come toward you to say hello. This makes the tree look taller and stronger.
When pruning branches notice the collar at the base of the branch. Cut above the collar which when left intact aids healing over of wounds. Make cuts in stages rather than all at once for more precision. Trees and shrubs are both grown as bonsai but have different wood densities. Remove any branches that don?t grow out and up. Prune so that you go course to fine, from bottom to top and from inner to outer. Cut back to shape. As foliage grows pinch back. On the elm, which had grown out to elongated branches of five leaves or more, John cut back to two and wired the branch for shape and urged follow up care and maintenance.

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