NFBC Newsletter May 2026

Upcoming NFBC Events

May 11th @ 7pm: NFBC Meeting

• Pre-Meeting Help Hour- As usual, the club will be open from 6-7pm before the meeting. In an effort to be of service to all club members, some of our more senior members have been kind enough to offer their guidance the hour before the meeting starts. If you need help with anything bonsai related and have the time, join us and bring whatever material it is you are seeking help with.

• Announcements- Treasury update (bank account balance) and announcements about any upcoming events. Also, more details on this year’s BSF convention, an interesting opportunity for the club, and if there are any events/items of interest club members would like to add, we welcome their inclusion!

Meeting Activity: Tropical Night BYOT (Bring Your Own Tropical)!

With BSF quickly approaching, and the kind of heat you associate with Florida upon us, we will be having a more relaxed meeting this month. So, if you’re up for a low-key, but collaborative, evening of working on tropical bonsai then make sure you don’t miss this month’s meeting! We are now safely in the window for tropical work and repotting so dust those warm blooded trees off and bring them in!

Membership Dues for 2026

• If you have not already, please make sure to pay your membership dues for this year, this month. It is $36.00 and it’s not too late!

• You can do so at this month’s meeting either by cash, check, or card. Checks should be made out to “North Florida Bonsai Club”.

• We are required to turn in an Active Roster to BSF as soon as possible and being listed as an active member ensures you receive the benefits of being both a member of NFBC and BSF.

• Family Memberships are available! (Same cost for multiple members of the same family)

Soil Not Currently Available for Purchase!

• Unfortunately we have reached the end of our soil supply. We still have some raw materials, but not enough to warrant getting together to mix. If we would like to organize a summer soil mix we will need to source more materials outside of the channels used for our last soil day (October 2025).

Beginner’s Study Group

• If you are new, fairly new, or just seeking more bonsai knowledge in general, try out our very first Beginner’s Study Group! Recommended for folks with less than 1 year of experience.

• If there are no sign ups this group will pick back up the following month when we have participants. Special arrangements can be made for single participants.

• WHEN: (Pending Participant Demand) Volunteers Needed for this Year!

• If you would like to volunteer to to facilitate this group, please let us know! You can do so by contacting Kelly Harrison either at the meeting or via email at [email protected] or sending a text to (904)-463-6731.

Intermediate Study Group

• Not a beginner but not ready to call yourself an expert? We’ve got just the group for you!

• We welcome any and all participants to come by whenever they can make it. You do not need to be present for every meeting in a single quarter to sign up, but if you wish to take the study group sessions in succession, this quarter’s meetings will be taking place on July 23rd, August 20th and September 17th! With a new session beginning in October!

• We will be sending out a reminder the week before each meeting.

• WHEN: Wednesday(s) May 27th, and June 17th @ Florida Bonsai Nursery (12982 Chameleon Dr, Jacksonville, FL 32223) 6pm-7:30pm

• More information available at each meeting by talking directly to Kelly Harrison or emailing him at [email protected] to register/ask questions!

• *Important Note*: Alex Stanford will be leading the next two months’ Intermediate Study Group meetings, and they will be taking place at Florida Bonsai!

Other Bonsai News/Events

BSF Convention 2026

• When: Memorial Day Weekend May 22nd-24th

• Headlining Artists: Jesus Brito & Sergio Cuan!!!

• Orlando, FL 1500 Sand Lake Rd, Orlando, FL 32809

  • Click here for info on BSF member special convention rate!

• Pay your NFBC dues to get your discounted entry prices when registration opens!

  • Click here for Schedule Info

• Workshop Registration Opens April 15th! Be sure to plan in advance as workshops fill up quick each year.

  • Click here for Workshops/Critiques Info

Bonsai in the Blue Ridge

2026 Learning Seminars

• When: June 4-7th (5-7pm on June 4th, 9am-5pm for the 5th-7th)

• Where: Asheville, North Carolina at the North Carolina Arboretum

  • 20 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville, NC 28806

• Hosted by the American Bonsai Society with the Blue Ridge Bonsai Society

  • Featuring nationally renowned artists: Bjorn Bjorholm, Andrew Robson, John Geanangel, Sergio Cuan, Shannon Salyer, Brad Russell, and Kaya Mooney

• $5 General Admission with added costs for workshops, demonstrations and seminars

• Click here for more information

U.S. National Tropical Bonsai Exhibition

• When: September 5-6th (Saturday and Sunday)

• Where: Marriot Houston Westchase: 2900 Briarpark Drive, Houston, TX, USA

• More Information Here

• This will be the first ever U.S. national show exclusively dedicated to tropical bonsai. Submissions are open now if you wish to exhibit a tree, and discounted hotel reservations at the venue are available now while they last.

  • Alex Stanford will be offering paid reservations for those who would like to reserve a seat carpooling to Houston with other bonsai artists, which will offer an affordable method of transportation to/from the show and time on the road to network with other Florida based artists.

  • Space for trees that you want to bring for exhibit or buy and return home will also be available if riding with Alex.

  • Vehicle will be a 15-seat van plus a trailer for trees/goods. Alex will be offering the seats up to Kawa club and others as well, so you will likely have the opportunity to network with and learn from folks beyond our own club during the trip.

  • Contact Alex Stanford via email at [email protected] to inquire about reserving a seat for the trip while they last.

Winter Silhouette Bonsai Show

• When: December 5-6th (Saturday and Sunday)

• Where: Kannapolis, NC

• Registration is due to open some time in January.

• Alex will be offering carpooling for this event similar to as described above in the U.S. National Tropical Bonsai Exhibition.

• Contact Alex Stanford via email at [email protected] to inquire about reserving a seat for the trip while they last.

Florida Bonsai Nursery & Supply Now Has a Podcast

• The Florida Bonsai Podcast has officially launched with the Pioneer Series featuring Mike Rodgers.

• You can check out the latest episode here

Sponsors

NFBC is looking for new sponsors!

Seasonal Advice - May

Deciduous Trees –

By now, your deciduous trees should be fully leafed out and moving fast. The repotting window for deciduous species is closed — if it didn't happen before or shortly after bud break, let it go until next year. What you’re likely seeing now is vigorous extension from that first flush, and your attention should shift accordingly.

Once the spring flush has hardened off — meaning leaves have transitioned from soft and tender to firm and leathery — it's time to fertilize in earnest. If your current goal is refinement on a tree, this hardening-off point is also your cue for the first round of pruning back new shoots. Cutting back to one or two nodes after extension keeps internodes tight and encourages back-budding. Don't wait too long on this; the longer those shoots extend unchecked, the coarser your ramification becomes over time.

For older, more refined deciduous trees, fertilizing with a milder organic fertilizer with a lower nitrogen value — applied only after the first set of growth has fully hardened off — will help avoid producing overly large leaves. Trees that are still in development and that you're trying to build mass on can be pushed harder with a higher-nitrogen formula.

Wiring is still appropriate this month, but be mindful of how fast things are moving. Wire applied in May can bite into bark before you know it. Check wired branches every week or two — in our climate and with the growth rates we see this time of year, a wire that looks fine on a Monday can be cutting in by the weekend!

What happened to April showers bringing May flowers? Umm…what showers? In April, all we really got was a lot of wind and dry sunny weather. As a result of that, we saw way more wild fires than I think any bonsai owner is comfortable with. Hopefully everyone’s trees (and homes) are safe. Fortunately, we did get to see some rain last week, and are expecting more toward the end of this week.

Watering demands will surge as May progresses. Our May forecast shows daily highs ranging into the upper 80s to mid-90s with overnight lows settling between the mid-60s and mid-70s by month's end. That combination of heat, long days, and expanding foliage means your deciduous trees may need watering twice daily before the month is out. Check the soil, not the clock.

Conifers and Broadleaf Evergreen Trees –

For conifers, the repotting window should be considered closed — roots should be left alone until fall (chopsticks down everyone). Wiring and pruning can still be done, but exercise caution with junipers in particular, as bark can slip easily from the cambium this time of year. If you're wiring junipers now, work carefully and don't be aggressive with bends on young growth. If you did repot during the window, hold off on wiring. One major insult a year!

For Japanese Black Pines, May is a critical month. Candle work — pinching or cutting back the extending spring candles — is a technique that needs to happen at the right moment to be effective. The goal is to slow the stronger candles and allow weaker ones to catch up, promoting more even energy distribution throughout the tree. I’ll spare you all the rest as there are maybe a handful of JBP enthusiasts in our club, but we are always taking new applicants!

For azaleas, the post-bloom pruning window continues into early May for those whose flowers are just now finishing up. For me personally, my azalea went off pretty early this year and all the flowers are now off the trees. Once the flowers have dropped and the first flush of post-bloom growth begins, azaleas can be pruned back to shape — but don't wait too long, as they begin setting next year's buds surprisingly early in the season. A late pruning can cost you next spring's flowers, so if they're done blooming, get the scissors out.

Broadleaf evergreens are growing actively now and can be pruned and shaped. Afternoon shade for the more sun-sensitive species — particularly anything that struggled during last summer's heat — is worth thinking about before the temperatures become unforgiving. If you’re a seasonal shade cloth user, might be time to drag that thing back out!

Tropical Trees

May is prime time for your tropicals. Nighttime temperatures are now reliably in the low-to-mid 70s and climbing, which means the conditions that tropicals love most are fully in effect. All tropical trees can now be repotted, pruned, and worked on safely. Even the more heat-demanding and sensitive species like buttonwood, which were worth holding off on in April, should be ready for root work once you've had a sustained stretch of warm nights. Just keep an eye on the night time temps, we had a sring of sub 60 degree nights this past week that aren’t detrimental, but also not ideal. If you've been waiting on anything, the wait is essentially over.

For trees that were repotted in April, check in on them this month. Most should be showing strong new growth and recovering well. If any are still looking sluggish, make sure they haven't been pushed into too much direct sun too soon. A recovering root system and intense Florida sun are not a good combination — keep those trees shaded and watered until they demonstrate they're ready.

Fertilizing should now be in full swing across your tropical collection, especially those trees that are in all-inorganic soil. Healthy, established tropicals can handle and benefit from weekly feeding at this point in the season. If you've been running a slow-release or pellet fertilizer, make sure it's fresh and adequate for the push ahead. The growth rate you see in May through July on healthy tropicals is remarkable, and giving those trees the nutrition they're asking for will show in the quality of the pads and branching you can carry into next year.

Pest monitoring remains important. With temperatures moving from warm to hot, keep a close eye on your plants — they will begin to dry out faster and some will not be able to tolerate Florida's intense sunlight combined with the stress of tolerating annoying pests. It is also a good idea to water early in the day so leaves will be dry before going into the night hours, decreasing the chance of fungal issues.

Miscellaneous

May is when the calendar starts to work against you in earnest. The comfortable window for major intervention is narrowing, the heat is building, and the trees that got the right care in March and April are now visibly ahead of the ones that didn't. If there's lingering work you haven't gotten to, be honest with yourself about whether May is the right time to push through it or the right time to accept that some things will wait until fall.

On that note — one technique that absolutely should not wait is air layering, and if you haven't started any layers yet, May is your last comfortable month to do so before the summer heat begins to complicate things. I’m sure everyone has seen the cool plastic balls or black plastic wrap or any of the numerous ways to execute an air layer. However, with the heat we have here in northeast Florida, the best method for wrapping our air layers is good old tin foil. The reflection of the heat is ideal for our climate, so keep that in mind when you go to execute your air layers this year!

The best time to begin an air layer is when the leaves have hardened off and are actively pumping nutrients downward — which tends to be right around May. That flow of sugars toward the roots is exactly what you want interrupted at your layer site, as it forces the tree to produce new roots just above the wound.

Air layering can serve several purposes: reducing the length of an overly long trunk, developing a better nebari, or selecting a well-developed branch to be grown as an entirely separate tree. Bonsai That last application is especially valuable for members who have trees with excellent branch structure in the upper canopy sitting above a trunk or lower section that leaves something to be desired. Rather than working around the problem indefinitely, you can solve it and gain a new tree in the process.

The best time to perform an air layer is when the tree is actively growing but recent new growth has matured — look for leaves that have transitioned from their early, tender, light-green state to a darker, fuller, waxy leaf. For anyone who missed last year’s meeting on air layers, to perform the ring method, which is the most commonly used approach in bonsai, you'll remove a band of bark completely around the branch, scrape away any remaining cambium, apply rooting hormone, pack the wound with moist sphagnum moss, and wrap it tightly in tin foil or clear plastic. Spring layers typically root in four to eight weeks when the tree is in peak growth. Keep the moss moist — check it regularly, as it can dry out faster than you'd expect as temperatures rise — and resist the urge to separate until you can see a healthy mass of roots pressing against the plastic.

The summer is knocking. Water diligently, feed consistently, and don't sleep on those air layers. The trees that thrive through August are the ones you're taking good care of right now.

NFBC Membership

• - Membership is $36 for the year 2026

• - Dues can be paid by cash, check or card

• - Please pay your dues as soon as possible for the year 2026!

• - Visitors are always welcome at meetings and events