News

The December meeting has long served as our annual holiday party and this year we are continuing that tradition. This is a time for us to come together, reflect on the year and plan for the coming year while sharing a meal together.

Meeting Activity: Fall Juniper Work w/ David Ruth (Bring your Junipers!)

November is here, and with it, fall in Florida! Fall is an optimal time to work on your Junipers and we are fortunate to have David Ruth to walk us through some best practices and tips for making your Juniper the best tree it can be. So, if you’re a Juniper enthusiast, or just Juniper curious, come see what fall Juniper work is all about.

It’s already October, kind of hard to believe! And, with that, comes fall (like) temperatures and changes. Lucky for us, we have club member and talented bonsai artist Josh Brown speaking this month to us about Broadleaf Evergreens and Deciduous bonsai with a focus on seasonal changes and the work that goes along with that. So, if you have a broadleaf or evergreen you have questions about, make sure you don’t miss this one. You’re welcome to bring any broadleaf’s or evergreens for help/guidance during the pre-meeting help hour and after Josh is finished speaking.

Our meeting for August will involve a tie-in to a previous meeting, specifically to November 11th 2024’s meeting, where those of us who opted to participate purchased a tree to take home and develop to be revisited approximately 10 months later. As you may recall, most of us received a Green Island Ficus, while a handful took home a different species (Parrot’s Beak, Brazilian Rain Tree, etc.) and pictures were taken that night with the idea being we would bring them back to review and see what improvements were made and how the tree has progressed and a competition winner would be selected. The time has come to choose a winner for this friendly competition to challenge creativity so if you have been neglecting that tree for 9+ months, you’ve still got a few days to get to work! The plan is to bring those trees back in to take a look at and evaluate progress/give feedback and select a winner. David Ruth has the photos of the tree the night we received them which is what the current day tree will be compared against.

This month we will be hearing from our very own Joe Stumpf on the importance of horticultural health in bonsai. Additionally, you are welcome to bring any tree that may be stumping in you regarding its health. From there you can seek some second opinions on what may be going on with your tree and some potential remedies. Also, Joe will be going over the finer points of repotting tropical trees and giving tips on the when’s and how’s.

Meeting Topic: Air Layering- We’re in for an exciting meeting this month! This coming Monday we will be learning about Air Layering! If you’re not familiar with it, Air Layering is a fantastic way to expand your bonsai collection, quickly establish a mature tree, and can also be a creative solution to material that may have issues that would otherwise be unfixable. If you have material you’ve been wanting to air layer, but you’ve been waiting for some guidance, go ahead and bring it on in!

Part 1 Club Update/Announcements We will begin the club meeting with an update on club business and upcoming events. There will be more details on the newly introduce Bonsai Beginner’s