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My name is Craig Cronquist.  I am the new president of the Society for the next two years. My bonsai journey began with a trip to Chicago Botanic Garden in May 2012 on the weekend, which happened to be the Midwest Bonsai Society’s show.  I asked a couple of questions of a member in an apron walking among the displayed trees, and he told me, “They have bonsai classes here at CBG.”  I signed up, and in August, I started taking classes with Ivan Watters, then the curator of…

by Larry Magee The tree I am working on is a collected Colorado blue spruce. It was wired in a windswept style several years ago and left to grow on in an Anderson flat to improve the roots and recover. I obtained a sizeable natural slab collected by Matt Turner in Colorado. I used a diamond hole cutter to make a nice-sized drainage hole and drilled extra holes for the tie-down wires. When I removed it from the training pot, I was pleased to see plenty of compact and…

Bonsai need a pot for survival. (Not always, I have grown root-bound trees without a pot, after a pot broke). The pot is in the translation of the word Bonsai. Strict translation is ‘tree planted in tray.’ Finally, I like to think of the pot as earth, or ground. The stand would be the frame.To go into Pots, we need to talk ‘art and design.’  Design elements for Bonsai are as follows, Harmony, Rhythm, Balance, Symmetry, Movement, Proportion, Space, Line, Formal, Informal, Masculine, feminine, Compatibility, and Asymmetry.You need to…

Reprinted by permission from the Iowa Bonsai Association Newsletter March 2022, Michael Hagedorn

THINGS TO DO THIS MONTHOutdoor:This is a very busy month for the bonsai grower. The trees can be taken out of winter storage once the temperatures remain above 30 degrees at night (do you remember the last time the temperatures were below 30 degrees at night?). Once the trees leaf out they will need to be watered more often. The rising temperatures will increase the need for water.Fertilization can begin but be careful that it does not contain excessive nitrogen. Too much nitrogen during spring growth can cause the…

OLIVE TREE    The Olea Europaea (Olive) and Olea Europaea Sylvestris (Wild olive) make great bonsai. The wild type of olive tree is the ancestor of the cultivated olive tree. These trees belong to the Oleaceae family and originate from the Mediterranean coast. Their Latin name "Oleum" means oil, and their fruits obtain olive oil.Olive trees are evergreen trees or shrubs. It is a very slow grower opposite last month's Tree of the Month, the Eucalyptus.Wild Olive trees are smaller than cultivars. The wild olive's leaves are much smaller, rounder with…

Our April meeting, on April 6th, will be our second in-person, live meeting, since COVID forced us to have Zoom meetings. The College of Dupage it will be in Room TEC 103B. Check for details here: https://prairiestatebonsai.com/event/april-general-meeting/ Your dues are overdue! Membership dues became due on March 1st. You can now payyour  dues through our website. Here’s the link: https://prairiestatebonsai.com/membership/ You can still print out and mail in the membership form. There is a link to the PDF of the membership form at the bottom of the above page.…

My experiences in Collecting Bonsai I began collecting trees in 1985 when I visited my parents in northern Michigan. The cost was a major factor in this decision. I brought between 35 – 70 trees home each year. I sold off 90 percent of these to buy tools and pots. I also did urban collecting and development collecting. Development collecting is getting permission to collect on a property that is about to be developed for building. The first folks I collected with knew about these developments and would get…

EUCALYPTUSThere are over 800 types of Eucalyptus trees, and all the types are suitable to grow as bonsai. We will focus mainly on the Eucalyptus deglupta tree, Rainbow Eucalyptus, Rainbow Gum tree, or Mindanao Gum tree. Whichever Eucalyptus you choose to make a bonsai, make sure you know their temperature requirements as most are semi-tropical and a few are low semi-hardy. The Rainbow is the only tropical Eucalyptus.Eucalyptus are evergreens, and Rainbows are tropical evergreens. The tree has moderately broad, evergreen leaves and produces small white flowers packed with…

Good news! Our March meeting, on March 2nd, will be our first in-person, live meeting, since COVID forced us to have Zoom meetings. The College of DuPage is allowing us to get back to our old room, in the Tech building, Room TEC 103B. Check for details here: https://prairiestatebonsai.com/event/march-general-meeting/ On to dues! Membership dues become due on March 1st. You can now pay your dues through our website. Here’s the link: https://prairiestatebonsai.com/membership-account/membership-levels/ You can still print out and mail in the membership form. There is a link to the PDF of…