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By: Mark Skipworth, August 3, 2020 I am a beginner at bonsai. I joined Prairie State Bonsai last fall (Sept ?) with no prior experience. My first tree was a juniper left over from a bunch I bought for my son’s yard. (The Home Depot, originally $20 on half price clearance). I blissfully started chopping off branches one Saturday in October but stopped when I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I called a member of the club who graciously agreed to look at my mess…

Where did the summer go??  All of a sudden it is Labor Day with the nights getting cooler and people discussing bringing in their tropicals for the winter! We have three more General Membership meetings before our Christmas Party in December.  Let’s have fun while we get ready for a well-earned rest. August Shows: As predicted, August was a great month for bonsai.  PSBS presented its bonsai show at the Destination Asia Festival at the Morton Arboretum.  Thank you to the many members who showed trees, or worked at…

Craig Cronquist A few thoughts about what NOT to do. My first couple years I used a shoplight fixture with two Sylvania GroLux tubes suspended over my tropicals on a table in a west-facing window (only window available to me). It was not very bright and the trees barely made it through the winter. In January 2016, I purchased a Sun System Grow Light system using a high pressure sodium 150 watt bulb (16,000 lumens) from Brew & Grow in Roselle. I was referred to Brew & Grow by…

in Northeastern Zones By Pauline F Muth of PFM Bonsai Studio Reprinted with permission In the traditional sense of bonsai, there are no indoor bonsai. Bonsai artists created their masterpieces from the local species that could remain outside year round in their climate. Modern houses generally are not suitable for the growth of bonsai. Yet people today want to grow their trees inside their homes; so specialized botanical knowledge that allows people to grow houseplants must be learned and modified to work with bonsai. If we remember that the…

THINGS TO DO THIS MONTH Outdoor & Indoor:Watering is still a critical job at this time of year. Trees can dry very quickly on hot days. The roots can be damaged or even killed when the soil stays dry for too long, which can have devastating effects on your tree. Now is the time to switch to a low nitrogen fertilizer. The soil should be moist before the fertilizer is applied. Now is the time when trees prepare themselves for winter. Trunks and branches will thicken as materials are…

Tree of a Thousand Stars Serissa Foetida Type:  Subtropical evergreen that is native to southern China and southeast Asia.  Grown as an indoor bonsai in temperate parts of the world. These small shrubs are much loved as bonsai for their tiny flowers which may occur 2-3 times yearly, gnarled trunks, and naturally miniature leaves. Most bonsai are S. foetida, of which many cultivars are available. Serissa is a notoriously fussy bonsai. The good news is that they aren’t that hard to keep alive. But considering that most people buy…

Bonsai is celebrated across the Chicago metropolitan area during the month of August! Each year in August, we enjoy some of the most important and exciting weekends for Chicago area bonsai enthusiasts. Our event is held this year on August 5, 6, and 7 at Morton Arboretum, as the Prairie State Bonsai Society presents our bonsai show, workshops, and demonstrations as participants in the Arboretum’s Destination Asia Festival. The second event is held at the Chicago Botanic Garden, with our friends at the Midwest Bonsai Society presenting the 44th…

by Jim Keith Sketch by Jim Keith I have begun to sketch some of my trees in order to develop a stronger vision of where I want to proceed with potential designs.  There are many bonsai masters who have taken to sketching their works, and I believe it helps them to better conceptualize their styling. If you have attended any of Ben Oki’s workshops with our club, you know that Ben sketches the trees he works on as a conceptualization of what he believes the tree should look like…

Outdoor: The most important thing is to water the trees. The second most important is water. Heat and drought can have a major effect on our bonsai. In the sun, a tree in a bonsai pot can dry out surprisingly fast. Check the trees as often as possible and water them thoroughly whenever you water them. Spraying water onto the foliage late in the afternoon can help cool the foliage and container and reduce water loss. Reduce or suspend fertilization. If you are not seeing new growth on your…

June was a great month!PSBS had a great June!  There was a fun workshop working on boxwoods from the club's former Grow Plot.  The one I purchased is looking good after some trimming and wiring, and I am looking forward to repotting it from its nursery pot next spring.  This past weekend we had our annual picnic at Cantigny.  The food was tasty due to the barbecue skills of Chef Nick.  Many people brought trees for display or to work on.  Phil gave a demonstration on a juniper.  We…