George Haas

Demonstration by Jonas Dupuich – Carving Basics

On September 24, 2019, Jonas Dupuich, author of Bonsai Tonight, performed a demonstration on carving basics for the members of the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS), in Santa Rosa, California.

Jin is a bonsai deadwood technique used on branches or the top of the trunk (the “leader”). A jin is meant to show age, or show that the tree has had a struggle to survive. Jins are created in nature when wind, lightning, or other adversity kills the leader or a branch further down the tree.¹

A shari is deadwood on the main trunk of the bonsai. A small shari usually runs vertically on or near the front of the trunk – shari have little aesthetic value at the rear of the trunk, where they are rarely viewed and are obscured by branch growth.²

Carving basics for bonsai involves the creation of deadwood features, jin and shari. By incorporating these deadwood features into the design of your bonsai you are creating character, age and interest.

Jonas began his demonstration by showing a slideshow of various images taken of natural deadwood on Bristlecone pines located above 10,000 feet elevation in the California White Mountains and Sierra junipers located above 8,000 feet elevation at California Carson Pass. These trees displayed dramatic deadwood features, the result of many years of adverse weather and environmental conditions. The slideshow also provided images of Japanese bonsai on display at Kokufu Ten Bonsai Exhibition and Taikan Bonsai Exhibition organized by the Nippon Bonsai Association, both being leading bonsai exhibitions in Japan. The bonsai exhibition images depicted natural and carved deadwood features.

Jonas explained there were three elements of good deadwood carving: movement, twists and interest. He talked about natural occurrences in creating deadwood, that is wind direction. The design must take into play the direction or flow caused by the wind or design. Carving deadwood features should have a story or reason. For example, jin at the top of the tree might have been caused by lightning and shari in front of the flow of the tree’s movement caused by wind.

Carving tools may include: root cutters, pliers, jin pliers, knife or box cutters, and wood carving tool chisels.

Jonas said one should start out by cleaning the life line of the tree in order to find where the deadwood is located on the tree. Dead branches or stubs of former branches in a row on the trunk of the tree is a good indication of where to find deadwood on the trunk. Begin by scrapping away the bark attached to the deadwood. Use a tool like a jin loop or jin knife to determine where the deadwood and live wood are located.

Jonas advised to use wood carver’s gloves for safety.

Jin the lower branches on junipers and other species. These are branches located 1/3 to 1/2 up the trunk that when wired downward would be touching the soil.

A jin is started by taking a sharp knife or box cutter and cutting into the bark at the base of the branch and trunk. Cut completely around the branch. This will stop the bark from being pulled into the trunk area when stripping the bark off the branch. Use a pliers or jin pliers to squeeze and crush the bark away from the branch. Then remove the bark. It is best to create jins in the spring when the water flow is present and the bark is easily removed by your fingers. Otherwise, a jin knife or loop must be used to remove the dry bark. Once the bark has been completely removed, then shape the jin to a pointed end in order to eliminate the tool cutting mark. If bark fibers remain on the jin section, these can be removed best with a wire brush or by burning them. Care must be taken not to burn foliage or live wood. After burning the fibers, a wire brush is used to remove the burn marks.

A shari is started by using a Sharpie ink pen to outline the area of bark to be removed from the trunk. A sharp knife or box cutter is then used to cut into the bark. Score the bark along the outlined area. Then, the bark can be removed by pealing back the bark and working with the wood grain. Use a scissors to cut any portion of the bark that does not peal off easily.

¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadwood_bonsai_techniques

² https://en.mimi.hu/bonsai/shari.html

REBS Demonstration by Bob Shimon – San Jose Juniper

On August 27, 2019, Bob Shimon performed a demonstration for the members of the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS) on a San Jose juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘San Jose’. Bob recently purchased the San Jose juniper from the member sales area at the August 24 and 25 REBS annual bonsai show. He said the San Jose juniper had character and interest as bonsai material for his demonstration. Some of the factors lending to character included: deadwood at the base of the trunk; a large base at the trunk; movement in the trunk; no or minimal taper in the trunk suitable for a bunjin or literati style bonsai; foliage concentrated at the top.

One of the first things to do when purchasing or beginning to work with bonsai material is to scratch away the surface soil from the base of the trunk to expose the root structure. A few inches is sufficient to observe the flaring of the trunk base. Bob saw a bunjin style bonsai within the material. He would proceed to cut and remove small interior branches. He would also remove unwanted branches and any dead branches. He said the main purpose of the demonstration material was to establish branch structure. There were two main trunks; one had to be removed as it was competing with the other and in conflict with the intended design. Bob used a sharp hand saw and removed the smaller of the two branches. What remained was a fairly long, curving branch with its foliage near the top.

Bod identified a number of smaller secondary branches that he would jin. Jin is Japanese for deadwood feature for a branch. Shari is also Japanese for a deadwood feature along the trunk of the tree. Both deadwood features are seen in nature and add to the character and age of the bonsai. Where branches were removed, Bob created jins. The jin is made from a short stub of the cut branch. A long jin is not true to nature. The best time of the season to work on creating jins and shari is when the tree sap is present.

Bob discussed a little about the horticulture for bonsai. Most bonsai require the outdoors. Exceptions are tropical and sub-tropical plants. Bonsai soil for junipers or conifers is on the dry side; usually one third pumice, one third lava rock and one third Akadama (a fired clay imported from Japan). Redwoods and deciduous require more moisture and use more Akadama. Fertilizers are required for bonsai since the soil mix for bonsai is inorganic. A common fertilizer schedule is any 10-10-10 fertilizer during the growing season and 0-5-5 during the winter months.

Bob said wiring is critical for bonsai. Learning how to wire properly is something that everyone must accomplish in order to work on bonsai. Copper wire is normally used with conifers, whereas aluminum wire is used on deciduous trees. Ivan Lukrich, the senior instructor at REBS, assisted in wiring of the demonstration tree. Ivan, who also teaches the beginners workshops, said REBS uses aluminum wire in the beginners’ workshops since it is easier to work with, can be removed and reused if needed.

Ivan proceeded to wire the San Jose juniper. The copper wire will require removal once it begins to indent the branches. The branches will grow larger but the copper wire will not, thus cause wire to cut into the bark making ugly wire cuts. He said observe the wire from time to time and ensure it does not cut into the bark.

Bob estimated the San Jose juniper to be about 20 years old. He recommended repotting with a bonsai soil mix next winter. He would use the same nursery pot but cut the pot in half to accommodate shortening the roots.

When the demonstration was finished, the San Jose juniper was raffled off to the members in attendance. Becky and David Jackson won the demonstration tree.

Bob Shimon and Ivan Lukrich working on San Jose juniper

Ivan applying wire to branches

Bob Shimon upon completion of demonstration

Bob Shimon, Becky and David Jackson with demo bonsai tree

36th Annual Show

The 36th Annual Show by the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS) was held on August 24 and 25, 2019 at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building, Santa Rosa, California. The REBS annual show is the largest club show in the US. Some 200 bonsai were on display. The San Francisco Suiseki Kai joined again this year to show their suiseki viewing stones. Visitors were treated to two rows of tables with viewing stones from northern California and Japan.

Club sensei Kathy Shaner oversaw the placement of bonsai, companion plants and art objects. She conducted a demonstration, both days, working on a Sierra juniper and Coast redwood, respectively.

A special thank you to the club members who contributed to the annual event by displaying their bonsai and helping to set up, docent and clean up.

Here are some of the outstanding bonsai featured in the annual show.

Enmanji BBQ Annual Bonsai Display

On July 14, 2019 (the second Sunday of the month), it was time for the Enmanji BBQ annual bonsai display by the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society (REBS). Art Kopecky chaired the event by recruiting other REBS members to display their bonsai. A special memorial tribute was given to Ian Price of Lone Pine Gardens, Sebastopol, California. Ian was one of the founding members and a charter member of REBS.

Demonstration by Bill Castellon – Princess Persimmon

On June 25, 2019, Bill Castellon performed a demonstration on a Princess Persimmon. Bill brought to the monthly meeting and demonstration several personal specimen bonsai of the Princess Persimmon. He also brought several Princess Persimmon trees to work on as demo trees and to be raffled off at the conclusion of his demo. Bill favored the Princess Persimmon for its tiny bright orange to red fruit, small diamond shape leaves and ease of propagation. Bill said the demo species are not readily available nor inexpensive. He said that the species in California were mostly from a group of 2,000 plants imported years ago by Carl Young of Lodi, California.

Princess Persimmon (Diospyros rhombifolia) is dioecious, that is separate male and female plants are required to produce fruit. It is a deciduous tree, originally from China and secondary Japan. It is popular for bonsai due the size of the tree and small fruit.

Bill described his experience and success with propagation of the species by root cuttings. He said root cuttings will produce or replicate that of the parent tree. This is not so with the seeds which can produce variations in the fruit.

The fruit ripen at varying times and so it can be difficult to prepare for a display. The fruit forms on the new growth each year. Pruning can be hard after the fruiting is over. The tree grows quickly. Bill applies fertilizer on a regular basis. He uses Romeo products out of Half Moon Bay, California. He uses the general purpose 15-30-15 fertilizer. Romeo products can be found at a number of retail stores and nurseries in the San Francisco/Bay Area. He feeds fertilizer all summer.

Bill used a bonsai soil mix of Akadama, lava rock and perlite or pumice. His preferred portions are 60% Akadama, 30% lava rock and 10% perlite.

Pests and diseases: Bill recommended three doses of a fungicide for the winter months.

Bill started his demo on the largest of three trees. First, he eliminated one side of a bar branch. He used a sharp knife to clean the wound, a common task for deciduous trees. Cut paste applied over the cleaned wound. He then removed any dead branches and unwanted branches. Aluminum wire was used to wire various branches. The branches can be brittle and so wiring must be carefully wrapped around the branches using both hands; left hand to guide the wire in place and right hand for wrapping the wire around the branch. That is if you are right handed, of course.

Bill described the technique for creating ramification in deciduous trees by allowing some branches to grow outward as long as needed to gain the strength and thickness desired, and then cut back to the secondary branches. Bill kept the demo tree tall and slender with slight movements in the wired branches.

Watering: Bill said he will allow the tree to be on the dry side before watering. Do not let the tree dry out completely.

As with many of the deciduous bonsai, morning sun and afternoon shade seems to work best.

Bill offered the demo female tree with a companion male tree as one of the evening’s raffle prizes. Another female semi-cascade tree was also offered for raffle.

Bill’s Princess Persimmon at GSBF Convention Exhibit 2018

Bill’s Princess Persimmon at Demo June 25, 2019

Demo Princess Persimmon tree.