Saturday, April 14, 2018 - Bonsai

I attended a MoBot class on Saturday, Beginning Bonsai. That's pronounced Bōne Sī and translates from the Japanese as "Pot Tree". In Chinese, the word is Penjing.

I enjoyed the class. The presenters said they put on this class a couple of times a year, and typically, it sells out quickly with a maximum capacity of 15. They were therefore surprised that this particular class only had eight signups and only seven of those showed up.

The presenters were a pair of brothers (Brian and Milt Ciskowski) who have a nursery over in Edwardsville, IL (Cass Bonsai Gardens, http://www.cassbonsaigardens.com/).

They have put on the annual Japanese Festival at the MoBot for the past 28 years (http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/things-to-do/events/signature-events/japanese-festival.aspx).

They said literally anything can be "bonsai-ed". For the class, each attendee chose a Juniper and a ceramic pot.

Brian and Milt gave us the basics of creating a bonsai: how to approach the thinning out, the various shapes and how to wire the branches.

Final Product

They suggested leaving the wire on for about two months, after which, the branches should hold the desired shape. If the wires are left on too long, they will become embedded in the wood. The wiring is done on a "dry" tree, i.e. a tree that has not been watered for several days. A soiless bonsai soil mix is used. These Junipers can be pruned and/or wired at any time of the year. They also suggested re-potting every two years or so.

Today, I received the rhubarb seeds (Victoria) I had ordered recently. I have them soaking and will get them potted tomorrow. I hope to plant three or four more plants outside.

I potted another set of okra seeds. Of the ones I potted a couple of weeks ago, only one looks healthy. I would like to end up with three plants to take outside.

I also started some sweet basil in pots this weekend.

Today I repaired the break in the water line on Zone 12 of the irrigation system. This line was violated when I planted one of the Holly Hocks and cut through it with my shovel. I cut out the sliced section and used a Rain Bird EZ Coupling to splice the two ends together. It looks like it is going to hold.