by Lynne O’Dell

Native Junipers

Rocky Mountain Juniper (RMJ): Its fan-like blueish foliage is aromatic and is more fine and “floppy” than others. Some people find the scent unpleasant or too strong, it is distinctive from other junipers. Branches are more brittle and have finer striations in the dead wood.

Sierra Juniper: This also has bluish foliage (although Sam feels the color can be dependent on the rowing environment) and is more coarse than the RMJ and thickens faster. It has more blurred boundaries between dead and live wood than the California junipers.

California Juniper: Has a wild structure with more coarse foliage compared with RMJ. Branching has wider angles compared to RMJs that are more acute and typically styled with more deadwood. Their roots are slower to develop, and often need structural help to support the tree.

Others: Western Juniper, Utah Juniper, and Hollywood Juniper (to name a few).

This Sierra Juniper will be exhibited at the upcoming Pacific Bonsai Expo

After the break Sam described how he will prune the RMJ that needs a second round of pruning and wiring. He clearly described how different approaches are used with trees at varying stages of refinement. Unlike Japanese junipers, running native junipers send out longer runners before the rest of the pad needs to be pruned so wait longer before pruning.

After taking the bottom foliage off the pad Sam uses a combination of pruning and directional wiring to create a pad that has more vertical volume, so it appears fuller. He tries to break up the larger pads into multiple smaller pads thus resulting in more interesting visual energy.

Salient Points:

• Growth of course juvenile foliage can be avoided if you prune less than 50% of the foliage at any one time.

• Regarding showing a tree with wire- If the wire will bring out the tree’s best elegant aging form, its “mochikomi” (the sense of years of cultivation as bonsai in a pot) then leave the wire on.

• Sam uses what the tree gives him rather than grafting additional branches from other species.

• He admitted to enjoying the challenge of creating an elegant “Long” tree and has many in his collection. He feels the term “bunjin” has specific Japanese design constraints that he does not hold to.

• His soil mix is 1-1-1 akadama-pumice-lava and he uses biogold fertilizer for his conifers.

Monthly Tasks

Each month there are a number of tasks you need to do to your bonsai – from repotting, to fertilizing to spraying for pests. We have put together a checklist, customized for the San Francisco Bay Area to help you. This checklist is adapted from earlier work by Mitsuo Umehara.

This month: August Tasks

BGLM Volunteer Appreciation Day

by Suzanne Muller

The Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt is celebrating all volunteers who have donated their time to the garden. Volunteer Appreciation Day in the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt is September 2, 2024, Monday, Labor Day. We will open the garden to all volunteers from 11AM-2:30PM to celebrate you. We will provide food and drinks. There will be prizes awarded to those who have the most hours contributed to the garden.

The party will be catered by Ann's Catering from Rick and Ann's restaurant in Oakland. There is a signup sheet located in the garden. We are asking for you to sign your name and select the food type you are interested in eating. (meat or vegetarian). This is for a head count only in order to know how much food and drinks to order. If you no longer volunteer at the garden, but want to attend the celebration, please contact me in order to get your name and food preference added to the list. We look forward to celebrating with you!

Cell Phone: 925-787-1349

Email: queueinteriors@comcast.net

Recommended Links

Bonsai Wire Podcast -Eric chats with Sam Tan about California Natives

July 22, 2024 – 53 minutes 47 seconds

https://www.bonsaiwirepodcast.com/1276571/15458869-eric-chats-with-sam-tan-about-california-natives

Join host Eric Schrader in conversation with Sam Tan about Coast redwood and Monterey cypress.