The first AABS meeting of 2004 was called
to order by president Roger Gaede at 7:30. Approximately
20 people attended including a guest, Mark from Jackson,
who was encouraged to attend by friend Jack Wikle.
Chuck Omer of the Ways and Means committee
announced that the year’s series of raffles will begin
next month. Chuck promised some great items are on the way
to tempt members to buy tickets each meeting. (Ed. note:
The raffle items have arrived and include some Masakuni
tools! They are the best that there are.)
There were no “show and tell”
items but member Connie Bailie dropped off some 3 to 4 foot
cedars grown from seed by the MBG. Members were invited
to take one home if they wished.
Bill Heston, show chair, reminded members
that Margaret Parker will give a presentation on her latest
trip to China at the February meeting. Julian Adams will
return in March to talk about root development just in time
for the Spring growth season. April will be a BYO tree workshop.
Bill Heston, Jack Wikle, Don and their spouses
visited the Denver area last July as part of a trip sponsored
by the Conifer Society. (The website www.conifersociety.org
lists a tour of Dawes Arboretum and private gardens near
Columbus Ohio planned for August 04). Jack was not able
to attend the January meeting and his camera malfunctioned
during the trip, but Bill has good success with his.
Bill’s presentation concentrated on
three main areas–a group of Bristlecone pines on private
land just west of Denver, a high central plateau on the
Platte Ranch, and Windy Ridge in the Pike National Forest.
The Bristlecone Pines were located between 10 and 11 thousand
feet. Despite the altitude, rocky soil and cold winters,
thou-sand year old specimens survive there. As they grow,
the combination of lifelines, deadwood, and erosion sculpt
and color the Bristlecones’ trunks. Trees that die
are preserved in the dry climate and develop “ Disney”-
like silhouettes.
On the plateau, the pines’ roots are
shallow because of the high water table. The group traveled
there with Jerry Morris who works in the area collecting
large pines for arboretums and private gardens. Bill showed
how Jerry gradually digs out full sized trees, a process
that can take up to two years. He contains the roots in
a plastic wrapped wire collar and fills in the area with
Turface. The roots get a chance to recover in what looks
like a giant bonsai pot before he undercuts the tree and
moves it. Bill said the survival rate of Jerry’s transplanted
speci-mens is surprisingly good even though some of the
trees are hundreds of years old and 30 feet tall.
Jerry also collects smaller trees .Back at
his nursery, Bill saw Jerry’s round the clock misting
system used to help the collected bonsai establish themselves.
Jerry does not try to follow Japanese style conventions.
Instead, his in-dividual and group arrangements mirror the
rugged Western landscapes where the trees grow.
Bill showed examples of wild “witches
brooms” on coni-fers. Witches brooms are proliferations
of shoots from a common point that develop as a result of
stress such as fungal infections or insect infestations
or genetic mutations. Grafts of these aberrations are origin
for many new commercially available dwarf conifer varieties.
(Arrow-head Alpines in Fowlerville Michigan lists Jerry
as the source of some grafted “broom” conifers
for sale in their on-line catalogue.)
http://www.btinternet.com/~colinlewis.bonsai/
(ed. note This is the second of two articles
that are being printed with Colin Lewis’ permission.
Both have to do with techniques that are useful to think
about using on your trees this Spring)
This is the only method of grafting that I would recommend
to amateurs, simply because it's the only one I've ever
done successfully! In fact, thread grafting is virtually
foolproof and success is almost guaranteed ... in time.
Thread grafting is ideal for creating branches or roots
at the precise point where they are needed to complete or
improve the design.
The technique itself couldn't be simpler.
Grafting can be done any time between early spring and mid-summer,
and will take between one and three years to work, depending
on the vigour of the tree.
• First you need to allow some shoots to grow freely
until they are long enough to be bent around to cross the
trunk at the point where the new branch is needed.
• Then you drill a hole straight through the trunk
at the point where the branch is to be grafted. Start at
the side where you want the branch is to emerge (this ensures
the cleanest edge to the hole on that side of the trunk)
• Take a convenient shoot and carefully CUT off all
the leaves very close to the shoot. Don't pull them off
or you will damage the axilary buds.
• Bend the shoot and push it through the hole as far
as it will go without breaking or until it makes a tight
fit.
• Tape or wire the shoot into place, seal the edges
of the wound and wait....
• ... When the shoot, or new branch, becomes much
thicker on the side it emerges than on the side where it
enters the trunk, it is a sign that the graft has "taken".
• Wait one more year before severing the branch on
the insertion side - just to be on the safe side.
That's really all there is to it. As
the shoot thickens and the wound begins to heal, the two
are forced together with such pressure that a natural graft
occurs. There's no need to expose the cambium on the inserted
shoot or to get up to any other fancy tricks - just let
nature take its course.
Be very careful when wiring new grafts because, remember,
they are only held in place by a very thin layer of new
tissue and will easily come away. As time passes they will
become much more robust.
- a new crop of branches, exactly where you want them.
The principle of thread grafting new roots is precisely
the same as for branches, except that when the graft has
taken, you retain the "parent" part, and discard
the other. Best time for this operation in early spring,
before the buds open, but it can be done with care any time
during spring/early summer.
• Find a healthy seedling of the same or closely similar
variety as the main tree. The stem of the seedling must
be roughly the same thickness as the existing nebari on
the main tree.
• Drill the hole at an angle sloping upward from the
exact point where you require the new root.
• Excavate a wedge of soil in the pot to accommodate
the roots of the seedling.
• Prune all lateral branches and leaves off the seedling
and push it up through the hole, making as tight a fit as
possible.
• Gently arrange the roots in the excavated space
and refill with soil. Water thoroughly and keep the assembly
in the shade for a few weeks.
• Feed the tree well to encourage rapid thickening
of the inserted stem and healing of the wound.
• Always wait a season longer than you think is necessary
before cutting off the free-growing top of the inserted
stem, leaving the trunk base and roots behind.
Top: 1992, hole drilled ready for three year-old seed-ling
to be inserted.
Bottom: 1996, the new root on the right of the trunk
