I got back last night after staying over in Maryland last night. The
whole convention was quite an experience. For Anita and me, the biggest
highlight was in spending time with Walter Pall. He stayed with us at
my brother's house. We travelled in partway in the car to a Metro stop
and took the subway the rest of the way in. We had a lot of time for
conversation about bonsai in general, along with differences between
American and European culture, American politics, etc. Walter also took
some time one night to look at a couple of our trees and offer
suggestions on how to style them. He even took me around the vendor
area one morning to help me find a pot for a hemlock I had brought with
me specifically for that purpose. I learned a lot about selecting pots
from that. Thanks to Walter for a stimulating and interesting time
together!

The exhibit was very good, although as I commented in my last post,
there might have been more trees if the invitation had been more
welcoming.

The vendors area was outstanding. Sara Raynor, Dale Cochoy and a few
other pot makers were there, and a number of other vendors with pots
and trees. It was nice to have such a selection. Towards the end the
vendors started to mark things down so I got a really good deal on a
very large (24") Chinese pot for one of my honeysuckles.

Anita won several things in the raffles, including another 24" Chinese
pot (which will hold another big honeysuckle), a gift certificate for
one of the potters, and a copy of Robert Steven's new book. It's really
good, and is available through BCI.

Among the best things was meeting people. It was interesting to talk
with people about the areas of the world they live in, what sorts of
trees they grow, etc. And, it was good to meet a number of IBC
members. We had three sessions, two in the bar at the hotel on Friday
and Monday, and one at a Thai restaurant on Tuesday night.

The only disappointment was to come back at 10 PM last night and find
that my son had forgotten to water our trees that day. Everything was
bone dry. Even the large deciduous trees in wooden boxes were wilting.
So, I spent a long time watering last night. I checked this morning and
almost everything is perking up. I'm concerned about my American elm.
The lower part of the tree is picking up, but the upper part is not.
Should I defoliate on the upper part?

Other than a few organizational glitches, it came off well and was
worth the effort. Just an aside--a way to reduce the cost of going to a
convention is to volunteer!

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

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Craig:

Do not defoliate the apex--remove some of the excess foliage on the lower portion of the tree.

Place the tree is a bath of the Roots product for 10 minutes and then shade the tree for the next few days.

All should be well.

Cordially,

Michael Persiano
members.aol.com/iasnob

-----Original Message-----
From: Craig Cowing
To:
Sent: Thu, 2 Jun 2005 07:50:28 -0400
Subject: [IBC] WBFF convention--and a question about a wilted elm


I got back last night after staying over in Maryland last night. The whole convention was quite an experience. For Anita and me, the biggest highlight was in spending time with Walter Pall. He stayed with us at my brother's house. We travelled in partway in the car to a Metro stop and took the subway the rest of the way in. We had a lot of time for conversation about bonsai in general, along with differences between American and European culture, American politics, etc. Walter also took some time one night to look at a couple of our trees and offer suggestions on how to style them. He even took me around the vendor area one morning to help me find a pot for a hemlock I had brought with me specifically for that purpose. I learned a lot about selecting pots from that. Thanks to Walter for a stimulating and interesting time together!

The exhibit was very good, although as I commented in my last post, there might have been more trees if the invitation had been more welcoming.

The vendors area was outstanding. Sara Raynor, Dale Cochoy and a few other pot makers were there, and a number of other vendors with pots and trees. It was nice to have such a selection. Towards the end the vendors started to mark things down so I got a really good deal on a very large (24") Chinese pot for one of my honeysuckles.

Anita won several things in the raffles, including another 24" Chinese pot (which will hold another big honeysuckle), a gift certificate for one of the potters, and a copy of Robert Steven's new book. It's really good, and is available through BCI.

Among the best things was meeting people. It was interesting to talk with people about the areas of the world they live in, what sorts of trees they grow, etc. And, it was good to meet a number of IBC members. We had three sessions, two in the bar at the hotel on Friday and Monday, and one at a Thai restaurant on Tuesday night.

The only disappointment was to come back at 10 PM last night and find that my son had forgotten to water our trees that day. Everything was bone dry. Even the large deciduous trees in wooden boxes were wilting. So, I spent a long time watering last night. I checked this morning and almost everything is perking up. I'm concerned about my American elm. The lower part of the tree is picking up, but the upper part is not. Should I defoliate on the upper part?

Other than a few organizational glitches, it came off well and was worth the effort. Just an aside--a way to reduce the cost of going to a convention is to volunteer!

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Kevin Bailey++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Kevin Bailey++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

On Jun 2, 2005, at 8:55 AM, wrote:

Craig:
*
Do not defoliate the apex--remove some of the excess*foliage on the
lower portion of the tree.
*

And leave the dead leaves on top? The lower part of the tree is doing
ok. The apical leaves aren't.
Place the tree is a bath of the Roots product for 10 minutes and then
shade the tree for the next few days.
*

Will do.Thanks.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37
All should be well.
*
Cordially,
*
Michael Persiano
members.aol.com/iasnob*

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Kevin Bailey++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Craig Cowing wrote:
On Jun 2, 2005, at 8:55 AM, wrote:

Craig:

Do not defoliate the apex--remove some of the excess foliage on the
lower portion of the tree.



And leave the dead leaves on top? The lower part of the tree is doing
ok. The apical leaves aren't.

If the leaves are "dead" they're not transpiring, so it
doesn't matter.

Do NOT overwater. If there are few leaves to pull water up
from the roots, you could overwhelm the tree's ability and,
in effect, drown it. Keep soil damp, not wet.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Nature
encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Kevin Bailey++++
************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

In a message dated 6/2/2005 3:43:04 PM Eastern Standard Time,
writes:

If the leaves are "dead" they're not transpiring, so it
doesn't matter.

Do NOT overwater. If there are few leaves to pull water up
from the roots, you could overwhelm the tree's ability and,
in effect, drown it. Keep soil damp, not wet.



);-))

Craig:

My recommendation stands: do not remove the leave on the top (unless you
are certain they are dead).

SOAK the tree in Roots (Green bag) for 10 minutes, and then place the tree
in indirect light for a couple of days. And yes, do not overwater.

Jim: Have you ever tried the Roots products? Trust me on this one. We're
not talking about Superthrive. );-)))

Cheers!

Michael Persiano
members.aol.com/iasnob/index.html

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Kevin Bailey++++
************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++