Lancaster Bonsai Society

A reminder from your local Bonsai Club. If you have bonsai trees of a species that normally lives outdoors in your area, they want to live outdoors in the winter too. Just like their full-size, roots-in-the-ground brethren, they need to go through the seasonal cycle of dormancy. Protect them from wind and wide temperature swings and don't let them dry out. Place them on the ground close to a foundation and surround the pots with mulch or compost. If they're not in a location where they will get rain and snow, 'water' them with a few ice cubes occasionally.

Our Wednesday October 14th meeting will be held on Zoom - a first for us. Jim Doyle, the proprietor of Nature's Way Nursery in Harrisburg will speak on the topic of the Literati/Bunjin style of bonsai. Both current and previous members of record will receive links via email to the 7 pm meeting.

Our September meeting will be back at the Conestoga House & Gardens. Our members donate trees and other bonsai-related material culled from their collections to raise money to fund club programs.

We are thankful to be holding a blood drive at Lancaster Columbus Association 1575 New Danville Pike, Lancaster 17603 - We will be located in the Bar/Restaurant... Sunday, June 7th - 8:00 am to 4:00 pm This blood drive will be a little different than the ones you may have attended in the past, as we work to ensure a safe donation experience for you. Here will be some of the differences: An appointment is required to donate blood During this pandemic we cannot accept walk-ins Appointments enable us to provide safe social distancing Donors are reminded that the State of Pennsylvania requires all people going out in public to wear a mask. CPBB asks that you wear a mask when you come to donate. If we fill up all of the appointments - that is OK. Because scheduling an appointment will help us to keep you safe, AND we can find another convenient location where you can donate blood. You may find that the blood drive stations will be spaced further apart than normal- again to allow for social distancing Your temperature will be taken at the beginning of the process No children will be allowed at the blood drive...again for the reason of social distancing Other than that, everything will be very similar. Please schedule your appointment by clicking on the link below: https://donate.717giveblood.org//sche/drive_schedule/31891 or call us at: 1-800-771-0059 A small thank you for everyone giving at this challenging time: -Baseball hat -Papa John’s certificate for a BOGO FREE large pizza

The Lancaster Bonsai Society is offering "Bonsai 101", an opportunity to learn more about the Art of Bonsai under the guidance of Dr. Ryan Wagner, a club veteran and an Associate Professor of Plant Physiology and Botany at Millersville University. The morning will include an introduction to the Art of Bonsai and tips on growing and caring for Bonsai trees as well as a demonstration of how one can create their own bonsai tree from common nursery plants. A question and answer session will follow the presentation.

We’ll wrap up 2019 when we hold our final meeting for the year on Wednesday the 13th. Members are encouraged to bring in a tree or two to share its progress, for styling advice, or - in the case of a failure - a bit of empathy. AND we’ll be saying goodbye to the Conestoga House and Gardens - our home base for nearly three decades - as it is passing out of the hands of those that granted us access, the James Hale Steinman Conestoga House Foundation.

Hi folks, the business meeting of the CCA has just wrapped up and I am delighted to tell you the CCA has accepted our invitation to come to Lancaster and be the... featured carvers at our show March 13 & 14, 2021. The annual CCA business meeting will be on Friday March 12 at a location yet to be determined and will be co-hosted by Jim Hiser and myself. I believe this should give us a boost in tables and attendance. So bottom line, it's official now and you can start spreading the word. Although I hope we create a lot of excitement for 2021, let's all remember we have a great show to put on in 2020 and Mike Dieter is the featured carver. Bob Hershey, CCA member

Our September 11th 7 pm meeting will be our Members Auction. Trees and bonsai-related materials will go to the highest bidder.Our September 11th 7 pm meeting will be our Members Auction. Trees and bonsai-related materials will go to the highest bidder.

Our July meeting has been postponed by two weeks to Saturday the 27th from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Meco Bonsai at 2885 Charlestown Rd. in Lancaster. It's a bring-your-own-tree(s) workshop with an emphasis on tropical species, as this is high season for them. Gary Peck from Nature's Way Nursery will be there to answer questions about styling and care and give advice and guidance as we work. If members don't have tropicals that need work, they may bring any other tree that needs seasonally-appropriate attention, or just come to observe and ask questions! Club wire will be provided, and club soil will be available for those needing to repot. Bring your own tools and pots.

Stop by and visit our display of members' bonsai at the Lime Kiln Patio beside the pool at the Conestoga House and Gardens during this weekend's Demuth Garden Tour.

May Meeting featuring Young Choe Kusamono and Kokedama Artist Saturday May 4th, 10 am til noon Meco Warehouse 2885 Charlestown Rd., Lancaster... Note that our May meeting will be this weekend - a different day, time, and location than usual. Our guest artist will be Young Choe, visiting us from the US National Arboretum where she is in charge of creating the Kusamono (accent plants) that are displayed among their bonsai collection. Her program will begin with a PowerPoint presentation and move on to demonstrations on creating both Kusamono and Kokedama - a style of Japanese bonsai where a plant's root system is wrapped in moss and bound with string, transforming it into a sculptural art form. The Kokedama she creates that day will be raffled to the members at the conclusion of her demonstration.

The Lancaster Bonsai Society is offering "Bonsai 101", an opportunity for the public to learn more about the Art of Bonsai under the guidance of Dr. Ryan Wagner. Ryan is an Associate Professor of Plant Physiology and Botany at Millersville University. The event will take place on Saturday, March the 2nd from 9:30 to 11:30 am in the Cottage Classroom of Stauffer's Home & Garden Store at 301 Rohrerstown Road in Lancaster. The morning will include an introduction to the Art of Bonsai and tips on growing and caring for Bonsai trees as well as a demonstration of how one can create their own bonsai tree from common nursery plants. A question and answer session will follow the presentation. It is free of charge and open to the public.

We'll discuss and demonstrate techniques to refine or create dead wood on bonsai. Members are welcome to bring a tree (conifers are suggested), a branch or an expired tree to practice on as this will be a hands-on meeting. There will also be sample trees to practice on and extra tools - both manual and power - to use. If you own carving tools, bring them.

For our first meeting of 2019 Ken Williams and Andy Youtz will cover the bases of the basics of fertilizing. Ken will show how to make our own fertilizer cakes at home and - having made a batch already - will have some to share with those in attendance. Andy, who owns Superfly Bonsai, will dig into the details of natural fertilizers and how to optimize their use. We can anticipate that Andy will have some products along to purchase.