We had a great March meeting and a fantastic demonstration by Kathy Benson, who restyled an old San Jose Juniper that had some very thick, poorly placed branches. She also shared a technique that has shown promise in healing large scars. This idea couldn’t have come at a better time for me because I have several trees on which I am going to be removing large branches. This is a great time to develop branch structuring by pinching and pruning. A diligent investment in this area will pay great rewards in quick branch development. This process helps develop branch structuring on growth that is still too tender to wire. You can plan your branches and when they have hardened off you can carefully refine the movement of the branch with wire.

The February meeting was fantastic. There was a buzz in the room, and I thank all the people who helped other members with their trees.

I think this meeting should be a model for all future workshops. Members brought in enough trees to keep everybody busy for the meeting. It was a great opportunity to see different styles being worked on and in many cases total transformations in one workshop.

Let’s keep up the pace and continue to bring in several trees for each workshop. Once a design is chosen, it can be worked on for the next month where it will be ready for round two.

Welcome to the unpredictable California weather. I look at my trees and I am sure many varieties are trying to figure out if the season is spring or maybe summer?

In either case, I have been busy refining branch structures on any plant I can get my cutters on. I recommend removing all growth at the end of branches to force energy to the inner branches.

Our holiday potluck on December 18 was fantastic. We had a nice turnout and an absolutely delicious dinner. Thanks to all that participated in the auction and the raffle; I assure you that the funds raised will be put to good use.

We had great participation at our November meeting. Members brought in trees that had been worked on in previous meetings that showed great improvement. Thanks to everyone for participating!

Our November meeting is the last workshop of this year and I am hoping for 100% participation. Please bring in any trees that have been worked on in the past to review and refine existing design plans.

If you have a tree other than a tropical that has not been styled at all, this would be the last meeting of the year to get the first phase of styling in before the cold weather sets in. Be sure to bring in your tools, wire, and necessary supplies.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in our 5th Annual Bonsai Exhibition at Gardens of the World October 4 – 5 on a great team effort. Thanks to all of you, our show was a huge success.

Saturday, October 4 & Sunday, October 5
9:00am-4:00pm

Enjoy viewing a variety of bonsai trees and learn how to create your own. Demonstration times are 11:00am & 2:00pm.

For more information, please Contact us.

As we get closer to our 5th Annual Exhibition at the Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks, we need to pull our resources together to make this show our best ever. To date we have eight members who have signed up on the "Show Tree List" for a total of 15 trees. This is not enough—we need more.

This is an important month for the Conejo Valley Bonsai Society. Our Annual Bonsai Exhibition at the Gardens of the World is the best event available to us for marketing the club and adding new members. Our goal is to share this fantastic hobby with both the novice and the expert. But regardless of their level of expertise, in order for us to be successful, our final product must meet the highest standard in quality possible. That means that the trees that are approved for the show must be manicured, and the containers and top soil need to be properly cleaned.