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Newsletter of The Bonsai Society of Upstate New York

April 2013 Volume 42 Number 4

F rom an early age, Owen Reich

has been enchanted by the

natural world around where he lived

in southeastern US. While studying at

the University of Georgia, a

classmate introduced Owen to bonsai

and the dream of having a bonsai nursery of his own began. After graduating,

Owen worked at Samara Farms in Nashville, TN as the manager for the next 5

years. While there he refined his understanding of horticulture. Owen also

studied under Keiichi Fujikawa, the owner of Kouka-en Nursery and gained

experience with a wide variety of species. Studying bonsai in Japan has been a

stepping stone to create bonsai using not only Asian species, but also to apply

techniques and design principles to our American trees. Deciduous trees and

broadleaf evergreens have always held the most interest for him when it comes

to bonsai, especially maples, fruit trees, and flowering species. Owen says that

“This area of bonsai is where I hope to have the greatest impact by sharing

techniques for their creation and maintenance.” He refers to his teaching style as

“laid back and practical”, and says that “the most important thing about

bonsai is that this stuff should be fun!”. Prior to the evening talk on

deciduous and broadleaf bonsai, in the afternoon from 1 PM to 4 PM at the

Buckland Park lodge Owen will conduct a “Bring Your Own Tree”

workshop for a $35 fee. If you are looking for a new tree, Owen will be

bringing many suitable trees for the workshop, which can be purchased from

him. There are a limited number of openings available so register and pay

early to avoid disappointment. Sign up by e-mailing Ron Maggio at

treasurer@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org, or calling him at (585) 872-0382

Join us for this informative evening of bonsai!

A Little About Owen… Owen Reich is a Georgia-native and Tennessee resident

who has been an apprentice at Fujikawa Kouka-en nursery in Ikeda City, Japan

from 2010-2012. He received a degree in ornamental horticulture from the

University of Georgia, helped establish one of the largest nurseries in the

Southeastern US (Samara Farms), and is the founder of Bonsai Unearthed

Nursery (Nashville, TN) and blog site. From early 2013, Owen has been

teaching in the US but will be returning to the Fujikawa Bonsai School regularly

to continue working with students. For more information about Owen, please

visit www.bonsaiunearthed.com Also check our Owen in the 34 videos on

YouTube titled “The Bonsai Art of JAPAN” that were filmed and produced

by Owen and Bjorn Bjorholm of Bjorvala Bonsai Studio:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VbKcOcYctk&list=PL7473558E5F81AE37

Deciduous & Broadleaf Bonsai Talk & Workshop

B illboard Owen Reich

Billboard is brought to you by: PRESIDENT:

Harvey Carapella, President@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org

CO-EDITORS:

Tom Friday & Irma Abu-Jumah Billboard@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org

CONTRIBUTORS:

Mark Arpag, William N. Valavanis

Next Meeting:

Tuesday, April 23, 7:00 pm

Owen Reich Deciduous & Broadleaf Bonsai

Lecture and Workshop

Brighton Town Lodge at Buckland Park 1341 Westfall Road, Rochester, New York

near corner of Westfall and Clinton

Stewartia monadelpha styled by Owen Reich

Owen Reich styling of Mountain Magnolia or Magnolia kobus

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March Highlights

1. Bill began by showing what a mature Black Pine

bonsai looks like.

2. Decisions, decisions...where is the front to be?

3. Trimming and wiring were next on the agenda.

4. A very good turnout for Bill's Black Pine talk and

demo.

5. Questions and comments for Bill during a break.

6. Ron Maggio's raffle tickets paid off with Bill's

very nice demo tree.

7. 8. 9. Bill and students were very busy during the

workshop.

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7 8

4 5

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9

A t our March meeting Bill Valavanis presented the world premier of his newest educational bonsai program

"Japanese Black Pine– The King of Classical Bonsai". Bill had been working on this new PowerPoint program

for several weeks now. It included information on: Growth Characteristics, Winter Hardiness, Sources, Styles, Pruning

and Training. Several members brought their trained and in training Japanese Black Pine bonsai for the display table

to illustrate techniques. Over 65 members and guests from Buffalo, Syracuse, Ithaca (including two Cornell professors)

as well as the surrounding Rochester area attended. After a brief demonstration showing training techniques eight

members participated in a workshop with Bill using 8-10 year old pre trained Mikawa Japanese Black Pines. The

students created the basic shapes and did the initial wiring. They will complete the wiring and bring the trees back to

Bill for final touch adjustments at a later date. Mikawa Black Pines have very good bark characteristics and can grow

very thick. The bark tends to be a lot harder and does not flake off as easy. Everyone seemed to enjoy the program

and some excellent questions were asked. Rick Marriott prepared the usual great refreshments (including shrimp

cocktail).

Thank you Bill for your interesting and informative program!

I f you are showing a new or unusual species or

variety in our upcoming May show, kindly notify

Iris Cohen, by email at iriscohen@aol.com, or by

phone at (315) 461-9226, so she can print a label. The

label can include a short comment about the pot or

origin of tree if you wish. In order to expedite setting

up the show, please put a slip of paper in your tree with

the species or common name, so we can find the

right label quickly. There is a glossary available of the

botanical & common names of 175 bonsai species,

updated periodically. Contact Iris if you would like a

copy. If you have any questions about the identity of

the bonsai, you can ask any knowledgeable member

of the bonsai society or call Iris or contact Harvey

Carapella about the correct name.

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www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org

Ma

y S

ho

w R

em

ind

ers

O n May 18th and 19th we will be having our

annual spring show at the Monroe Community

Hospital. So start preparing your trees now. As

always, we need lots of help and there’s something

for everyone to do. Check out the list of committee

chairs on this page. Then, if you still don’t know

how you want to help, give one of our directors a

call and they will be glad to set you up. If you’ve

always wanted to get involved and don’t know how,

now is the time. Please make sure to sign up with

Bob Pfromm at the April meeting to help with

security at the show. Show posters will be available

to distribute at the April meeting. Don’t forget to

signup and pay Ron Maggio the $25 per person

for the 40th Anniversary Dinner on May 18th.

40th Anniversary BSUNY Tree Labels for Spring Exhibit

Directors Harvey Carapella 426-6548 Bill Valavanis 334-2595 Bonsai Placement Bill Valavanis 334-2595 Demos/Videos Harvey Carapella 426-6548 Mark Arpag 244-6241 Educational Exhibit Mark Arpag 244-6241 Members Choice Jim Dolce 247-1527 Award Mark Arpag 244-6241 Membership Table JoAnn Maggio 872-0382 Printing Tom Friday Publicity Joe Galley 334-9472 Ron Maggio 872-0382 John Robbins 265-3716 Raffle Bob Pfromm 421-0378 Doug McDade 392-7973 Irma Abu-Jumah 368-5630 Reception/Admission Mark Arpag 244-6241 Ron Maggio 872-0382

Refreshments Rick Marriott 247-3401

Sales Tables Karen Proctor 235-0567 Security Bob Pfromm 421-0378 Mark Arpag 244-6241

Show Photographer Joe Noga Photographer Tom Friday Assistants Paul Eschmann Staging Jerome Cushman 924-3500 Doug McDade 392-7973 Bob Pfromm 421-0378 Tom Friday Tokonoma Glenn Morton Tree Labels Iris Cohen 315-461-9226 Web Photos Irma Abu-Jumah 278-3803 Tom Friday Set-Up & Clean-Up Entire Membership Joe Moore

Spring Show Committee

Chairs

Election Results

Our election of officers for 2013-2014 was held at the March meeting. Our new officers are our old officers who have graciously volunteered for another term. A special thanks for all your hard work and to the committee chairs also. Our meetings are top notch thanks to all of you.

Harvey Carapella President Bill Valavanis Vice-President Mark Arpag Secretary Ron Maggio Treasurer

April 23 Owen Rich, TN: Deciduous & Broadleaf Bonsai and Open Workshop

May 18-19 40th BSUNY Exhibition & Sale

May 18 BSUNY 40th Anniversary Dinner, $25 per person

June 10 David DeGroot: Demo & Workshop

June 25 Picnic/Auction/Sale

July 23 Garden Tour At Jerry Kral’s Conifer Garden

August 27 Bring Your Own Tree Workshop

2012 Member’s Choice Award Japanese Black Pine

by Bob Blankfield

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BSUNY Activities

G arden Artisans Expo 2013 was a new show. Since the Dome

Center is closed it took place on March 14 to 17 at Southtown

Plaza (in the old MediaPlay store) in Henrietta. Our society display

combined with the International Bonsai Arboretum to have one display

together. This was different from what we have done in past years at

GardenScape. Bill Valavanis presented programs on Classical Bonsai

Art, and on Stone Appreciation. Members setup the display, provided

twenty-three trees, helped answer questions and provided the public

with information on bonsai and our society. Trees were

provided by: Harvey Carapella, Bill Valavanis, Jim

Dolce, Mark Arpag, Ron Maggio, Jerome Cushman,

Rev. Richard Murphy, Bob Pfromm, Rick Marriott,

Tom Friday, and Paul Eschmann. Thanks for taking the

time to prepare your trees and bring them to the Expo

for display. The society also appreciates the members

who helped setup/take down, and also came throughout

the four days to be security and answer questions at our

display.

Garden Artisans Expo

T he Garden Factory held its Second Annual Flower & Garden

Showcase on April 6-7. BSUNY participated again this year and

provided advice and answered questions on the art of bonsai. The society

had a combined display of bonsai trees with the International Bonsai

Arboretum for people to look at and admire. We gave out quite a lot of

literature on the society and on our 40th Anniversary show in May. It

was a bit different this year with no formal programs, but we are grateful

to Mark Arpag (all day Saturday), Harvey Carapella, Bill Valavanis, and

Alan Adair for doing great demonstrations in our booth. The event was

free and open to the public. We had trees for the display from the

following members: Harvey

Carapella, Bill Valavanis, Mark,

Arpag, Ron, Maggio, Ken Buell,

Nick Montanaro, Alan Adair, Bob

Pfromm, and Rick Marriott. The

society would like to thank all

those who came during the two

days to provide information and

security, and prepared their trees

for display. Well done.

Garden Factory Flower & Garden

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