April 23 - 24, 2016 - Annual PSBA Spring Show at Pacific Bonsai Museum
The Annual PSBA Spring Show was held at the Pacific Bonsai Museum on Sat. and Sun. Apr. 23 & 24. In addition, the annual viewing stones show at PBM overlapped with the Spring Show, visitors had a chance to see the beautiful stones and custom-made display stands from the PSBA Suiseki Interest Group.
The show was a great success with strong attendance by both the general public and PSBA members. This year’s Spring Show Chair, Mark Epping-Jordan would like to thank all of those who showed trees, volunteered and attended the show. Special thanks goes to David DeGroot for his beautiful arrangement of the show. Finally, thanks to the staff at Pacific Bonsai Museum for all their help.
Preparing Your Tree For Exhibit
Please provide the name of your tree(s) along with the botanical and the common name and how long the bonsai has been in training to the chair of the show. Also, please mention any companion plants and stands that you plan to bring to the show.
After you have chosen the bonsai you will exhibit, it should be groomed carefully. Don’t wait until the night before the show, begin now. Begin grooming from the top of the tree and work down; remove dead wood, damaged and yellow leaves and growth in the forks of trunk and branches.
Check the wiring. Remove any wire that is too near girdling the tree, too tight or cutting into the branch. Rewire only where necessary. Do the fine rewiring that will enhance the appearance of branches.
Examine the trunk. Remove any moss that is on the trunk. Remove any debris from the soil; old leaves, needles and weeds. You can remove about ½ inch of the top of the soil and replace it with new soil to make it look clean and fresh. If you have fine topsoil you can add a very thin layer of it on top. If you have moss on the soil it should be green and fresh; no black moss.
The day before the show, wipe your pots with a wet cloth, followed by a dry one. Use a small amount of baby oil or another clear oil to wipe unglazed pots. Wipe off any excess oil with a dry cloth.
Make sure you have your name on the bottom of the pot. It is easy to use one of your return address labels for this.
Prepare two lists with your name and the list of the trees you are entering along with a description of any stands and companion plants. Turn one list in to the person checking in your trees and keep one so you can make sure to claim your plants at the end of the show.