We were fortunate to welcome Mike Pistello as our guest artist for the April 25th general meeting. Mike Pistello began practicing bonsai twenty-three years ago at just thirteen years old. His grandfather had begun cultivating bonsai in the early Seventies after attending the Fuji Bonsai Club's first-ever show, and he introduced Mike to the art. Mike is a member of the Bay Area Bonsai Associates and the East Bay Bonsai Club. He has conducted workshops at the Golden State Bonsai Federation in Sacramento and also volunteers at the GSBF Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt. There, he has been entrusted as the custodian of a special juniper styled by the legendary Masahiko Kimura in 1987 during his first visit to the United States. Mike has performed demonstrations for many clubs throughout the Bay Area and enjoys teaching bonsai as often as his schedule allows. Mike also conducted a workshop on Sunday April 24th. All the attendees were very happy with the workshop.

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.

Viewing stones, large and small, collected by PSBA members in Washington State rivers will go on display at the Pacific Bonsai Museum in Federal Way starting March 26 in the Viewing Stone Interest Group’s annual exhibit. The show will run from March 26 to April 24 with the final two days being held in conjunction with PSBA’s spring show. The show, Stone Images VII, is the seventh annual exhibit staged by the group at the museum and the group’s 10th show since it was founded in 2006. The Viewing Stone Interest Group is a study group affiliated with PSBA. Viewing stones have a long tradition in Asia where they are called suiseki in Japan, gongshi in China and suseok in Korea. The stones are often displayed with bonsai but also can be exhibited by themselves. This year’s exhibit features a number of stones collected in 2015 when record low water levels caused by last year’s drought exposed river stones that had not been exposed for decades. Stone Images VII features stones from the collections of Rick Klauber, Patrick Metiva, Edd Kuehn, Kathy Blanchard, Joel Schwarz and Dick Benbow. Many of the stones are displayed in daizas, or wooden bases, carved by group members. Individuals who would like to learn more about viewing stones or join the stone group, which goes on collecting trips, may contact Joel Schwarz.

We are pleased to announce Ryan Nichols as our guest artist for the March 28th general meeting! We look forward to seeing you on Monday March 28th at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture from 7:00pm to 9:30pm. In 2010, Ryan earned a degree in Ornamental Horticulture from Cal Poly. Soon after, a friend asked him if he'd ever heard of bonsai and a simple Google search turned into several hours of research. Ryan was hooked by what he saw and read. Nichols studied with Ryan Neil and was amazed at the level of quality and craftsmanship that could be accomplished with focused study and dedication. In 2013, Ryan earned his Master's in Plant Biology. Later that same year, he began teaching in the Plant Science Department at Cal Poly Pomona after having worked as a landscape consultant. When not teaching at Cal Poly, Ryan travels throughout California giving seminars on horticultural aspects of the art of bonsai, doing tree styling demonstrations, and offering species-specific classes on bonsai cultivation. Ryan also maintains his Back to The Roots bonsai nursery, specializing in native yamadori (wild, mountain collected material). In 2014, he won first place in the Joshua Roth/American Bonsai Society new talent styling competition at the Golden State Bonsai Federation convention. Ryan's expertise in horticulture and the scientific processes behind bonsai offers PSBA members an excellent opportunity to learn why their plants behave the way they do and how to maximize their health. Ryan strives to balance science and art, and this approach is embodied in his motto "form follows function". Ryan's presentation will take the form of a slideshow lecture, and attendees are encouraged to ask questions.

We are pleased to announce Bobby Curttright as our guest artist for the February 22nd general meeting! Bobby's interest in bonsai is longstanding, but an exposure to the Nippon Bonsai Association's Classic Bonsai of Japan irreversibly sparked it into a full-fledged passion. After just one year of working seriously with bonsai, the Nebraska native was accepted as Michael Hagedorn's full-time apprentice. This speaks volumes about his personal attributes and just how quickly he has progressed. In the ensuing years, Bobby has made annual trips to Japan where he's worked with Shinji Suzuki, one of the country's leading bonsai artists. In his own words, Bobby enjoys "the process of training and growing bonsai from seed, or seedling, as well as the raw natural beauty one can find in a collected tree." A well-rounded technician and artist, he finds value in "all the different species of trees and the work that is involved with them." Some of his favorites, however, are natives such as mountain hemlock, shore pine, Rocky Mountain juniper, Ponderosa pine and Engelmann spruce. Among Eastern species, he prefers Japanese white pine, Tosho (needle juniper), dwarf Japanese flowering quince, and Ezo spruce. Come see Bobby in action on February 22nd from 7:00 to 9:30pm at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture!

We were thrilled to welcome Dave DeGroot, former curator of the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection (now Pacific Bonsai Museum) and Robert Cho, owner of Asia Pacific Gardens in Renton, to our September 28 meeting at the Center for Urban Horticulture. Dave DeGroot is a familiar face to the Puget Sound Bonsai Association. Many in the bonsai community have volunteered at the Pacific Rim Bonsai Museum, and Dave has been a presenter at PSBA club meetings many times over the past 25 years. Robert is knowledgeable about all styles of bonsai and travels internationally to bonsai shows and symposiums. His trees are represented at the Pacific Bonsai Museum. David and Robert collaborated to create a Chinese Windblown-styled bonsai at the meeting. It was a fun and exciting evening!

A sustained spell of hot weather has prompted requests for an article on caring for bonsai when the temperature climbs up into the high 80’s and 90’s. What follows is how I take care of my trees when the weather heats up. High temperatures can sometimes be as brutal to the health of bonsai as sub-freezing temperatures can. The recent run of hot weather is unusual in that it has lasted so long. These sustained temps can put a lot of strain on our trees. There are some things that you can do to help your trees endure these temperatures, even thrive in this hot weather.

The annual PSBA Potluck and Bazaar was held Saturday July 19, 2015 at the Center for Urban Horticulture. Thanks to all the PSBA members & their families who attended and brought food to share and items to sell. Hope to see you all again next year!

Jim Gremel is a bonsai artist and an achiever. His trees are universally praised as beautiful and he has thousands of them in various states of progress at his home deep in the redwoods in California. One of his grafted Shimpaku Juniper bonsai won the top prize in the First National Bonsai Exhibit in New York in 2008. And Jim is a popular guy. When his award was announced he received three standing ovations! His classes and demonstrations are sold out wherever he is, whether it is in the West or in the South. From New York to California to Tennessee, when Jim Gremel speaks, people listen. Jim Gremel was chosen for the PSBA artist series because he has the ability to create a bonsai that transports the viewer to a different time and place. The workshops will be held at Bonsai NW with Jim during his series. In keeping with the investment strategy of the artist series, those who sign up are committing to all three workshops. Mark your calendar now for Jim Gremel's artist series. His first demonstration was held on April 27. His second and third demonstrations will be June 22, and November 23 at the Center for Urban Horticulture at 7pm. His second and third workshops will be held on June 21 and November 22 at Bonsai NW.