Minutes of the March 6, 2022 meeting of the Michiana Bonsai Study

Present:   

          Larry Benjamin, Lisa Chilik, Mary Conner, Mike Cope, John Deguara, John DeMaegd, Mark Fields, Pat Guido, Mary Hesser,

       Andrew Hsu, Eddie Hsu, Rebecca Hsu, Bruce Kennedy, Craig Kirkwood, Bill Lee, Sue Lee, Kevin Mann, Steve Moore,

Bob Mortenson, Jim Short, Kathy Sproatt, Dave Tabor, Wanda Walker and Paul Weishaar

Location:    Linton's Enchanted Gardens

Program:

            The meeting started with a brief business meeting in which Larry announced that the club's treasury now contains the

 highest balance ever. He also asked for volunteers to bring refreshments to future meetings (a plea that was met by Al Whitfield,

 who said that he would supply them for the next meeting, April 3, at Larry's house). Larry reported that he has solicited local

businesses for help to fund a tent for a 2022 Wellfield bonsai show. While he has had no luck to date, he said that he was still looking.

 The suggestion was made that Amazon be contacted (since they will be building a large distribution in Elkhart in the months ahead).

Larry said that he would try to find a person to contact at Amazon.

      Before Mark Fields began his demonstration we took a break for refreshments. Then, Mark began by showing how the potted

trident maples Larry had been growing were taken out of the pot, cleared of soil and root pruned. This provided Mark with a thirteenth

tree with which to work. He then showed how the large forest pot had been prepared with mesh over the drainage holes and tie-down

wires inserted where they could hold the trees in place. He then covered the bottom of the pot with acadama bonsai soil and started to

place the trees where he wanted them in the pot. He started with the largest, placing it toward the front and off to one side a bit. He

then plced the others, from largest to smallest, where they could grow without interferring with one another and create a taper toward

the sides (approximating a scalene triangle). Mark then used the wires to secure the trees in place, being sure to attach the two ends of

each wire to one another. After adding more "soil" to the pot, Mark began the process of pruning off unwanted branches - especially

those in the interior where their leaves would not get adequate light. He also removed any low branches that might obscure the visibility

of the trunks of trees to the rear. The photo below shows the finished product (in fron of Larry & Mark).