Hamilton Bonsai Club

Test Event
2020-04-06 | Waikato
Used for testing new forms and pages…

Beginners Bonsai Classes - Night 4
2020-03-26 19:00 - 21:00 (Pacific/Auckland) | Wintec Building at Hamilton Gardens, Rose Garden Carpark, Hamilton, New Zealand
Night 4 has been cancelled
Unfortunately due to rapidly changing circumstances and the Prime Ministers announcement on Saturday 21 March, we have had to postpone the re potting session scheduled for this coming Thursday night and the workshop the following Thursday night until further notice.
We note that the Hamilton Gardens have closed this weekend and the tech may follow we are not sure.
We will run this re potting session and and the fifth final night later in the year when things return to normal.
In the mean time it is important to look after your and your loved ones health by following the health guidelines please.
With us not being able to run the re-potting session this week it is important to look after the health of your tree so here are a couple of things to do;
1) cover any exposed roots with soil – any commercial potting mix or even garden soil will do right now.
2) put your tree outdoors and make sure it gets light and moisture. Check Daily that its not too dry or wet.

Beginners Bonsai Classes - Night 3
2020-03-19 19:00 - 21:00 | Wintec Building at Hamilton Gardens, Rose Garden Carpark, Hamilton, New Zealand
This is your chance to learn bonsai!
The Hamilton Bonsai Club will be holding classes again this year. Everything is supplied, including trees, pots & wire to create your very own Bonsai. Your enrollment fee also includes membership to the club until 31st March 2021.
Night 3 Topic: How to wire your Bonsai
Spaces are limited.
For the full details please view the Bonsai Classes page and fill out the form to sign up.

Beginners Bonsai Classes - Night 2
2020-03-12 19:00 - 21:00 | Wintec Building at Hamilton Gardens, Rose Garden Carpark, Hamilton, New Zealand
This is your chance to learn bonsai!
The Hamilton Bonsai Club will be holding classes again this year. Everything is supplied, including trees, pots & wire to create your very own Bonsai. Your enrollment fee also includes membership to the club until 31st March 2021.
Night 2 Topic: How to prune your Bonsai
Spaces are limited.
For the full details please view the Bonsai Classes page and fill out the form to sign up.

Beginners Bonsai Classes - Night 1
2020-03-05 19:00 - 21:00 | Wintec Building at Hamilton Gardens, Rose Garden Carpark, Hamilton, New Zealand
This is your chance to learn bonsai!
The Hamilton Bonsai Club will be holding classes again this year. Everything is supplied, including trees, pots & wire to create your very own Bonsai. Your enrollment fee also includes membership to the club until 31st March 2021.
Night 1 Topic: Introduction into the world of Bonsai
Spaces are limited.
For the full details please view the Bonsai Classes page and fill out the form to sign up.

Club Meeting - Pruning to improve your Bonsai Workshop
2020-02-09 14:00 - 17:00 | St Francis Church Hall, 92 Mansel Ave, Hillcrest, Hamilton, Waikato, 3216, New Zealand
Out first meeting of the year will be next Sunday, 9 February, starting at 2:00 PM. Held at the St. Francis Church Hall, 92 Mansell Ave., Hillcrest. If for any reason the upper carpark is full, don’t forget there is another carpark in front of the Church, just off the Morrinsville road near the traffic circle. And I also suggest you make a habit of bringing your own mug for coffee or tea, which will taste better than in the styrofoam cups and create less trash! A reminder that the cups and mugs, etc. that are in the kitchen belong to the Church and are off limits to us!
This meeting is on the subject of PRUNING TO IMPROVE YOUR BONSAI. First of all Aaron will talk about pines and review the seedling pines from 2018. So if anyone is growing seedling pines please bring them to the meeting.
Les and Sandra will talk about Pruning. Sandra will talk about HEAVY pruning, LIGHT pruning, and LEAF pruning for deciduous and leafy trees of different species. Les will talk about Conifers and Evergreens including pines’ and junipers’ needle pruning.
After the talks there will be a workshop on Pruning.
So, bring along any trees you want to prune or to get advice on about pruning. At the meeting we can decide whether it is the correct time of the year to prune the tree(s) you want to prune. If it is, you can proceed with its pruning. If not then advice will be given on when to do it and how to do it. Everyone please bring tools for pruning, turntables pruning paste if you have them, notebook & pen,and camera or smart phone with a camera, (for before and after pruning records). There will be a lot of information for a variety of trees that is pertinent to the Waikato. I will bring a few spare turntables for those who don’t have one.
Show and Tell. Any trees appropriate to the Meeting subject. We became a bit lax on the information you should be able to give about your trees last year- write down the following where known: What species and variety, what style it is or you plan for it, where and when you acquired it (how long you have owned it), if in training, did you start the process and when, or if previous owner started it in training and when.
I will be bringing the Library, and if I have room I will bring the entire library. You may want to arrive a bit early and/or stay a little later if you want to have a thorough look through all the books and magazines. There will be some more new books hopefully arriving later this month. BE SURE AND BRING BACK ANY OUTSTANDING BOOKS OR MAGAZINES YOU HAVE AT HOME!!!!

Nobu Workshop 2019
2019-12-07 - 2019-12-08 | Pirongia, Pirongia, Waikato, New Zealand
This is your chance to work with a Bonsai Master, Nobuyuki Kajiwara (Nobu).
The Hamilton Bonsai Club is now taking registrations to this workshop with Nobu. To reserve your place fill out the form below and follow the payment instructions provided. Payments must be received before the 5th of December to secure your spot.
We will having a Pot Luck Supper / BBQ afterwards on the Saturday night at the workshop venue, that all attendees are welcome to join.
Session times:

Saturday Session: 9:30am till 4:30pm
Sunday Session: 9:30am till 4:30pm

Please arrive 15min before the session starts
Price per session:

$40 for Saturday Workshop participant
$40 for Sunday Workshop participant
$10 to observe

Limited places available, your registration won’t be confirmed until payment is received.

Club Meeting - Xmas Fun
2019-12-01 14:00 - 17:00 | St Francis Church Hall, 92 Mansel Ave, Hillcrest, Hamilton, Waikato, 3216, New Zealand
Topic: Xmas fun and Create a Camel
More information will be listed here, check back later.

Bunnings Workshop
2019-11-24 14:00 - 16:00, 2019-10-27 14:00 - 16:00, 2019-09-22 14:00 - 16:00, 2019-08-25 14:00 - 16:00, 2019-07-28 14:00 - 16:00, 2019-06-23 14:00 - 16:00, 2019-05-26 14:00 - 16:00, 2019-03-24 14:00 - 16:00 | Bunnings Te Rapa – DIY Area, 446 Te Rapa Road, Hamilton, New Zealand
Subject: Bring your trees to Bunnings on Te Rapa Straight, look for us in the DIY area of the store.
The workshop is open to anyone and is a great place to get help on your trees and ask any questions you may have.

Club Meeting - Pot Making
2019-11-10 14:00 - 17:00 | St Francis Church Hall, 92 Mansel Ave, Hillcrest, Hamilton, Waikato, 3216, New Zealand
Topic: Pot Making
Make your own bonsai pot and have it fired by Sandra.
This will be a workshop, more information will be listed here, check back later.

National Bonsai Convention 2019
2019-10-11 - 2019-10-13 | Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton Gardens Road, Hamilton, Waikato, 3216, New Zealand
National Bonsai Convention — Demonstrations and talks by Suthin Sukosolvisit from the USA and 5 NZ demonstrators.
Trade Stands and probably the largest ever display of bonsai in NZ.
For more information on the Bonsai Convention, please visit the convention website here.

Club Meeting - Show Prep
2019-09-08 14:00 - 17:00 | St Francis Church Hall, 92 Mansel Ave, Hillcrest, Hamilton, Waikato, 3216, New Zealand
Topic: Show Prep – How to display trees
Show preparation of your trees. How to display your trees and how trees are judged—including practical sessions.
More information will be listed here, check back later.

Club Meeting - Making Bonsai Stands
2019-08-11 14:00 - 17:00 | St Francis Church Hall, 92 Mansel Ave, Hillcrest, Hamilton, Waikato, 3216, New Zealand
Topic: Making Bonsai Stands
Bonsai stands and how to make them.
More information will be listed here, check back later.

Tony Bebb Workshop
2019-07-20 - 2019-07-21 | Waikato Society of Potters, Cnr Ward Street and Seddon Road, Hamilton, New Zealand
This is your chance to work with an Australian Bonsai expert, Tony Bebb.
This will be the second year of the three year programme. Tony will work on the tree you selected for the first year of the programme, and continue it’s development.
The Hamilton Bonsai Club is now taking registrations to this workshop with Tony. To reserve your place fill out the form below and follow the payment instructions provided. Payments must be received to secure your spot.
Session times:

Morning Session: 9am till 12:30pm
Afternoon Session: 1pm till 4:30pm

Please arrive 15min before the session starts
Price per session:

$50 for Hamilton Bonsai Club member – Workshop participant
$20 for Hamilton Bonsai Club member – To observe
$55 for Non-Hamilton Bonsai Club member – Workshop participant
$25 for Non-Hamilton Bonsai Club member – To observe

Limited places available, your registration won’t be confirmed until payment is received.

July 20th – AM Session – 1 space available
July 20th – PM Session – 2 spaces available
July 21st – AM Session – 1 space available
July 21st – PM Session – FULL

Club Meeting - Critique with Tony Bebb
2019-07-14 14:00 - 17:00 | St Francis Church Hall, 92 Mansel Ave, Hillcrest, Hamilton, Waikato, 3216, New Zealand
Topic: Critique with Tony Bebb
More information will be listed here, check back later.

Tony Bebb Shohin Critique & Workshop
2019-07-13 14:00 - 17:00 | Waikato Society of Potters, Cnr Ward Street and Seddon Road, Hamilton, New Zealand
The Hamilton Bonsai Club is holding an afternoon Critique & Workshop with Australian Bonsai expert, Tony Bebb.
Please bring your Shohin Bonsai for critique and to work on. You will also need to bring your tools.
Dinner: Afterwards we will have dinner in one of the Thai Restaurants in Cambridge. If you could indicate whether you are interested in Dinner when you register please.
Price:

$35 for Hamilton Bonsai Club Member
$40 non-Hamilton Bonsai Club Members

Limited places available, your registration won’t be confirmed until payment is received.

Club Meeting - AGM plus Bonsai with Bling
2019-06-09 14:00 - 17:00 | St Francis Church Hall, 92 Mansel Ave, Hillcrest, Hamilton, Waikato, 3216, New Zealand
Topic: AGM and Bonsai with Bling
Melody and Peter S will give you an insight into the use of rocks and small scale people / animals and building in your trees.
More information will be listed here, check back later.

Club Meeting - Sam Brierley Presentation
2019-05-12 14:00 - 17:00 | St Francis Church Hall, 92 Mansel Ave, Hillcrest, Hamilton, Waikato, 3216, New Zealand
Topic: Sam Brierley Visit
Sunday 12 May. Club Meeting. Held at the St. Francis Church Hall, 92 Mansell Ave., Hillcrest. Starts 2:00 PM. If for any reason the upper carpark is full, don’t forget there is another carpark in front of the Church, just off the Morrinsville road near the traffic circle. And I also suggest you make a habit of bringing your own mug for coffee or tea, which will taste better than in the styrofoam cups and create less trash!
Guest speaker is Sam Brierley from Whakatane, President of the Eastern Bay of Plenty Bonsai School. Subject is collecting trees from the wild, and more importantly, keeping them alive! Collecting from the wild is a passion of Sam’s.
For Show and tell: bring along something in glorious Autumn colour, or a tree that you dug from the wild- that you have hopes for or that has made it to Bonsai status (before photos please and stages to the present ).

Club Meeting - Kathy Steyn Presentation
2019-04-14 14:00 - 17:00 | St Francis Church Hall, 92 Mansel Ave, Hillcrest, Hamilton, Waikato, 3216, New Zealand
Topic: Visit by Kathy Steyn
Kathy will be taking the meeting after a short business meeting. If you didn’t finish your Saikei on Saturday bring it back for more work. If you have a tree Kathy worked on before, bring it along for an update. Or bring a tree(s) for advice from Kathy. She has a wealth of knowledge about styling, and care and is an expert Bonsai tree carver. While we cannot actually do any carving at the meeting, she can offer suggestions on what to do and how to do it.
Show and tell- bring a Saikei if not too large, or something else. Please this month only one per person.

Kathy Steyn Saikei Workshop
2019-04-13 09:00 - 16:30 | Waikato Society of Potters, Cnr Ward Street and Seddon Road, Hamilton, New Zealand
Topic: Kathy Steyn Saikei Workshop
Workshop with Kathy Steyn from South Africa on creating your own Saikei. A list of materials required will be circulated before the workshop.
The Workshop will be held at the Waikato Potters Society located at:
Studio 1 Ward Park Art Centre, 2 Seddon Road ( Corner of Ward and Seddon Road)
Prices:
Workshop Participant $40
Observer $20
Limited Places are available, you place is only secure once you have filled out the registration form AND paid in full.
9 Workshop Participant places
5 Observer places
A list of useful materials
Large flat pot, a good sized shallow tray will work. Saikei are usually planted into a shallow pot- rectangular or oval will do. Drainage holes will make tree watering a lot easier, but are not totally necessary. If you have access to a drill and a large bit, you can probably drill holes in the container. Check out Op Shops, garden centres, David’s Emporium, $2.00 shops, etc.
If your container has drainage holes, you will need mesh to cover these and wire to hold the mesh in place. If you use the sticky Gib board mesh, make sure it is well stuck down.
Interesting rocks of different sizes, can be of the same materials or mixed as long as they give the look you want and fit well in your pot. Landscape places usually have rock selections. Lots of rocks or just a few- up to you. But, lots of rocks also means heavy.
Soil- your usual potting mix, that is suitable for the species of trees you are using.
Small trees. Size and number depend on the the size of your container. A variety is fine, or of different sorts if they look well together. It is, however, important for the selected trees to have similar needs in care- water, amount of sun. nutrients, etc. It’s too late to start cuttings. Small trees in little pots can be purchased at some garden centres cheaply- Palmer’s especially. I will have a large number of lonicera available at the next meeting for $1-$2.00 each.
Small plants, moss, lichen, etc. These want to compliment the trees and rocks, and be in proportion, smaller than the trees. Again, care requirements must fit with the trees. If you want the trees to eventually grow a little larger, the complimentary plants must be of a type to keep quite small.
Different sizes and colours of decorative stones to be attractive and represent different textures in your planting. Garden centres usually have an assortment of gravels, and places that sell fish aquarium supplies will also.
Fine white sand- silica sand is ideal. Available at places that sell filtering materials, aquariums, Animates, Pottery supplies. And probably others. This would represent water in your Saikei.
If you want a path or road in your Saikei, well sifted river sand is excellent, or some other fine gravel/sand of quite uniform colour.
The end result wants to be pleasing, not crowded. Often, less is more.
You may want some means of attaching the rocks to your pot/tray- muck, Knead it, Blu Tack or some other stuff can be very helpful. Glues may work but you may not be able to make any future alterations. If your rocks are of a soft material you may be able to rasp them smooth on the base, so they are as flat as possible, etc. If they are hard the goop process may be the best bet. Remember, you will have to transport your creation home, and the last thing you want is for it to fall apart!
If all of this seems a bit much to handle, just do what you can do.
I mentioned at the meeting the need to do some homework before the workshop. You should arrive with a reasonable idea of what constitutes a Saikei, and definitely an idea of what you want your planting to look like when completed. Google “Saikei” and cruise through the offerings. Our library has quite a number of books that delve into the interesting and fun world of Saikei also. I hope to have them separated out for the March meeting. Once you have thought out what you want to end up with, play around with positioning, but don’t do any final pruning of your trees until they are planted.
A small cheap flat paintbrush, about 2c cm across is useful. bring tools to deal with the trees roots and for pruning once the trees are in place ( not always a good idea to have the trees perfectly pruned in advance as the final positions may end up different to what you first thought.
The materials you bring should be ready to assemble. It can take some time to assemble a Saikei that looks quite natural, but if you do your homework, and visualise what you want , and arrive with your material ready to use, you will have more time for the fun part!

Beginners Bonsai Classes - Night 4
2019-04-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Wintec Building at Hamilton Gardens, Rose Garden Carpark, Hamilton, New Zealand
This is your chance to learn bonsai!
The Hamilton Bonsai Club will be holding classes again this year. Everything is supplied, including trees, pots & wire to create your very own Bonsai. Your enrollment fee also includes membership to the club until 31st March 2020.
Night 4 Topic: How to re-pot your Bonsai
Spaces are limited.
For the full details please view the Bonsai Classes page and fill out the form to sign up.

Beginners Bonsai Classes - Night 3
2019-04-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Wintec Building at Hamilton Gardens, Rose Garden Carpark, Hamilton, New Zealand
This is your chance to learn bonsai!
The Hamilton Bonsai Club will be holding classes again this year. Everything is supplied, including trees, pots & wire to create your very own Bonsai. Your enrollment fee also includes membership to the club until 31st March 2020.
Night 3 Topic: How to wire your Bonsai
Spaces are limited.
For the full details please view the Bonsai Classes page and fill out the form to sign up.

Beginners Bonsai Classes - Night 2
2019-03-28 19:00 - 21:00 | Wintec Building at Hamilton Gardens, Rose Garden Carpark, Hamilton, New Zealand
This is your chance to learn bonsai!
The Hamilton Bonsai Club will be holding classes again this year. Everything is supplied, including trees, pots & wire to create your very own Bonsai. Your enrollment fee also includes membership to the club until 31st March 2020.
Night 2 Topic: How to prune your Bonsai
Spaces are limited.
For the full details please view the Bonsai Classes page and fill out the form to sign up.
