The planned privet dig in Rotorua was postponed twice due to bad weather. When we finally got there our number was slightly reduced due to other commitments but the five of us who braved the long trek into the Redwood forest with our guides Rick, Neil and Peter from the Rotorua club were soon [...]
At the AGM we voted to keep all current committee members and welcomed returning committee member Ann Mudie. Both Marshall and Melody stood down from their roles as co-presidents and Peter Mudie was elected as our new president. Marshall was also presented with a lifetime membership award for her great service to the club over [...]
Sunday 30th May was wet but the weather behaved for our visitors when we entertained a group from the Bay of Plenty Bonsai Society. During the visits to each of the three collections they saw it stopped raining. An enjoyable day for our visitors with plenty to see and talk about. Thanks to Pene and [...]
Melody and Peter S headlined the meeting with Melody giving a talk on the joys, peculiarities, quirks and difficulties around using flowering and fruiting species as bonsai. This was followed by Peter S showing a large number of different flowering plants he uses and talking about their individual needs. The display tables had a [...]
A very successful series of 6 evenings where students were given a lot of information on the art of bonsai including general Bonsai information, how to care for bonsai, styling, pruning, wiring, and repotting. Each participant received their own tree, pot and wire and various techniques were explained and practiced over the sessions. Thank you [...]
A full meeting with a number of new members and visitors attending. Peter M led the first part of the afternoon with a discussion on what to look for when sourcing material, how to decide on the shape of your future bonsai and where to get your inspiration from. As part of the discussion he [...]
A great weekend of bonsai fun with club member Brendon Covich of Kinben Bonsai. Club members and Brendon worked on over 30 trees during the sunny weekend. As usual with these workshops, a number of trees fitted back into their owners cars much more easily than when they arrived! There were a variety of [...]
Melody started the meeting with a discussion on the joys and fun involved in creating group plantings. During her talk she went through the best species to use, how to train and select trees for use in groups, how to arrange the trees, pot choice, watering and aftercare. The talk was illustrated with groups, [...]
A select group of club members met to discuss what had gone wrong with their trees over the last year. Cotoneasters, Junipers, Maples and Dawn Redwoods featured in the list of lost causes. It appears several of our members have experienced male Junipers producing brown flower buds (cones) on most of their growing tips. [...]
This months club meeting featured a presentation by Sam Brierley from Whakatane, President of the Eastern Bay of Plenty Bonsai School. Sam's passion is all about collecting trees from the wild, and keeping them alive. Sam covered various topics from his toolset, soil mixes, tips and techniques on removing trees and aftercare advice. A wealth [...]
