Following-up on the announcement within our newsletter and email this month, the October General Meeting will be held tomorrow, October 4th, to accommodate our guest artist.
The program will start at 7PM in the Pullman Room at the Regenstein Center with a Bonsai 101 session by Linda Camp on keeping Tropical Plants Alive during the Winter. At 7:30 the program will switch to a presentation by our guest artist, David Kreutz on Satsuki Azaleas. David comes to us from Satsuma Bonsai-en in Metro St. Louis.
The presentation will be live in person, and a WebEx will also be sent out to active members who wish to attend remotely.
Hope to see you there!
Read MoreExcited for Mike Lane’s presentation at our General Meeting, tonight, August 30th, between 7 and 9PM at the Chicago Botanic Garden. MBS Members can also join via WebEx!
Read MorePlanning to show a tree in this weekend’s 43rd Annual Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition? Pre-register your tree using our easy-to-use online form, and bring it to the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Regenstein Center tomorrow, August 19th, between 3-7PM.
There is no fee to enter a tree, nor any residency or membership requirements - the Exhibition is open to all!
More details on the registration process, including key information about watering and the ban on Boxwoods at the Chicago Botanic Garden, is available on our page dedicated to this year’s Exhibition.
We’re looking forward to seeing your trees this weekend!
Read MoreOne week away, the 43rd Annual Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition opens August 20th at Noon.
If you haven’t yet reviewed our webpage dedicated to the Exhibition, the full schedule of events, list of vendors, workshop sign-up links, volunteer schedule, and tree registration are all available there!
Reminder: If you are interested in displaying your tree, please use our on-line form to pre-register your tree before bringing it to tree registration on Thursday August 19th between 3PM and 7PM.
Read MoreIf you haven’t yet checked our webpage dedicated to our August Exhibition, all details are now live, including Workshop schedules and signup links, details about our Guest Master, schedule of demonstrations, full list of our Vendors, and other pertinent details, as well as our online tree registration form.
The Exhibition is open Friday August 20th between 12-5PM, Saturday August 21st between 9AM-5PM and Sunday August 22nd between 9AM-5PM, at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, IL.
We hope to see you there!
Read MoreTomorrow, Monday August 2nd, the General Meeting of the Midwest Bonsai Society will be held at The Chicago Botanic Garden, in Burnstein Hall - our first in-person meeting since the Fall of 2019.
Join us for an interesting program:
7:00PM - Bonsai 101 - 5 Wire Tie-down presented by Robert Wright
7:30PM - Accent Plants presented by Linda Camp
We hope to see you there!
Read MoreJune 26th Bonsai Event - It's on, Rain or Shine! Our dedicated page has full details on the event.
Don’t let a little precipitation discourage you from coming. We are able to locate our tent on a paved surface, so we should not be bothered by the rain. In fact, the forecast suggests rain early and late, with many rain free hours during our event time.
Time: 10AM to 4PM
Location: 1708 Ashton Court, Wheaton, IL
Read MoreHot off the presses! The Midwest Bonsai Society Board has heard, positively, from the Chicago Botanic Garden, that Horticultural Society Events will once again resume this August. That means the 43rd Annual Mid-America Bonsai Exhibit is on! Mark your calendar for August 20-22!
Read MoreIt’s on! While the Chicago Botanic Garden is not yet holding events for horticultural societies (such as the Midwest Bonsai Society), we will be holding a small “June Bonsai Event” this year at an outdoor location in Wheaton, IL.
Mark your calendars! June 26th, 10AM to 4PM.
Vendors will be selling their wares, a few members will be selling trees from their personal collections, BC Bonsai will have a workshop, and overall, this is an event to get us all meeting again.
Full details are on our page dedicated to the event - June 2021 Event
Read MoreNearly a year has passed since COVID-19 began affecting all our lives. While the Society’s Board has met regularly throughout the pandemic, we’re starting to see the fruits of our labors in changing our programming and methods to reach our members in this new time.
Read MoreLaunched a few months ago, our senior members are available to answer questions you may have about caring for and maintaining your bonsai trees.
Struggling with how much fertilizer to give your tree? Are you concerned about how to take care of your tree in the winter? Does your prized tree look sick? Simply email us at midwest.bonsai@yahoo.com and one of your members will get back to you.
Look to our site for previously answered questions. You’ll find them at Bonsai Helpline.
Read MoreIn the late fall we received a question from a Chicago Botanic Garden patron who was planning-ahead to taking care of their first bonsai, a Juniper tree, in the winter. After researching online, they asked questions about watering, fertilizing the tree, and where to keep the tree over the winter.
Answer:
Welcome to the Bonsai community.
It sounds like you've gotten some good advice so far. You are correct to water whenever the soil feels dry right up until temperatures stay below freezing, at that point the plant will dramatically slow down its water intake. Watch the temperatures outside for long periods above freezing where the plant may begin taking up water again and could need a watering.
Outside in a cooler as you described is a fine way to keep your tree over winter. The only things I would add are to bury the pot fully in the straw, up to the lowest branch of the tree to reduce possible evaporation from the soil, and to ensure the cooler has an open drain so it will not fill with water and potentially drown the tree. Junipers will actually benefit from receiving some light over the cold months, so a spot with some sun would be best, and by all means, let the rain and snow fall naturally on it.
As for fertilization, once a month with miracle grow mixed for houseplants will do fine. There's no need to fertilize over the winter, however, as the plant will not take up any nutrients during dormancy. April is probably the best time to start feeding again.
Read MoreThis past fall we received a question about over-wintering a Satsuki Azalea. Writing in about a tree they received in the spring, after keeping the tree outside all summer, the writer noticed that the tree was starting to have yellowing leaves, and some were becoming dry. They weren’t sure how to take care of the tree over the winter in Chicagoland.
Answer:
Azaleas require a wintering period, but are not as cold hardy as we would like around here. It is important to try not to let the root ball freeze, while still giving the plant the cooler temps it needs to lignify and set buds. Azaleas like winter temps between 33 and 40 degrees. The best solution I have been given would be an attached, but unheated garage with a small grow light for the plant. (Apparently they will weaken if kept in full darkness) I would put the pot in a box and surround it with styrofoam peanuts or something else to buffer any sudden temperature swings and check it occasionally to see that the soil stays moist.
Read MoreAt its June meeting, the Midwest Bonsai Society Board agreed with a heavy heart to cancel the 2020 Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition, originally scheduled for August 14-16, 2020. The cancellation joins the previous decision to cancel the May Exhibit.
A number of factors led to the Board’s decision:
Uncertainty of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s ability and support for the show, though as of this writing the Garden has begun to slowly open
Indeterminate crowd sizing and social distancing requirements that may be impossible to manage by our volunteers
Inability of our guest master (Walter Pall) to travel internationally to judge the show
Many of our invited Vendors informing us they were not planning to attend
Most of all, the Board members shared concern for the health of our members, volunteers, vendors, and visitors to the Exhibition.
While the 2020 bonsai season has been hampered by the Coronavirus, the Midwest Bonsai Society Board continues to explore online programming solutions, and is hoping to have a smaller, membership-only show in the Fall, if health guidelines and Chicago Botanic Garden rules, allow. Stay tuned for more information.
Read MoreWith the increasing spread of COVID-19 in our Chicagoland communities leading to the temporary closure of the Chicago Botanic Garden, today the Midwest Bonsai Society Board has decided to preemptively cancel the May Exhibit, originally scheduled for May 9th and 10th, 2020.
The decision was not made lightly. While hope remains that life begins getting back to normal by the May Show, the uncertainty of the situation, coupled with the importance of protecting our Society members, guests, visitors and vendors led to the conclusion that the safest thing to do is to cancel the show.
The Board is aware that many will be disappointed by the cancellation. The Board members join in this disappointment, many whom have already put in countless hours planning and preparing for the show that now will not go on.
Thank you for your understanding in this difficult time.
The Midwest Bonsai Society Board
Read MoreWhile we’re still working to put together content for this year’s General Society Meetings, the dates have been posted to our website. As a rule of thumb, our meetings are usually held the first Monday of the month, unless it is a holiday - and you’ll notice that most of our meetings follow this schedule.
More details at our Meetings page. Hope to see you at a meeting soon!
Read MoreOur annual Holiday Party will be Wednesday December 4th at the Takiff Center in Glencoe. Setup will begin at 5pm and the party will follow until 9pm or whenever it winds down, whichever comes earlier. The Party is pot luck and is accompanied by a free raffle. Please bring a dish to serve and a small item for the raffle.
Takiff Center
999 Green Bay Rd
Glencoe, IL 60022
Read MoreOnly five days until the 42nd Annual Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition! Open Friday Noon to 5PM, with longer hours of 9AM to 5PM on Saturday and Sunday, come see some of the best Bonsai from across the nation, set alongside the Chicago Botanic Garden’s own permanent Bonsai collection.
Just announced! Join Guest Master William Valavanis on Saturday between 1PM and 4PM as he provides a lecture on Bonsai refinement followed by a live demonstration on a Hinoki Cypress. There is no cost for the demonstration nor the Exhibition, but regular parking rates apply to enter the Chicago Botanic Garden.
More information available on our page dedicated to the Exhibition.
See you there!
Read MoreJust under two weeks to the August Exhibition!
We’ve updated the Tree Registration information on our page dedicated to the August Exhibition. Pre-register your trees easily via our online form, or access a printable form from the page to speed-up Tree Registration, Thursday August 15th between 3:00PM and 7:00PM. The page has other pertinent details about the process as well.
Registration is open to all, regardless of residency or skill.
We hope to see you at the Exhibition!
Read MoreMark your calendars! Just under one month to go until the 42nd annual Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition! August 16th to 18th, join us at the Chicago Botanic Garden for one of the country’s largest Bonsai exhibitions. Centered around the Garden’s own permanent Bonsai collection, the show will bring trees from around the country for the judged competition. This year’s guest Master William Valavanis will provide feedback for all entered trees. Vendors from across the USA will be selling Bonsai-related wares, and many will also be presenting Workshops.
More information is available on our August Exhibition page. See you there!
Read More
