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On May 21-22, 2022, the Bay Area Satsuki Aikokai hosted their 25th annual exhibition at the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland, California.

The ABS Rendezvous On The River Conference was held in Memphis, TN on May 26-29, 2022. It was hosted by the Memphis Bonsai Society and Brussel’s Bonsai Nursery. The venue, Whispering Woods Conference Center was decorated by masterpiece bonsai from Brussel Martin. Welcoming visitors in the lobby was a magnificent Satsuki azalea in full bloom.

During my recent visit to Portland, Oregon, I spent the bulk of my free time at Rakuyo-en, the bonsai garden of Andrew Robson.

Last weekend the Bonsai Society of Portland held “Farm to Table,” an event that focused on techniques for developing field-grown material.

Over the years, I’ve experimented with a number of approaches to developing ume. I’ve fully defoliated the tree in spring, partially defoliated it, and avoided defoliating at all. I’ve let it grow stronger before pruning and kept it in shape with regular pruning. To date, I haven’t seen a big difference in how the tree responds to these different approaches.

The International Bonsai Arboretum will be hosting the Spring 2022 Bonsai Open House & Sale on May 21-22, 2022 in Rochester, New York.

A few days before the April 2022 Mid Atlantic Bonsai Festival, April Grigsby posted a photo on her Facebook page of the largest container she made indicating it came out of her kiln, straight. This is often a difficult task because many warp during the firing process. I was impressed with her container as much I was when I saw her as vendor at the 2021 7TH US National Bonsai Exhibition. When I saw the container on her sales table at the Mid Atlantic Bonsai Festival I quickly snatched it. April Grisby may be contacted through her web site: aprilgrigsbyceramics.com

My shohin Japanese maple grew well this spring which makes it a good candidate for defoliating. I removed the leaves, pruned a few long shoots, and covered the surface of the soil with moss.

Selecting a container for bonsai is of paramount importance as it adds to the beauty the tree presents to the viewer. Also, by definition, a bonsai must be potted. There are many factors in determining the correct container including the following aspects.

A common first step in creating redwood bonsai is to remove most (or all) of the branches.