Brevard Bonsai Blog

The BSF 2025 Convention will begin on May 23rd and conclude on May 25th. Rob Kempinski is the Exhibit Chair and has coordinated with BSOB to arrange the exhibition this year. The theme for this year is “Let’s do Something Different”.

The primary activity for the BSOB May club meeting will be a Convention Tune-up, focusing on all BSOB activities during the convention, including the Exhibit, Club Night, and Raffle table. The secondary activity will be BYOT, where club members can seek advice from experts (please no repotting).

For those able to assist with exhibit setup and teardown, the times are published on the BSF website. Try to come help if you can, as many hands make light work!

Setup

1. Display Setup: Begins Wednesday evening and continues through Thursday.
2. Tree Arrival: Trees can begin arriving on Thursday morning. You will have several time slots to choose from for scheduling your tree drop-off. All trees should ideally arrive by 2 PM on Thursday. Please coordinate with the Exhibit Chair for any trees arriving after 2pm. Trees arriving after 4 PM on Thursday will not be accepted.
3. Final Display: The exhibit will be fully set up with all trees displayed by Thursday evening, typically by 5 PM.
4. Exhibit Opening: Opens to the public on Friday morning at 9 AM.

Tear Down

1. Display Teardown: Begins Sunday around 4 PM.
2. Tree Removal: Trees can be removed by the tree owner from the display at 4 PM unless pre-arranged with the Exhibit Chair. All trees should be picked up by the tree owner by 9am Monday morning or will be moved to a storage area for later pickup.
3. Final Teardown: Continues from Sunday 4 PM to Monday morning.

Note: This month, we will meet at the Melbourne Public Library, 540 E. Fee Blvd (at 1pm.)

BYOT is a great way to get specific input on your trees. Club experts will help you with styling decisions, pruning, wiring, and give horticultural advice. This is a great time to work on many tropical species.

Bring tree(s) and tools. Wire to be provided by club.

No repotting.

Note: This month, we will meet at the Melbourne Public Library, 540 E. Fee Blvd (at 1pm.)

Join us for the BSOB monthly meeting on January 18, 2025 where Blaine Johnson will demonstrate how to style and care for a Podacarpus. Blaine is a well experienced artist and has a great eye for this artform.

From “all things bonsai“, “The Podocarpus is an evergreen tree with stiff, thick foliage similar to Yew trees and an upright growth habit. The most commonly found species used in bonsai is Podocarpus Microphylla. Podocarpus Buddhist Pine Bonsai Care for these evergreen oriental bonsai trees.

In the wild, it forms a stately tree commonly around forty feet high but with the capacity to get taller than this. When growing in full sun the foliage is very dense though it also grows in shaded positions.

It is found throughout Japan, China and other parts of eastern Asia.

In bonsai, it a most frequently found in the informal upright style and in small groups. It also lends itself to formal upright, slanting, semi-cascade, twin-trunk, triple-truck and clasped to rock.”

Note: This month, we will meet at the Melbourne Public Library, 540 E. Fee Blvd (at 1pm.)

NOTE: we will NOT meet in the library. Instead, we will meet at Saint Timothy’s church meeting room for this year’s holiday party celebration. 1903 Croton Rd, Melbourne, FL 32935-3333.

The December club meeting is packed with fun events. First, we will hold our yearly holiday pot-luck meal. The club provides the meat, drinks, and all table settings.  You bring your favorite dish to share. 

We will also hold the BSOB club-level styling competition. See this post BSOB Styling Competition for 2025 for details. Signup is here.  It’s a fun event to watch, even if you don’t participate.

The December event will also feature a club initiative to create a multi-tree planting. This unique planting will be raffled off to one lucky active member.

Come a before 1pm to setup.

Note: This month, we will meet at the Saint Timothy’s church meeting room 1903 Croton Rd, Melbourne, FL 32935-3333.

Join us for the BSOB monthly meeting on November 16th, where we’ll delve into the art of tree photography and explore techniques you can try at home. Rob Kempinski will guide the session, equipped with a camera, lights, and a backdrop to create a studio setup for capturing stunning tree photos. Feel free to bring your own tree if you’d like a professional-quality photo. This is a fantastic chance to get a great shot for your 2025 EPCOT submission! (link here)

Note: This month, we will meet at the Melbourne Public Library, 540 E. Fee Blvd (at 1pm.)

Please note the club will not formally meet during the month of October 2024. Instead, BSOB will visit Agresta Gardens in east Orlando. Ben Agresta is a gracious host who encourages visitors (especially bonsai clubs) to see his collection. It’s truely one of the best collections east of the Mississippi. Ben’s facebook page is here.

We plan to arrive at the gardens at 10am. The BSOB facebook page will have details. Hope to see you there.