I'd like to thank our hosts Gale Newcomb, Norm Wanek, and Barney and
Mineko Montoya for having us. We had three top-quality collections
to view and their generosity is greatly appreciated. Thanks also to
Barney and Mineko for provided such a nice lunch for us. It was a
very nice way to end our day and a good reward for those that made the
drive down to Livermore. 

I especially appreciated the chance to see trees in all levels of
development in the three collections. It was a very valuable learning
experience to see the older, more developed trees we see at the shows
and those that are on their way to becoming trees of that stature. At
each home we everything from newer cuttings, to trees in the first 
stages of training, on up to the show quality plants. I also picked up
some good ideas for display areas for my own yard, although that's yet
another project that never seems to get started....

Bob Evans deserves a big thanks from all of us for arranging the
visits. Coordinating our club events is a chore nobody likes, and Bob has 
been doing a great job for us.
 

Here is early notice that we will be changing our meeting dates next month. 
Heather Farms has notified us that the facility is not available on the first
Monday, July 5th, so we'll shift each of our meetings back one week.

Beginner   - July 12th
Combined - July 19th
Advanced - July 26th

We apologize for any inconvenience.
 

We'll be focusing on our October show at the Board Meeting on June 8th
and Chairman Barney Montoya has asked that all Committee Heads attend
if possible.

Details:

Tuesday, June 1st, 7:30pm
Glendale Federal Bank
3101 Crow Canyon Road, San Ramon
The meeting room entrance is at the rear of the building.
 

We'll have a table set up for a tree exchange at our meeting on June
7th. Be sure to participate in this popular activity by bringing something
to share, taking something home, or both!

For those new to the club, here is a quick explanation of our swap....

We try to have a swap at each of our quarterly joint meetings. Anyone
who has some extra trees or plants of any kind really, can bring them in
and offer them to other members who may need more stock or may just see
something they like in a particular tree. Many of us do a bit of propagation 
and this is a great way to share our extra stock. Also, there are times when 
we just don't see a design in a particular tree, or don't get around to working 
on some of them. This is a good way to give those plants another chance with
someone else.

This is a "No Strings" activity and there is certainly no obligation implied.
Please feel free to bring home a project or two whether or not you have
something to bring. Take this opportunity to add to your collections or
pick up a tree you might not be able to find elsewhere. We often have some
quite unusual stock on the table. 

Don't be shy! Anything placed on the table is there for the taking.
 

Last month I included a quick reminder about watering during our warm
summers. Another potential danger to protect against is radiant heat
in the soil. We don't hear as much about this, but it can be a factor
to consider if your trees are kept in an area that receives direct
afternoon sun. Your tree's roots might be much warmer than you realize
and that of course, could lead to problems.

After discussing this with another club member the other day I did a
quick test that showed how much a plant's roots can be affected by
the sun's heat. I tested the soil of several of my trees that are still
in larger nursery pots and found that with an air temperature of 87deg,
the average temperature of the soil halfway down in the pots was 99deg.
The difference would probably not have been as great in ceramic pots,
but I didn't have any of those in direct sun to test. This test was
hardly scientific, and many factors will affect the soil temperature, but it
is a clear example that exposure is something to be aware of in a region
as warm as ours. 

There are several things we can do to keep the soil temperature down
and make life a little easier for our bonsai trees and any other plant that

might be exposed. Of course, the old standby of keeping them out of
direct mid-day and afternoon sun is perfect, but not all of us can do that. 
My yard, for example just doesn't have an area with that exposure. Using
shade cloth might be an option if you can do that. I've also heard of people
using materials to protect the pots themselves from the direct sun. Bender
board, aluminum foil, and even mulch are methods I've heard. Another 
approach that works is misting the plants at various times on the hottest days.
This is not trivial though, and may not be possible for many of us. Humidity 
trays might help a bit too, but probably not a great deal.

We are about to enter a long stretch of hot weather and this is just one of
the things we'll need to be careful about. Unfortunately, we make our
trees very susceptible to heat stress by keeping them in such small pots and
we need to do all we can to protect them. It's not an exaggeration to say that
one mistake might be too much for a tree to survive.
 

June 6:    Monterey Bonsai Club 36th Annual Exhibition 
Monterey Buddhist Temple, 1155 Noche Buena, Seaside, CA. 
Demo by Katsumi Kinoshita at 2 pm. Show hours from 11am-4pm.

June X:    Bonsai plant and supply sale by Ruben Guzman.
1234 Street, Danville, CA  123-4567
Hours, Xam-Xpm.