Forest Planting with Scott Chadd

Scott's demonstration was a fascinating mix of science, aesthetics, philosophy and comedy. There was also some talk about Bonsai.

As Scott prepares the 10 year old maple trees for their forest planting, he describes the key design elements for creating a Bonsai forest composition that's visually interesting.

Plant 70% of the trees in 30% of the space. This dense clustering mimics that which we find beautiful in nature.

Select 3 focal trees and arrange them to create the effect of a scalene triangle.

Allow space between the two groups to create an inviting path between them.

In nature, trees at the edge of the forest, reach out to grab as much light as they can. So trees planted on the edge of the forest, should be tilted at an angle.

Scott's demonstration included so much more than the guidelines for composing forests. His insightful comments and interesting stories made for a well rounded presentation that had the audience engaged.

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Forest Planting with Scott Chadd

Coming up at the March meeting, Scott Chadd, Past President of Golden State Bonsai Federation will be giving a live demonstration on forest plantings.

Coming all the way from Placerville, Scott will be demonstrating to the club how to make forests plantings.

Root over rock planting with Marc Shaw

At the February meeting, Marc demonstrated the bonsai technique of growing the tree roots over a rock. Marc provided some trees and rocks for members and turned the meeting into a participation workshop.

Marc's hands-on demonstration was well received and eight lucky club members drew numbers to win a chance to participate in the demonstration.

The Hawthorn trees were bare-rooted and the roots were carefully wrapped around the provided rock. Raffia tape was used to secure the roots in place. Bound together, the roots and rock were buried in soil where they will remain for at least two years. During this time, the roots will continue to grow around the rock and eventually form the tight embrace that is desirable in a root over rock composition.