The Inland Empire Bonsai Society holds a monthly meeting on the third Sunday of each month. The meeting starts at noon at the Manito Park Meeting Room, which is just east of the Conservatory in Manito Park on Spokane’s South Hill. The meeting is composed of three parts:
- 15 – 30 minute business meeting
- 30 – 60 minute program as listed below
- A general hands-on workshop after the program portion of each meeting.
Members are encouraged to bring a tree or two to each meeting to discuss, work on, ask for advice, etc. The tree can relate to the program of the day, or to any other subject. The meeting room will be open until 3:30 pm.
- January 20th
- Soil composition and A Guide to Making Your Own Mixture (Hal Allert will lead a discussion of the different soil types in Bonsai with an emphasis on the soil mixes that are used in the Inland Empire. Examples of the different soil types will be available.
- Calendar of yearly tasks (Marty Weiser) -Marty will present a checklist of yearly tasks that has been customized for the Spokane area. He will also discuss appropriate adjustments for your growing conditions and year-to-year variations.
- Collecting Potential Bonsai Material (Roger Snipes) - Roger will discuss proper timing and methods used to collect potential bonsai material, both from urban environments and from the wild.
- Building Wooden Training Boxes- Cass Johnson, Gary Gemar, and Marty Weiser will conduct a workshop on building wooden training boxes in February. After a short discussion of the process and the materials that will be needed, they will take orders for the materials – payment can be made through the first week of February. They will pre-cut the wood but you will have to pay for the materials.
- February 17th
- Wooden Training Boxes Workshop - Cass Johnson, Gary Gemar, and Marty Weiser will conduct a workshop on building wooden training boxes. These boxes are excellent for developing your bonsai's roots and branches before re-potting it into a good pot.
- March 16th
- Root Grafting Workshop - Marty Weiser will lead a hands-on repotting workshop and discuss the proper procedures for making a root graft. Root grafts are sometimes necessary if your bonsai tree could benefit from nebari (exposed roots) where there aren't any roots. Bring in a tree that can be repotted at the beginning of the season like a maple or larch along with the bonsai soil, pot, and appropriate clothes for the job.
- Thread Grafting - Roger Snipes will discuss the proper way to complete a thread graft, and will also demonstrate the technique. Thread grafts are sometimes necessary if your bonsai tree is in need of a branch on the trunk where there is no branch. This workshop is more of the magic of Bonsai.
