http://www.bonsai-northdevon.co.uk/

North Devon Bonsai Society, Sticklepath Methodist Church Hall, Barnstaple (2026)

13/08/2026

Report from Club Meeting 10th August

Hi All,
a quieter meeting this month with only 7 members attending, I expect many of you are enjoying and taking advantage of the fine weather or on holiday. It was predominantly a pine night with Scots pine taking centre stage so we were able to take advantage of this and look into the late summer/autumn trimming and shortening of shoots to encourage back budding through to dormancy and ready for the spring to come.

Roy brought in a tall Scots pine that he had collected from the The New Forest I think he said back in the 90’s it was shaping up well which set the theme for the evening.

Alan Craddock came with a long Juniper whip that he had purchased from the bonsai boot fayre and he was in the process of training it into a literati style. Alan has become consumed with a passion for learning how to develop Literati forms which we both agreed are a difficult style to shape convincingly and require a lot of study to understand how they work visually.

Alan Chappell had his large Scots pine with the acute bend in the apex that after being assisted by Caz for style ideas and being wired to shape needed its shoot extensions trimming back to encourage back budding so I gave hime some pointers on how and where to trim back to, and the principles of controlling vigour to balance the strength of growth through the tree. I could see that it has already got a few buds forming along the branches so in a few years it will be much fuller in appearance. By the time he had finished it had a much better profile overall.

Dave had a small beech but it is unusual in that the leaves are a pale green and the bark appears to have an orange hue to it. The leaves are also much smaller in proportion to a regular European Beech. so Im not sure if this is a variant or a factor of insufficient feed? I did however find that the pot was very full and compact so it may need a repot in the spring, this may well change its appearance next year.

This leads me on to a short discussion Alan Craddock and I had about feeding broad leaf trees and preventing big leaves and long extending internodes and he explained that he withheld feed until late spring to early summer on these species and it helped to restrict the long extensions that usually occurred in spring if you feed immediately on leaf emergence. I always have trouble with long internodes on my maples despite pinching the leaders as the emerge so I might try the later feed approach and see how that effects them next year. I have read about some growers adopting a "lean and mean" approach to native broad leaf trees before to keep leaf size down so being a little mean on feed and only giving just enough makes sense. That is of course if you don’t need to fatten the trunks then the opposite is true feed and let the tree grow away then cut back when the desired trunk girth is achieved.

Berice brought in a nicely developing White pine that needed a little tidying up to balance the profile and vigour so Roy helped with that and also assured berice that the wire was ok to leave on for a while longer as pines take longer than deciduous trees to set and its not unusual to take a year or more to properly set the branches. But its worth keeping an eye on wire as it may suddenly bite in if the tree responds to changing environmental conditions such as warmth and ample watering the wood can swell quickly and wire soon marks the bark particularly on deciduous trees. Berice also had a small Crassula group planting that after flowering was growing very tall and she preferred it to be shorter to give it a better proportion. Roy sprung this one on me as he hadn’t any experience of them (thanks Roy) I hope my advice results in a success but I just suggested the same process i adopt for my dwarf Jades and trim just above a leaf pair ti induce a pair of new leaves or shoots that should extend from the leaf axial. well fingers crossed Berice please show us the results if it works.

Nigel came with two trees a Scots pine and a very mature Chinese elm that he had planted onto a piece of lime stone from an old aquarium. The the roots had developed well over the rock and he intended to trim the extensions of the twigs off and bring the profile back to shape. This tree has a nicely formed apex and if repotted into a better proportioned pot or tray will be very presentable indeed. The scots pine required a good tidy and trim that Roy helped Nigel with to bring it back to control and a better overall shape.

I brought along a tall Literati (ish) form of a Larch that I had purchased from the Staverton Boot Fayre and had slip potted it into a more appropriate pot also found there. Alan Craddock being a Literati aficionado was soon on the case helping with ideas and new visions for it. I definitely have kept some in mind for consideration so let's see how it develops in the future.

Thank you Berice for the delicious orange and walnut cake and a welcome cup of tea during the evening.

well that’s it for now see you all next meeting,

Kev

31/07/2026

Report from Club Meeting 13th July 2026

Hi All,
we had a good attendance at the meeting considering the heat and thanks to all for bearing with the slightly warm meeting hall despite the windows being open.
We had apologies sent from Roy, Berice and also from Mick and Jean who were unable to attend.

Alan craddock mentioned that the church hall governors were concerned about the tables being left in a dirty state. Not necessarily aimed at us specifically but generally to all the hall users and they would be obliged if we continued to keep the tables nice and clean after our use at meetings.

We were also pleased to have a visit from Nigel our local FOBBS rep who helped along with myself to explain some ideas of a “Tanuki” project that Tasha a potential new member enquired about as she had some how managed to let an old Ficus trunk die which was a shame as Im sure it was a splendid tree when it was purchased, but hopefully she can repurpose it.

We also welcomed Johnathan another new joiner who had brought along a Fukien tea tree that was in need of an urgent trim so I helped him with that during the evening.

A nice selection of trees were brought along to view and work on and I think it was a very successful evening.
Alan craddock came with a tall Rowan with interesting trunk damage detailing and also an old air layered Blackthorn styled in a semi cascade form in an interesting container made from an old cast iron pipe. incidentally Alan would like to sell on this tree if anyone is interested as he needs a clear out.

Alan Chappell came with a tall Scots pine with a trunk showing great age and scaly bark and a very interesting acute bend at its apex. this tree was shooting well and Alan was busy neatening it up and reducing the extending growth. This Scots seems to have a slight blue hint to its needles that to me makes it extra appealing.

David brought a small collected Cotoneaster not quite small enough to be Mame and may grow to become a Shohin but on its way to be a nice small tree. I would also like to thank him for going solo on the beverage making in Berices absence and also the loverly scones he cooked for us along with running the raffle he was a busy chap this meeting.

Shaun came with his Chinese elm that I had helped him with last meeting and I'm pleased to say it was doing well after the drastic cut back I gave it last time but will definitely need a repot in the spring. He also had a tidy little variegated cotoneaster which was coming along nicely.

Oisin brought along a cascade form Oak that he wanted advice on so Alan Craddock spent a good while with him showing some trimming techniques and wiring advice and after a good trim and clean out it was looking far more respectful.

Nigel had a big Beech that needed a sort out and also a cascade Hawthorn that I helped him with, giving some advice on how to continue its cascade style and also trim some over full branches and twigs going in the wrong directions.

Richard came with a nicely forming Rowan forest group and also a Myrtle that needed a trim.

Rob had an interesting Hazel whip which he had a mind to turn into a Literati style. Considering the size of its leaves and growth habit I advised him this may be quite a challenge so I think he may be reconcidering the project.

Matt came with a Silver birch that was in need of some re shaping as it had suffered some die back in places and had also become a little overgrown but by the end of the evening he had timed back the overgrowth and removed a lot of dead branches. The form of the tree currently had a Y shape fork of equal thickness at the mid section of the tree that spoilt the overall taper and image so I suggested he might consider removing one branch and reposition the tree at the next repot. There was also an ugly inverse tapered lower branch that was also candidate for removal so he has a few routes to consider for its refinement.

I came along with a Cork bark elm that I purchased from Neil at Springfield nursery three years ago in a pond basket, after managing to form a decent root ball on it I managed to get it into a Training pot this year and have been working on the branch pads over the last couple of years and glad to say its coming on nicely, but seems to drink like a fish which has kept me very busy during the dry hot period we are having. I also had a small Acer palmatum which is ten years old from seed. I got it a few years ago from John Trott and although it’s a challenge for me to keep watered and trimmed its great fun. My growing space is quite small now so I have had to relearn how to Bonsai on a smaller scale with Shohin and medium size trees that’s not to say I haven't got rather a lot crammed into a small space but hey “ Ive got too many bonsai trees, said no one ever”

Don’t forget the Staverton Group Bonsai boot fayre this weekend 26 July Long River Farm Westbury BA13 3ED if you need some stock, you might be able to find a bargain.

Well that’s it from me, have fun
Kev Denney

21/06/2026

Report from Bonsai by the Sea 2026 - Exmouth Show

Hi all, just a few lines to catch you up on the weekend show at Exmouth and how the Society exhibit went down.

After a delayed start due to Exmouth Pavilion’s mix up and not having the show logged down on their events calendar we eventually were allowed entry into the hall. But this delay meant we all had to hurriedly erect our displays before the public turned up, but due to the expertise of the two Alans and Roy it was quickly built just in time.

The selections of table coverings were nicely coordinated and the choice of trees made a quality exhibit. We had a good mix of tree species, styles and sizes placed on some artistic plinths/tables to show them off to their best. We finished the exhibit off with the simple white on black labels which blended nicely into the table covering without distracting from the beauty of the trees and accents.

The show was busy particularly up to 1pm and lots of favourable comments were made about our display. Overall the balance was about right, enough trees to keep the public happy and promote conversation but space enough to present them at their best.

I remember having a great conversation with Jon as he was worried his large slanting larch would not be accented by the bonsai enthusiasts as it was a little against convention and broke the typical rules. But after I reassured him that "Bonsai Styles” and the conventional rules are being challenged and boundaries pushed year by year he shouldn’t worry too much, but I did offer some advice on pot choice and branch placement suggestions to him. As we met each other around the show and discussed pot choices and other trees, it began obvious that Jon likes to think of styles and pot choices a little out the box so to speak, so maybe he will be a new trend setter for the future and there’s nothing wrong in that. Once upon time the Japanese masters thought Kimura was mad to do such heavy Shari trunk carving, now it's the norm and we see it on most Junipers that are exhibited.

At 2pm Roy and Chis Thompson tackled a tall hybrid (Dunkeld) larch which at first didn’t look like a great option and didn’t have much promise but they eventually unravelled it and wire shaped it into a “mother and daughter” style twin trunked tree with good potential. Chris explained the thought process and techniques used along the way and Roy was busy wiring and trimming. This tree was already purchased and was destined to be added to a Japanese garden in Bristol I believe.

The quality of the South west trees improve year on year and also injected with odd or quirky ideas so always a pleasure to visit Exmouth.

There wasn’t any critique or judging this year but I’m sure we would have done well if there was. So thanks to all that helped out on the day and offered trees to exhibit it was a great show.

21/06/2026

Report from Club Meeting 8th June 2026

Hi all, 15 members attended this month and brought a good selection of trees to discuss. We also had the pleasure to welcome a new member, Shaun who came with a recently acquired Chinese elm which he needed lots of advice on. I was able to give him a good amount of time and help him restyle and set him on the road to improving his tree.

Chairman Roy kicked off the meeting with a discussion on the forthcoming "Bonsai by the sea show" at Exmouth Sunday 14th June and he now feels we have enough exhibits to offer a good display table at the show. The Exmouth show is well worth a visit as it showcases the Southwest regions clubs trees and often includes South Wales club exhibits to add to the mix. There will also be a selection of traders there with the usual sundries, pots and trees for sale.

Roy brought along a miniature rose (Chinese rose) in what I might call clump style that was growing well but had not flowered this year I believe one of the club members had experience with these and was able to advise Roy further on its care. just goes to show that even the more experienced growers never stop learning. He had also a small juniper to show us.

Alan Craddock came with a newly acquired Blackthorn that he had stripped it of all is original branching and restyled it using many of its fresh buds to let them establish and form a new style. I think Alan might have the biggest collection of Blackthorn in the Southwest, he is obsessed by them but does them well.

Allan Chappell had brought along an old looking Cork bark elm which had very neat small leaves and indeed a very gnarly looking bark. He also had a European larch which he spent some time giving it a good trim.

Darren had a small Acer Palmatum and a Hemlock, I'm not experienced on Hemlock at all but Darren explained how he trims it to me, he had created a convincing little tree from it and it looked like it was very healthy and had good future potential.

Dave came with a small Picea or spruce like tree which he described as a "Canadian Pine” but Its not like a Canadian pine as I know it, which is more like a Strobus pine so not sure of the species he has but I suspect its a Spruce variant.

Berice had a tall Beech which needs a bit of refining but well on its way to be a fine tree.

Richard came with a cascade Mugo Pumilio pine which he had to de-wire quickly as it had begun to bight in and mark the branches. He also had a collected box tree in a tub that he was working on.

Bob brought along some colour in the form of three old Satsuki Azaleas one of which he surprised me by informing me it was one I sold to him way back in 2012. I had originally purchased it from Alexandra Kennedy at a workshop probably in the early 90’s some time.

Terry had a nice little Cottoneaster microphyllus with white flowers and bright red berries on it. Also on his table was a nicely forming Ginko biloba which I personally have a fondness for as they are an ancient form of tree and not easy to shape. I have one grown from seed that I originally purchased from David Cheshire about 3 years ago, making it 6 years old now.

If I have missed anyone out I apologise but think I got most of it.

Hope to see some of you at Exmouth next weekend.

See you next time
Kev

18/05/2026

Report from Club Meeting 11th May 2026

Good turn out this month with 16 attending, apologies from Alan Craddock as he was on holiday.

One of the intentions this month was to see any potential submissions for the Exmouth Bonsai by the Sea show but sadly only a few members brought trees to offer. We have one more meet before the show so if anyone wish to submit trees please bring them along for viewing, we are not neccesarily asking for specimen quality, but just trained enough to represent our society and our style. We need to see the trees to help plan the space and materials needed to exhibit them properly and plan its transport to Exmouth. Roy is keen to show new trees this year to stop our stand being repetitive. So if any of your trees are unusual species or in flower, or have special features, have suitable pots and tidy trimming. Even if they are wired as long as it is tidy they can all be brought along, for consideration for exhibit. Don’t forget this is a chance to see the other south West club exhibits and view all manner of ideas for bonsai and also see some specimen trees from the area. Roy has offered a Scots pine and a neat small juniper. Alan has submitted an Elm raft with hollow trunk features and a Sumo style trunk Trident maple. I believe Jon has offered a couple of good Larches but we still need more to make a viable display so the society needs your help. I have seen some presentable trees turn up so please give it a go and exhibit a tree.

We had a few nice trees turn up for advice this month:
Darren had a slanting style windswept Scots pine with candles extending well.
Mick had a hawthorn, small birch which he thought was a Downey variety but after examination found it was likely common birch. also a small Euonymus.
Dave had a nice blackthorn that was forming nicely.
Berice came with a Lacey leaf maple
It was nice to welcome Onsin who came along with the Blue Cedar he was asking advice about and we were able to settle his nerves and confirm that it was not sick but only having a summer needle shed after its change of environment, he also came with a large Korean hornbeam that had been neglected before he acquired it and Roy and I were able to show him how to start to get it under control again.
Nigel came with a cascade Cotoneaster in flower a small leaf maple which he believed to be the variety “Phoenix” suffering from an attack of black fly.
Rob had a Field maple and a quince
Mat had a spike juniper that is now beginning to look very respectful and in good health with full of potential. Also a larch.

Be aware we can still have a few cold nights and deep drops in temperature so you may have to protect newly leafed Maples and others with fleece or cold green house.
See you all next meeting
Kev

17/04/2026

Report from Club Meeting 13th April 2026

Hi All,
Ten members attended, it was a less well supported meeting this month as a few of us had gone away on short holidays, as Berice wasn’t at the meeting David kindly stepped in to supply refreshments and nice chocky biscuits.
Alan and Roy started the evening off with an overview of the Bonsai Expo 7 at the K2 Sports Centre Crawley. The quality of the trees and other exhibits is exceptional and if you want to find inspiration or like me just look in awe at the unachievable these exhibitions are the place to go. There was also a few dozen traders present from starter trees to rarer species and some very expensive trained examples from collectors.
As material in pots and collected Yamadori from British hills/mountains are very expensive now Roy showed us three Blaauws Juniper air layers he had taken from an old stock plant, and had produced some very nice potential shohin size trees. He did explain they take a lot of manipulating and in his descriptive way had to wire the SH-T out of them to give them character but they looked very healthy and would be potentially £100-£150 each if purchased from a nursery so propogating your own is a very economic way of producing stock for training.

I was asked by Bob what the Japanese terms for collected trees from towns and gardens were so here is a full definition these words are modern variants of course:

The word for "urban yamadori,” dosing actually exist, as yamadori (山採り) literally means "mountain-collected.” Yama- mountain and Dori- collected or picked. However, in the context of modern bonsai, urban yamadori is sometimes referred to using the following terms:
Key Concepts for Urban Yamadori:
Yamadori (山採り): Literally "mountain-picked," it refers to trees collected from the wild.
Context: While traditional yamadori comes from harsh, mountainous, or wild locations, "urban yamadori" has emerged to describe rescuing neglected trees from, for example, construction sites, old landscapes, or abandoned properties.
Definition: It is a tree that has been developed in a built environment rather than in nature, but which has nonetheless developed age, character, and artistic form from the environment, similar to natural yamadori.
Toshidori (都市採り - City-collected): This is a direct, descriptive term often used to mean "urban yamadori" (city-collected trees).
Machi-yamadori (街山採り): A compound term combining machi (town/street) and yamadori (mountain-collected), specifically referencing collecting from urban environments.
Niwa-kikori (庭木樵り): While less common, this implies collecting from private gardens, often used for older, mature garden trees ("repurposed" plants).
I distributed a pamphlet on choosing pots for those that find the theory and colour selection difficult, if you did not attend don’t worry I will have a few for next meeting.

Going around the room;
Alan brought along his Hawthorn raft and appears to still be trying to decide which new pot to transfer it to. He also had a Trident Maple with a very stout wide trunk and nebari which Roy likes to refer to as a Sumo trunk maple but it was a great looking tree.
James had a Blackthorn with an excellent shaped and proportioned trunk planted in a dark red clay tray style pot A nice tree in my opinion and although the flowers had faded you could see how grand it must of looked. James spent most of the evening carefully removing the faded flowers.
David had brought a nice slender upright larch which Alan and Roy helped with explaining how to keep the apex from becoming too dominant.
Bob came along with an old Deshojo Maple which due to has mobility had got rather out of control so I spent a few minutes with him showing what trimming was needed to get it back under control. Unfortunately you have only got to turn your back of Maples in the spring and they are away causing long internodes and the trees profile and ramification is soon lost.
Richard came with his cascade pine and also a Berberis that needed a good trim.
Rob had a collected Sycamore with a funny story of how it had suffered damage from a farmers Flail but he rescued it and it is now thriving in his collection, he also had a Ficus Retusa on Ginsing roots which he gave a light trim and asked some advice about repotting it.
Matt came with a larch that he had remodeled a few times which was doing well and a Crab apple in flower which we had a look at and tried to find a pleasing front and style for it.
I brought along two acquisitions from the Expo a Scots pine from Cris Thomas which he collected from the New forest and a Kishu Juniper from Greenwood bonsai which needs a full clean out and styling but I could see it had good potential as a shohin size tree.

That's it for now see you next time,
Kev

17/04/2026

Report from Club Workshop 21st March 2026

Hi All,
the workshop this spring was extremely well attended with 14 members bringing a fantastic variety of material to work or get advice on. It was great to see some members that don’t often make regular meetings come along and help out or take the opportunity to spend a few hours working on their trees with us.
This year's Spring workshop was funded by the society, so was a free event. It was very busy and we almost didn’t have enough space on tables for the amount of material that turned up, it was a pleasure to see a full meeting hall.

Roy had brought a large semi cascade Juniper with him and was seeking any new ideas on improving its styling and image. I believe he had a few suggestions and might remove the very lowest branch step of the cascade to lighten and improve the overall image. We look forward to seeing if he took the challenge or not in a future visit.
Alan Craddock came with a tall literati Scots pine that he had previously asked for ideas on, in our WhatsApp group and he eventually made his mind up and restyled the placement of some of the lower branches into the design that many suggested could be a possible outcome. I think he was happy with the final placement but that could all change of course.
Jon came with several nice trees for us to view, I noticed a particularly well styled upright Larch he had designed. I liked the compact branch arrangement, to me it gave the impression of a tall mature spruce image, nice job Jon. I'm not sure he had much time to for his own work as he spent the majority of the day helping and advising other members on styling ideas as he always does, thanks Jon.
Alan Chappell had an old Oak and a Hawthorn to work on. I watched him completely tease every scrap of old soil out of his oak roots and repot it in a new mix, thats dedication for you.
Berice had a couple of Chinese elms that needed a tidy up and I helped her restyle an awkward larch into a more convincing windswept style. The neglected Itoigawa Juniper she was minding for her Nephew was going home with Roy for a few days of study and rewiring into shape, can’t wait to see the final results of that one as it should make a great small tree for display.
Alan had a couple of problem trees a Scots pine that hadn’t found a style yet and juniper I believe that Alan Craddock and Roy tackled these between them, but I think they went home much more reduced than when they came in but on their way to a better design.
Paul usually known for his Mame trees, had asked for advice on a larch that he needed some confirmation on removing part of an upper branch to improve its design. After some deliberation with him we decided it was the correct course of action, so he was pleased with the idea and will carry out the operation later. He also brought along a nicely shaped Cotoneaster and a small maple.
Bob had an old established white pine and also a 13 year old cutting from a Juniper I had purchased from Alexander Kennedy and sold to Bob back in 2012. He wanted advice and ideas on a style for it. By the end of the day he had at least 3 or 4 suggested ideas including the idea of turning the whole tree into a raft from Roy or taking cuttings for future stock.
Nigel came along with a few trees Beech, Blackthorn and a Box so plenty of work for him.
Richard had two trees for a full repot as the soil in the original pots was compacted and had poor drainage, Both his upright Beech with great Nebari and a twin trunk Box will benefit from the open texture new soil mix.
Darren brought a San Jose Juniper in a semi cascade style that needed quite a bit of refinement, but between us he gathered lots of ideas and advice then began by removing an unnecessary thick branch that just interfered with the new profile and also began forming the foliage pads for a better neater design. Another tree that had good potential for future display.
Rob was in repot mode with a Ficus that had been in the pot so long its trunk had formed the same shape as the pot and exhausted all of its soil, so that was repotted into a larger pot with nice fresh soil. Then Rob tackled an Ash tree that was suffering in poor soil so that was also repotted and he had a clear plan of its new orientation in the pot and some style changes later in the season. Rob admitted he had gained more knowledge and understanding by coming to the meetings and workshop so he is feeling much happier about caring for his Bonsai.
There was lots of repotting going on and advice given about styling ideas it seemed a very busy and industrious day. I feel I might have left some one out so I apologise in advance but if you were missed and wish to add to the report you are very welcome or send any pictures in of final work done to trees.

Mike asked if I would like to make a summary of which pot top use for bonsai, so next meeting I will distribute a pamphlet aid on pot choices see you all then.

Have fun
Kev Denney

North Devon Bonsai Society

13/08/2026

31/07/2026

21/06/2026

21/06/2026

18/05/2026

17/04/2026

17/04/2026

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