23 AUGUST 2025 Make and Take a Bonsai Class Bonsai and Brews

Make and Take a Bonsai Class at Bonsai Beginnings

 SATURDAY, February 24, 2024 AT 10 AM – 4 PM

Make and Take a Bonsai Class at Bonsai Beginnings

Make and take home your own little tree as you learn the history and techniques of growing beautiful Bonsai with expert Luigi Trapani. @ Noon We Will Break, Bring a picnic lunch if you like. Cost: $75 per person- includes soil, wire, and use of bonsai tools. Then purchase the bonsai tree and bonsai pot of your choice at the class; various aged trees and appropriately sized pots are available.

To Register 

Make and Take your own little tree September 16, 2023

$53.50

Saturday

September 16, 2023

Make and take home your own little tree as you learn the history and techniques of growing beautiful Tropical Bonsai with expert Luigi Trapani.

Make and Take a Bonsai Class at Bonsai Beginnings (Tropical Trees)

Register

Cost: $53.50 per person- includes soil, wire, and use of bonsai tools.

Then purchase the bonsai tree and bonsai pot of your choice at the class

Various aged trees appropriately sized pots are available. 

Bring a picnic lunch. 

Do you have your “frost blankets” ready?

We are having the first cool mornings in Savannah forewarning of the soon-to-come autumn. With that snap in the air, it’s time to prepare the winter quarters of the cold sensitive trees............... 

light, moderate, or hard?

Light freeze: 29°F to 32°F—tender plants killed, with little destructive effect on other vegetation.

Moderate freeze: 25°F to 28°F—widely destructive effect on most vegetation, with heavy damage to fruit blossoms and tender and semi-hardy plants.

Severe freeze: 24°F and colder—damage to most plants.

The freezing temperatures here in Savannah are at night- until the sun rises. So we are dealing with hours of freeze, not months.

Our frost-free growing season is around 268 days.

Each winter, on average, our risk of frost is from November 24 through March 1.

Almost certainly, however, we will receive frost from December 14 through February 10.

We are almost guaranteed that we will not get frost from March 20 through November 4.

The freezing temperatures here in Savannah are at night- until the sun rises. So we are dealing with hours of freeze, not months.

The level of available potassium in the soil will increase a tree’s frost resistance.

Keep a few old sheets and blankets around and keep your tender trees out a bit longer and to protect less hardy tree's roots and pots on those coldest nights. Laying a light to medium-weight blanket on top of tender trees gives approximately five degrees of extra warmth. But sheets and blankets become wet with condensation and dew, ice up and stick to leaves and conduct heat away from the plant. Plastic materials that do not breathe are worse. Plastic can damage plants on warm, sunny days.  The heat builds up under the plastic and if it touches the leaves they can be scorched.

Potted plants are particularly susceptible to frosts because the roots are less insulated. If you are unable to put container plants indoors, wrap the pot in fabric or simply bury the pot in the ground or cover with mulch, in addition to protecting the foliage.

Frost Protection Blankets,Heavy Floating Row Plant Blanket Fabric Covers,Garden Warm Frost Cloth Outdoor for Winter Frost Cold or Pests. Floating Plant Blanket Covers provide approximately 2-8 degrees of cold protection, depending on the thickness.  A non-woven fabric that breathes, preventing heat build up, Floating row covers can protect your crops from frosts, and even heavy freezes.

Nurserymen and farmers often use 'frost blankets' to  cover  crops, This white, spun polypropylene fabric can be purchased from most nurseries. This lightweight fabric can add 2-5 degrees F to the temperature. This covering is breathable: some air, water, and sunlight pass through. Unlike plastic sheeting you can leave garden blankets on plants throughout the day without harming them.

The floating cover protects trees from the cold, shielding the trees from wind and winter burn. Frost blankets are put directly over the trees creating a layer that traps in the ground heat. All sides of the frost blanket must be sealed to keep the freezing air outside. The fabric is lightweight and can be reused many times. For severe cold use two layers with a layer of polyethylene film on top. For a few more degrees of protection on extra cold nights try Christmas lights under the blanket. 

The Wall-of-Water® is a cone-shaped ring of connected plastic tubes filled with water that surrounds a single plant; there is a significant amount of heat released as water freezes. A Wall-of-Water can provide overnight frost protection down to upper-teens.

Sunday 17 June 2018

Schefflera arboricola

Hawaiian Schefflera

 Umbrella Tree

Coastal Bonsai Study Group

Our next Gathering

Sunday 17 June 2018

2:30 PM

 under the Oak.

Poor Man’s Tea

Sweet Plum

Chinese Sweet Plum

Chinese Bird Plum

Hedge Sageretia

Pauper’s Tea

Mock Buckthorn

Sageretia theezans

Sageretia thea

sa-jer-ET-ee-a

Chinese Bird Plum

Sageretia theezans

Sageretias are tender shrubs with small green leaves and leathery exfoliating bark that leaves a multicolored patchwork. In summer tiny flowers appear in the leaf axils of new shoots and produce large clusters of white followed by small blue stone fruit. If a Chinese Sweet Plum is pruned too often, the flower buds will be removed and it will not flower.

field grown
Chinese sweet plum
 Sageretia theezans

Sageretias are evergreen in milder climates but become deciduous in temperate zones when exposed to the cold of winter. Sageretia are very rarely seen for sale in Garden Centers. Chinese sweet plum has a tendency to climb and is difficult to control as an ornamental plant. The growth is similar to Pyracantha. There was one growing in Daffin Park, but it was removed a few years ago. Branches have spines, sharp thorn tips.

Small white flowers in spring

Chinese sweet plum is widely used for creating bonsai and is often sold as a bonsai for indoors. Sageretia theezans shoots from old wood and is trained using the “Clip and Grow" technique. Many bonsai Chinese sweet plum are imported from China where they are field grown. Sageretias are tender shrubs and will survive temperatures just below freezing but will drop all leaves. They must be protected from hard freezes where the roots could freeze. Sageretia are considered to be a cool house bonsai. If kept indoors, Sageretias need a position that is reasonably humid and should be cool at night as in an unheated room. The tree should be held at 55-60 F for 6-8 weeks around the winter solstice. Once nighttime temperatures are consistently over 55 degrees, move tree outside. Can take full sun all day but watering requirements increase dramatically. Beware of leaf burn when moving from shade to full sun. Keep the soil slightly moist, never let dry completely. Sweet Plum is usually trained with the clip and growth method. Sageretias back-bud readily and has a nice angular growth pattern.

exfoliating bark

In Savannah the Sageretia can be grown outdoors all year round with some protection on the few nights that dip below 25 F. Small flowers and fruit will develop if the tree is left unpruned.

Median Last Freeze Dates Across Southeast SC/GA

Ginkgo biloba

The Ginkgo Tree is also called the "Maidenhair tree" and nicknamed "The Stink Bomb Tree." An erratic vertical branching structure is the trees natural form. As a bonsai the strong upright branching creates the 'candle flame' style. Basal and aerial "chi-chi" form on older trees.

Washington ginkgo

432 Telfair St.

Augusta, Georgia

• Height: 67 feet
• DBH: 54 inches
• Crown: 65 feet

Legend has it that the residents of Augusta, Ga planted this ginkgo tree during President George Washington’s visit in 1791. The tree is on the grounds of the Old Government House on Telfair Street.

Height: 67 feet

 The Ginkgo Tree is also called the "Maidenhair tree" and nicknamed "The Stink Bomb Tree."  An erratic vertical branching structure is the trees natural form. As a bonsai the strong upright branching creates the 'candle flame' style. Basal and aerial "chi-chi" form on older trees

 In the fall the leaves
turn a brilliant yellow!

Ginkgo trees are a "living fossil" and the earliest leaf fossils date from 270 million years ago. It was rediscovered in 1691 in China. The Ginkgo is a good urban tree because of its ability to tolerate drought, heat, and poor soils. Ginkgo is dioecious. There are male and female trees. Some complain of the mess and odor created by the fleshy seed covering and recommend planting only the male of the species. It is sad if only male ginkgoes are planted without female counterparts. 

erratic vertical branching

DBH: 54 inches

fruit is a nut with a fleshy covering

Gather the seeds as they fall from the tree (wear good latex gloves). Remove the fleshy coating (wear good gloves!) crush the coat and squeeze the seed out with ones fingers. Then rinse the seeds a few times until they are very clean!) and let them dry well. Store them in a closed container filled with slightly moistened sphagnum moss in the fridge or in a cool, dry place until they are planted in spring. When they are sown, carefully pop the seed shell open.

 

Ginkgo in Forsyth Park

Savannah, Ga

Some people are sensitive to the chemicals in the fleshy outer layer. These people should handle the seeds with care when preparing the seeds, wear disposable gloves. When I cleaned the seed of these trees, I had several 5 gallon buckets full. The cheap rubber gloves developed holes and my entire arm was coated with the juice. fortunately I had no allergic reaction, but the next morning my arms had turned black. Two weeks later the skin pealed a way........

   A 1980 Seedling in 2011

Ginkgo seeds and leaves are used as a medicine throughout the world. In South Carolina at the "medicine tree farm" Ginkgo leaves are harvested and shipped to Europe to be made into a prescription drug.

 In the fall the leaves
turn a brilliant yellow!

The oldest living ginkgo tree in the United States was planted in 1785 by William Bartram at Bartram’s Garden near Philadelphia. Bartram traveled the American South from 1773 to 1776 and in 1791 he published an account of his adventure- Travels.

Cold Weather Advisory

It's cold outside

Tonight in the western suburbs of Savannah Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 21. Wind chill values as low as 8. Blustery, with a north wind 17 to 20 mph.

With winter bearing down on most of the country this week, be prepared for cold weather. Winter can be unpredictable as temperatures drop quickly and it is important to remember to protect your home.  Burst pipes and the subsequent water damage that follows can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage.  

Here are a few tips that can help:

1. Disconnect and drain garden hoses.  
2. Cover outside faucets with insulating foam covers.
3. Turn off water to outside faucets, if available, and open valves on faucets to allow them to drain.
4. Turn off sprinkler system and blow compressed air through the lines to drain them.
5. Close or cover foundation vents under house and windows to basements.
6. Close garage doors.
7. Insulate exposed pipes (both hot and cold) under house with foam pipe insulation.
8. Open cabinet doors under sinks.
9. Drip hot and cold faucets in kitchen and bath. Drip single control faucets with lever set in middle.
10. Set ice maker to make ice if the water line to it runs under the house.
11. Don't forget to check on pipes to your washing machine in the laundry room
12. Locate water main cut-off valve, and have a cut-off key handy.
13. Keep the faucet open when thawing frozen pipes to allow water to begin flowing through it.
14. After the weather has warmed above freezing and any frozen pipes have thawed, turn off dripping faucets and monitor your water meter to check for unseen leaks.

Juniper

The freezing temperatures we are dealing with are hours of freezing, not months... 

tonight 1 am until noon tomorrow! 

        

34^º F

Celebrate the first day of Fall

Pyracantha fruits are turning

Autumnal Equinox
Fall Equinox

4:44 P.M EDT
Saturday, September 22, 2013
in Savannah

The September equinox occurs the moment
the sun crosses the celestial equator 

Persephone returns to the underworld

We celebrate the Autumnal Equinox with the ritual of making repairs to the winter home of the cold sensitive trees............... on average, our risk of frost is from November 24 through March 1.

Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana)
Goldenrod (Solidago) 

Autumn in the bonsai forest: 

Tiny trees turn red and gold with change of seasons

Sasanqua
Yuletide

Our frost-free growing season is around 268 days.

Getting ready for winter
New Benches
4.0

PVC Hoop House

Ficus Burtt davyi "nana"

Bonsai Beginnings: Freeze Protecton





Autumnal Equinox rituals celebrate the seasonal change

Fall color of the Japanese maple.
Acer Palmatum 

The level of available potassium in the soil will increase a tree’s frost resistance. 

Acer Palmatum Otohime among the
smallest of the Japanese maples.

Pseudocydonia sinensis 
Chinese Quince fruit