I agree. I visited Schleys back in December and really enjoyed the experience. Can't wait to make it back down there for another trip.
I was the guy that visited with my wife and a couple friends. I ended up buying your Naka books. I will be back. :)
Stan beat me to it but Rayon strands from a mop work much better than cotton for acting as a wick.
Rayon string mops can be really hard to find for some reason though.
At our bonsai club I attended a lecture and demonstration by Al Fassezke. Al says experiments have shown that a coarse drainage layer does not increase drainage. It moves the Perched Water Table higher in the pot. Which basically causes the pot to be shallower because of the drainage layer.
Here...
The American Bonsai Society has a nice list of North American trees used for bonsai. I suggest looking over the list to find trees native to your area that can be used. Here is a link to the list...
I did an air layer on a crab apple 2 years ago. I started the air layer in mid April and cut it from the main tree in early September. I live in S.E. Michigan.
Worked out good for me.
I see that bunzI hasn't posted in this thread again yet but, I just thought I would let you know that I live in Michigan in zone 5b also and we have leaves on our Trident Maples.