Moved back to SF Bay area - looking for a club

[BrianBay9]

In case anyone wonders, bonsai is a terrible addiction to have if you move alot. In the space of a two months I got laid off, applied for a new job, got it, packed up and moved from Madison WI to South San Francisco. Pretty much starting over, again. The ladies and gents at the Badger Bonsai Society got some great deals on things I couldn't take. But my adult kids are in California, and this is where we want to be. Now if this start-up will survive a few years until I can retire I'll be all set.

Since starting bonsai I have moved from Novato CA (zone 10a) to San Diego (zone 10b) to Ft Collins CO (zone 5b) to Indianapolis IN (zone 6a) to Madison WI (zone 5a) and now back to South San Francisco (zone 10a). I don't think I have a single tree that's made it through all those transitions. My trees are getting smaller, and I do way less collecting. But as usual, move a few trees (tropicals) and then within a year or so I bet I'll be back up to 100.

Those in the area, give me a shout. I'm looking for a club, hopefully on the peninsula side, and there are at least 10 in the area. Any recommendations? The Bonsai Society of San Francisco seems like an obvious choice. Does Mike Page still do his Electric Termites group? Anyone work with the Bay Area Shohin Society?

Thanks
Brian

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Welcome back!

 

[Adair M]

There's several.

Contact Boon about joining the Bay Island Bonsai club. We put on a show at the end of January that probably is the highest quality show inthe country.

Www.bayislandbonsai.com

Boon's website:

Www.bonsaiboon.com

 

[JudyB]

That's a lot of moving around. Just curious, which climate was the hardest for bonsai?

 

[BrianBay9]

That's a lot of moving around. Just curious, which climate was the hardest for bonsai?

They all have their challenges. The SF area is definitely the easiest. You can grow more kinds of trees here than most places. You only miss trees that need a good, cold winter. True tropicals need protection for only two or three months. Front range Colorado was very difficult but not really due to the cold. It got cold, but also very windy. Then it would warm up and be sunny for a middle-of-winter thaw. Then freeze again. I lost more trees there than any where else, trying to learn how to effectively over winter them. Indiana was pretty straight forward. Then I found my location in Madison WI had voles, mice and rabbits that chewed everything I tried to overwinter outside. Had to switch to an unheated garage and leave my car out.

All in all I'm happy to be back in SF.

 

[Joshua Diaz]

There is Sei Boku in San Mateo.

 

[BrianBay9]

There is Sei Boku in San Mateo.

Yes, San Mateo seems to have two clubs. Any experience with either of them?

 

[Joshua Diaz]

I don't know of the other but Sei Boku has been really good to me out show is coming up in June you can always pop in and check out a meeting.

 

[BrianBay9]

Thanks Joshua. I'll try to check out the show. Generally I've found that when there are multiple clubs, one tends to be more 'serious' for lack of a better term. It helps to look at the overall quality of trees that come out of the club, and the show is the best way to do it.

 

[Shima]

Subscribe to Golden Statements. A publication of GSBF. You're probably familiar with it already. I really miss the bonsai crowd of Northern California. . Wish I'd never left! Mike Page used to post on IBC but haven't seen him for years.

 

[BrianBay9]

Subscribe to Golden Statements. A publication of GSBF. You're probably familiar with it already. I really miss the bonsai crowd of Northern California. . Wish I'd never left! Mike Page used to post on IBC but haven't seen him for years.

I will. GSBF website lists many member clubs. I'm just looking for that personal experience with some to make some selections.

 

[Joshua Diaz]

I don't know of the other but Sei Boku has been really good to me out show is coming up in June you can always pop in and check out a meeting.

Np hope you like it.

 

[bwaynef]

I'm envious of the problem you're facing.

 

[herzausstahl]

Lol having grown up & lived my whole life in Wisconsin I'm always shocked to learn when others move from a warmer climate here. It makes me think of this meme, lol

Then I remember I'm used to it and it's a foolish sense of pride, that and colder Packer games are more fun. Hope you enjoyed your time in the Badger state, sorry to hear about the layoff but good luck in Frisco.

 

[BrianBay9]

We moved from California during the big recession. Couldn't find a job in California at the time. But we grew up in the midwest, so we understood the weather and culture. I must say it's way easier to adjust to warmer weather, than to go back to the cold again.

 

[BrianBay9]

I've been to the Bay Area Shohin Society and the Bonsai Society of San Francisco. The Sei Boku club in San Mateo is next. Both clubs so far were super welcoming, with good information in the programs that I saw. After hearing that I was new and had to leave most of my trees behind, some of the San Francisco club raffle winner for the night gave me the trees they won! So I unexpectedly walked out with two nice little potential shohin (J maple and a Corokia), as well as a seedling blue atlas cedar. Bonsai people are the best.

 

[BrianBay9]

Went to Sei Boku Bonsai Club (San Mateo) last night. There was a snafu with the room key but they managed to squeeze into a smaller space and soldier on. The club is the most well attended of the three I've seen. Last night they had Kathy Shaner - great program. This group has many things to recommend it. It's much easier to get to than the SF club. They had an excellent snack table including a selection of wines! Never underestimate the draw of food and drink. Their meeting space (normally) is expansive and attractive. They're currently organizing for their club show in June. I don't have anything show worthy after the move, but I'll see if I can volunteer labor for set up or clean up. And again at the raffle a winner gave me their pot since I was new. Someone else left early and gave me their string of tickets. I came out with two trees and a pot. All the clubs go out of their way to welcome new people. Just wander in, get fed, entertained, given free stuff.....Amazing.