Robert Mueller and Paul Beatty speak on the history of the Springfield Bonsai Society

Jeff Williams:
Welcome to Community Voices, a production of NPR Illinois. I'm your co-host, Jeff Williams. In the studio today, Robert Mueller. Hey, how's it going, Robert? Hey, Jeff. And Paul Beatty, why don't you, whichever one wants to jump in, or both at the same time, and tell us a little bit about what brings you in?
Robert Mueller:
We are newly elected administration of the Springfield Bonsai Society. Paul just moved in as the president of the...
Jeff Williams:
Well, congratulations, congratulations.
Paul Beatty:
It was more, I think, everybody else. who did it before was tired of doing it. I was just default. Yeah, everybody stepped back.
Jeff Williams:
And you didn't step back quite (fast enough)…. twiddling your thumbs? (laugher)
Robert Mueller:
Paul's been a big health for sure. I took Paul's old role as the VP, and it really is just a group of individuals who get together, talk about trees.
Jeff Williams:
Maybe you want to introduce what? You are the.
Paul Beatty:
Members of the Springfield Bonsai Society.
Jeff Williams:
Nice.
Paul Beatty:
We meet every second Monday of the month at Audubon Society.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, do you? Audubon, okay.
Robert Mueller:
Over at Marjorie Adams Wildlife Sanctuary.
Jeff Williams:
On Clear Lake? On Clear Lake.
Paul Beatty:
Yeah. We just get together and we talk bonsai.
Jeff Williams:
I love it.
Robert Mueller:
People don't think about bonsai. when they hear Springfield.
Jeff Williams:
It's not one of the first four things that comes to my mind.
Robert Mueller:
No, or at least, you picture, a Japanese garden, maybe a museum setting, or it's been a long running since the 70s, I think.
Paul Beatty:
Yeah, the original member, Roland Foles, started this club back in the 70s.
Jeff Williams:
Roland Foles. Local artist, yeah, okay, that's a, it was kind of out of context, yes, exactly.
Robert Mueller:
Absolutely, over at Springfield Art Association, yeah, you would absolutely know.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, He started the club in the 70s, wow, yeah.
Paul Beatty:
It's been going. ever since. We've got 35 or so members and I think over, well over 100 members on the mailing list that stay in touch.
Jeff Williams:
Is the Springfield area.
Paul Beatty:
Yeah, mostly. A few of our members are from a little ways away. I think we have a member down in the Hillsboro area.
Jeff Williams:
That's cool, yeah, for sure.
Paul Beatty:
Litchfield area. We have a couple of members down there.
Robert Mueller:
Brings all kinds of people together.
Paul Beatty:
It's really a good group of people.
Jeff Williams:
Also, you're going to have an event coming up.
Robert Mueller:
We have, I don't think it's our first, but the first in a while. Springfield Park District and Washington Park Botanical Gardens. We're having a little April exhibition on the 25th and 26th.
Jeff Williams:
25th and 26th.
Robert Mueller:
Yep, I believe it's going to be in the exhibition hall from 12 to 4 P.m.
Jeff Williams:
And that's April.
Robert Mueller:
Yep, you got it. April 25th and 26th. Free admission, good time to come out, see some nice mature trees, some regional artists, member trees. We'll have a novice category as well. Thinking about having a tree styling demo there, but that is TBD.
Paul Beatty:
We are, yeah. We have yet to source the material, but we'll come up with something.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, nice.
Paul Beatty:
I think hopefully if we get enough material, we could do a demo each day.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, okay.
Paul Beatty:
That would.
Robert Mueller:
Be nice.
Paul Beatty:
We'll do it at least. probably Saturday if we just have the one day to do it. But hopefully we'll get some material in that we can work with.
Jeff Williams:
Will, the guys brought a beautiful bonsai tree in for me here for the studio. It's, and what is the type again?
Robert Mueller:
This is a juniper procumbens nana.
Jeff Williams:
Procumbens.
Robert Mueller:
Procumbens nana.
Paul Beatty:
They're hard to kill, so they're a great beginner tree. Perfect. And they're easily, you can style them pretty easily, so it's a good place to start.
Jeff Williams:
Right on. And so the history of bonsai How far back does that go?
Robert Mueller:
It is one of the older arts, for sure. Translation is literally tree in a tray or tree in a bowl. I believe some of the first iterations of it were Chinese in the form of something called Penjing. And then later, just by regional, the Student Association, Japan picked it up and then further refined it into what we kind of see nowadays. But it's still very active in Asian communities and growing at a rapid rate here in the US now, it seems to have Europe as well, for that matter.
Jeff Williams:
Nice, right on.
Paul Beatty:
It's really popular in Europe. Ever since World War II, when Japan opened, they're exploded in different parts of the world.
Jeff Williams:
Okay, so the one that is in the office right now where we sit while we record this, I would say, okay, we've got the pot, which is probably about four inches tall. Then we've got maybe about another 4 inches coming up above the top of the pot, maybe at the three and a half, 4 inches. And then it spreads out probably around 14, 15 inches. Is that what we see here, is this a normal size, medium size? What, you know, what's the range on bonsai?
Robert Mueller:
Without getting out the official bonsai ruler would be Right around the 12 inches, Shohin?
Paul Beatty:
Yeah, anything less than, well, I think it's 8 inches tall would be what the Japanese call a Shohin style.
Jeff Williams:
Shohin.
Paul Beatty:
And it's mainly meant to be their small category. There's a little tiny category.
Jeff Williams:
Oh.
Paul Beatty:
Even below that, this would be in that Shohin style.
Jeff Williams:
Shohin style? What's the category below called?
Robert Mueller:
Mame.
Jeff Williams:
Mame? Mame.
Robert Mueller:
M-A-M-E.
Paul Beatty:
And that's like these little, tiny pots that look just a little bit larger than a thimble.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, okay.
Paul Beatty:
So how they can get something in there and...
Jeff Williams:
Sometimes I call those... A lot of times I call that wee. That's not unofficial. It's not really for a tree. It's just anything. So then how large can they range?
Robert Mueller:
They can. I mean, there's a few more categories above.
Paul Beatty:
There's Koreans who seem to want to do that. The very large ones probably be 3 or 4 feet tall from the top of the pot and even taller. There is no real limit. These aren't trees and if you let them, they'll grow as tall as you want.
Robert Mueller:
Which is a thing that happens as well. Eventually, once they break out of their pots, they've been known to, they'll stick them in the ground and they'll take on a new form, cause that Niwaukee? Am I?
Paul Beatty:
Oh, yeah, Which is Niwaukee.
Robert Mueller:
Yep, which is a tree shaped in a similar style, but not no longer in a pot, now in the ground.
Jeff Williams:
In the ground, yeah.
Paul Beatty:
If you were to have a shrub or something and just apply bonsai styling techniques to a shrub in the ground, it's not bonsai, it's Niwaukee.
Robert Mueller:
I think, a Japanese maple tree next to a pond at a Japanese garden would be something called Milwaukee as opposed to a tree sitting on a table in a bowl or a pot next to that. So like would be bonsai would be the difference between those two, but no size limitations really.
Jeff Williams:
So the ones that are like that, aren't potted, I guess you'd say. So those, that's just a separate category, but not lesser, or is it considered like lesser because it's not? Adjacent, adjacent. Okay, I didn't know, I didn't know if it was like, that's a poser. That's not right. You know, it's not, it's not like that. That's good to know. That's good to know. I'm glad that we, that we know that. So I am going to be taking care of this sweet little bonsai that I have here now. So being a novice, let me know the steps that go into taking care of my first bonsai tree for the station.
Robert Mueller:
The NPR 91.9 Community Voices Bonsai Tree is a Juniper Pro Commons Nana. It does not like to have its feet wet, which is why it's in a very, very free draining soil.
Jeff Williams:
Okay.
Robert Mueller:
When you water this, you'll notice that the water will move through it and out of the pot very, very quickly.
Jeff Williams:
Okay.
Robert Mueller:
That's good. That's what we want to see. In general, you'll want to water it about once a day. Once we start getting into summer or so, or when the soil starts to get dry, about 1/2 inch below this little pot grim line here.
Jeff Williams:
Okay.
Robert Mueller:
Aside from the watering care, you want to make sure it gets plenty of sunlight. Juniper Nanas love suns. It really can't get too much sun. If you're able to keep it outside, that's really where this guy would love to be this summer. But a very bright window may prolong its life for a longer period of time. But that's a common misconception about bonsai is that there are certain types that can be completely maintained and healthily kept indoors. And that is true, but the asterisk is under the right conditions, with certain growing lights and the right humidity controls involved. This one, short answer, wants to be outside with lots of sun and lots of water in the summer.
Jeff Williams:
Okay, in the summer. That's good to know. And here's the thing, too. I don't have to necessarily have you write these things down. I can just listen back to them. That's true. So that's a good thing. I can listen to this again and get the best instructions.
Paul Beatty:
So there's really no, as far as fertilizer goes, there's no special fertilizer. I mean, I use a Miracle Gro as a base, and then I kind of doctor it up from there. But the standard fertilizer, because some standard fertilizer will work.
Jeff Williams:
Any pests?
Robert Mueller:
This is a fairly pest resistant species.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, that's good to know. Okay.
Robert Mueller:
It may come into contact with, I've had some Japanese beetle problems when they get real, real aggressive.
Jeff Williams:
Really.
Robert Mueller:
But yeah, but most mostly pest free on this one. You'll see more fungal issues on something like this. If you're overwatering or underwatering, you'll see some of the foliage start to turn.
Jeff Williams:
Like a yellow or something. Okay.
Paul Beatty:
I have probably about a. I'll admit to maybe 6 or eight of these same things at home. And the only thing I've ever seen on them is a scale insect, which can be easily treated with neem oil or even just insecticidal. So it takes care of those. But otherwise, I don't see any problems with any of mine.
Jeff Williams:
Okay. And so, if I do, if I do see like the yellow, like a light, the yellow sort of a thing, that means I'm watering too much, probably.
Robert Mueller:
On a juniper, if you start to see yellow on it, whatever cause that yellowing was months pre previous months.
Paul Beatty:
That's why they're very slow to react.
Robert Mueller:
Very, very slow to react. So, by the time this one starts to yellow, would be better to. stay consistent on your watering than adjust based on what you see right there. If you're starting to see yellowing, you may have already moved into a different season where you are watering less or watering more. And your care for it needs to adjust based on that. So the short answer is that you need to, and this was the hardest thing, it took me the longest to learn this in the practice was watering based on the trees, trees needs rather than on a schedule or if you're making people tend to worry that something's going to dry out if they leave it alone for an extended period of time to go to work or if you leave the house or your bonsai bench for a long time.
Jeff Williams:
Like a vacation or something like that.
Robert Mueller:
Yep, exactly. And while they are in small pots and they will dry out over a number of days, I would say the bigger, bigger cause of long-term death of bonsai is overwatering than underwatering. This species being the one random exception to that rule. Mostly we're dealing with small pot on this one. So, and the type of soil that we've got it in for you, it would be very, you would be. hard pressed to overwater this guy.
Paul Beatty:
That's why we use a fast-draining soil.
Jeff Williams:
I see, yeah, sure.
Paul Beatty:
Well, you really won't harm it.
Robert Mueller:
Nope.
Jeff Williams:
Right on.
Robert Mueller:
It can recover from overwatering. It cannot recover from drying out all the time.
Paul Beatty:
With any plant there.
Jeff Williams:
Sure, yeah, I was going to say that's, well, that's good to know because I have some other plants that maybe that's part of my problem too is I don't think about the fact this is more like watching a, I don't know, like a fingernail, which grows slowly versus trying to, it's like, hey, I think this thing, yeah, okay. Good advice overall, it sounds like. So where is, if you have gone to any bonsai events, where have you gone for any things like that?
Paul Beatty:
There’re events all over the country, especially during the summer. Spring and summer growing seasons, basically. But Chicago has a big one in August, I believe, at their botanical garden. And St. Louis has one every year. They have a Japanese festival at their botanical garden. And I tend to go to those because there's always places to get material and see what other bonsai clubs have as far as trees and stuff.
Jeff Williams:
Nice, right?
Paul Beatty:
The one in Chicago is huge. It's really a great place to see well-developed, mature trees that are decades old and have had a lot of training.
Jeff Williams:
And so these are, have like maybe, I'm trying to think about it, towards certain things, like a best in show or something like that where they have, people's choice award, that kind of a thing, maybe something.
Paul Beatty:
And that's what our little thing here in town is, we're much smaller, of course, than Chicago, who pulls people in from all over the country. But we're just trying to get out what we have here in town. And I was impressed with the level of quality of stuff that people here have had, especially the people that have been doing this since back from the 70s, very mature specimens that they've been working on for.
Jeff Williams:
Right on. And once again, we're in the studio with Rob and Paul from the Springfield Bonsai Society. And once again, where the event that you're having and where it happens at?
Paul Beatty:
Our exhibition is at the Washington Park Botanical Garden. It's their exhibition space. It'll be on April 25th and 26th from 12 to 4 or 12 to 5. And we'll be doing, we'll have members trees there just on display. We're not going to have a judging category.
Jeff Williams:
Just to get people, just to have it. Yeah, to have it. Yeah.
Paul Beatty:
Just let people know what's out here just, you know, in Springfield even. And so, but we'll have a, hopefully we'll have a demo both days, but we'll certainly have one at least on Saturday.
Jeff Williams:
This will happen inside of the Botanical Garden.
Paul Beatty:
We'll have a member. taking either raw nursery material or something that they've been growing in their backyard for a little while, something that's ready to be started as started its life down the down the bonsai trail, if you will. So yeah, we’ll be putting it in a training pot and trimming it up and applying some wire to get the branches in the right spot. Yeah, doing the whole thing, showing everybody what What's entailed?
Robert Mueller:
Seeing a mature tree in person. It's just the photos just don't do it justice.
Jeff Williams:
Nice.
Robert Mueller:
I highly recommend it.
Jeff Williams:
Well, everybody… come out if you get a chance, and you can see Rob Mueller and Paul Beatty at the Springfield Bonsai Society's upcoming event. So, guys, thanks a lot for coming in the studio.
Paul Beatty:
Sure, thank you for having us.
Jeff Williams:
Thanks a lot. All right, guys, thanks. Community Voices is events you might have missed in conversations with neighbors, artists, and area business people. Suggest a guest or comment at communityvoices@nprillinois.org. Get to know your neighbors with Community Voices at noon and 10 p.m. and on demand at nprillinois.org.