Editorial Opinions - Pump up the Volume! by Greg Quinn A mature tree can pump over 1,000 liters of water a day from the soil up to the canopy, during the summer. A bonsai tree needs about 10 liters on a dry day: all the more need for care! As spring unfolds check your soil for dryness, as well as water logging. Trees that have been wintered in shelter need to be acclimatized differently from those outside. Don't be too eager to bring them out, as excessive light and freezing temperatures are present in April. When the chance of frost has past you can put them out. In the meantime they mustn't get too warm. Keep the humidity good as well, and start your feeding program. John Walton gave us the inside edge on sharpening at the March meeting. Along with stressing the importance of not piling your tools against each other, he emphasized pulling the filings away from the edge. Makes sense, doesn't it? Thanks, John. Many of your trees need to be repotted: get on it! Remember the greasy blackness under the crown of Mike McCallion's pyracantha? Drainage is very important. Also, remember that the repotting is timed for when the fine feeder roots are about to grow- so that they can grow into fresh soil. Since they are the most important horticulturally, it is imperative that they are healthy. As Mike emphasized in his demo try not to disturb them too much. David Johnson wrote a good article about re-introducing mycorhiza to the soil while repotting, which is on the TBS website at www.torontobonsai.org under "Archives", David Young also has an article in this issue to help you organize your soils. The website is blooming with many useful articles. Check it out regularly, as Dierk is constantly adding fresh material and presenting potent age-tested advice. Our information is tailored for Toronto, Ontario, Canada; conditions are different elsewhere. Do you have a feminine tree or a masculine tree? I was bowled over by Gim Retsinas's presentation on pots. Very original. The form and colour of the pot should complement the tree, but should not distract from it. Thanks Gim. Take to heart the David Johnson's article on preparing for the workshop and The Lake Charles Society's show preparation piece- this is the time to get it right. Even if your tree is in "development" bring it in to the meeting for advice. All our trees are in development. They've got to start shaping up for the season. It's important to record your progress frequently. Sketches and photographs are the main methods of doing this. A couple of photos should be taken in late winter, a couple in early spring (April), a couple in late spring (June), and so on. Before wiring, after wiringŠThe club can help you with the photos, as several of us have digital cameras and will assist you if you bring your tree to the meeting. The next thing of course is to organize all this info coherently, so that you can comprehend it later. Date stamps are a good way of organizing photos.