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Review: The Bonsai Beginner’s Course
Earlier this week, Bonsai Empire and Bjorn Bjorholm released the Bonsai Beginner’s Course – an online course that covers bonsai basics. The Bonsai Beginner’s Course The course is available via the...
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Experiments with fertilizer
I’ve been experimenting with fertilizers lately. For years, my primary fertilizers have been cottonseed meal and fish emulsion. Both are easy to find and easy to use. Cottonseed meal Fish emulsion I’ve...
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Caterpillar camouflage
I was struck, again, by the crafty camouflage employed by the caterpillars in my garden this week. Looking down at a chojubai, I spotted a caterpillar extending itself stick-like from the leaf it was...
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5th Asia-Pacific Bonsai Friendship Federation Convention & Exhibition
Earlier this month, the Asia-Pacific Bonsai Friendship Federation held their 5th Annual Convention & Exhibition at Rin Rin Park, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It looks like it was quite an event. The...
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Different styles at ABFF
The 5th Asia-Pacific Bonsai Friendship Federation Convention & Exhibition featured a number of trees that fell somewhat outside of the stylistic norms I’m used to seeing at bonsai exhibits. The...
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Finding meaningful forms
I remember one of the first times I flipped through Kindai Bonsai, the Japanese bonsai magazine. Not being able to read a word of Japanese, I studied the photos. What struck me was how similar the...
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Matt Reel workshop
I recently had the opportunity to work on some trees with Matt Reel. Matt hails from Portland, Oregon, and is a member of the Portland Bonsai Village. For eight years, he apprenticed with Shinji...
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How to fill a tea bag with fertilizer
Two months ago, Felix Laughlin, President of the National Bonsai Foundation, requested tips for how to fill a tea bag with fertilizer quickly. The process does seem to take a while, but I’ve found I...
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Cut it here – my start in bonsai
“Cut it here,” he said. I was working at the family business, a retail nursery in Alameda, California. It was 1993. A man I had not met before was offering me pruning advice, and the advice was good....
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Getting the balance right
As I approached the decandling season this year, I checked my pines to see if any were on the weak side but still strong enough to be decandled. These trees need to be decandled on the early side so...
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Cutback on coast redwood
After wanting a coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, for many years, I now have one in my collection. As the first order of business is to get it healthy, I’ve been feeding and watering heavily this...
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Basic refinement on olive bonsai
I started working on an olive bonsai last summer. After taking the tree home and letting new shoots grow out, I wired the ones I needed and removed the rest. One year later, I’m doing the same thing....
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Effect of hormone treatments on P. thunbergii cuttings for the production of...
Abstract Pinus thunbergii is a popular species of conifer cultivated as bonsai. In an effort to produce superior surface roots on P. thunbergii, bonsai enthusiasts have developed a method of making...
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Decandling shohin black pine
The steps are simple. 1) Remove spring shoots. Shohin black pine – 21 years old After removing spring shoots 2) Remove extra needles. After removing extra needles 3) Perform light cutback as needed....
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Distinguishing old growth from new growth on junipers
A recent hot spell left its mark on a number of trees in my garden. On the day temperatures peaked, brown needles appeared on some Sierra junipers. Brown needles on Sierra juniper While brown needles...
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Summer clean-up on a Western juniper
Some of the least exciting bonsai work happens in summer. This is when lots of watering and fertilizing happens, but it is also a good time for jobs that can get put off during busier seasons like fall...
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Redirecting growth on pines
Decandling and cutback are great techniques for redirecting growth on black pines. Here are some examples. Tree #1 After eleven years, the trunk of the tree below has reached the desired size. Any...
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Why are my trees yellow?
I was puzzled, this year, by the appearance of yellow foliage on some of my young pines. Yellow foliage is common on weak trees and often results from bad soil, under-feeding or various kinds of...
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A novel way to find the lifeline
Earlier this week I heard a strange sound at a BIB workshop. It came from this thing. Moisture sensor John Thompson purchased the device to locate moisture that seeps through carpets but found that it...
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The study of bonsai design
This month’s Bay Island Bonsai meeting focused on bonsai design. Members brought trees for critique and designed trees on paper. Both exercises focus on the criteria we use to design attractive bonsai...
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