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What kind of soil should I use for my bonsai?
I hear the question a lot, and it’s a good one. In my garden, I use mixes based on the species I’m growing and my development goals for the tree. I make adjustments for the health of the tree, my...
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Repotting nursery stock – sekka hinoki
One species that I’m excited to work with over the next few years is sekka hinoki, Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘sekka’. Sekka are a dwarf hinoki cultivar with incredibly small foliage making them a popular...
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Update on the Pacific Bonsai Expo
Just over a year ago, I mentioned an idea for a regional bonsai show. It’s time for an update! For starters, Eric Shrader and I have decided to move the event to next year. We’re aiming for the first...
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Repotting a Sierra juniper with a compacted root ball
When a bonsai hasn’t been repotted in a while, the broken down soil and roots can fill most of the gaps between soil particles and make for a compacted root ball. It’s hard to keep bonsai healthy when...
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Developing branches on Chinese wisteria
For the last year and a half, I’ve been working to increase the branch density on a Chinese wisteria. Last fall, I was able to see the results. Here’s what the tree looked like in fall. Fall color –...
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Bonsai Development Series #23: Wiring young juniper trunks
For years I’ve wanted to write about wiring rooted juniper cuttings, but I stopped short as before and after photos aren’t always helpful. Rooted juniper cuttings before and after wiring To make the...
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Bonsai Development Series #24: Twisting young junipers
The best strategy for creating junipers with interesting deadwood is to add twists to the trunk while the tree is still young. Some people begin by twisting young whips before they add movement. The...
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Removing large leaves on a red maple forest
My red maple forest has filled in nicely this spring – so much so that some of the interior leaves are already turning yellow. Acer rubrum, Red maple Weak interior leaf To let more light into the...
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Evaluating vigor of trident maples in spring
Before I prune on my deciduous bonsai in spring, I check to see if they’re up for the work. Here’s a trident maple at the end of March. Trident maple – March 30th Although the leaves are healthy, they...
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Hard cutback on satsuki azaleas
A number of my azaleas have been slow to leaf out this year. Here’s an example. Exposed-root Kozan-no-hikari As you can see, the foliage is anemic and the old leaves curve downward. It’s the first...
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Spring cutback on Korean hornbeam
I usually start thinking about pruning and partially defoliating Korean hornbeam in May. It’s around this time of year that the spring growth hardens off and shades out the interior branches which...
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Thinning a European beech grove
The last deciduous tree in my garden to open up this spring was a European beech. Normally I pinch the new shoots as they open, but as this tree was recently repotted, I let the new shoots elongate to...
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Spring cutback on ume
Last year I tried a variation on my normal spring cutback for ume. Instead of reducing mid-sized branches to 2-3 leaves, I left them long but defoliated them (see “Cutback” for details). I found that...
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Spring cutback on stewartia
For the past few weeks, I’ve been writing about maintenance work for mature deciduous bonsai as that’s what I’ve been focusing on in the garden. Before moving on to a new topic (it’s almost decandling...
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Post-bloom care for satsuki azaleas
When all goes well, satsuki bonsai can produce lots of flowers in spring. Hakurei-no-hikari – 15″ After 80% of the flowers have bloomed, it’s time to remove all remaining flowers, taking care to...
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Decandling field-grown pines
When decandling season comes around, I start with the biggest pines in the garden and work my way down to the smallest ones over a period of four-to-six weeks. This gives the larger trees enough time...
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Bonsai Development Series #25: Pruning exposed root pines
Some of my exposed root pines are close to seven years old. They have long sacrifice branches to help thicken the roots. Although the fastest way to thicken the roots will be to let the tree grow...
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Refining a slender Korean hornbeam
A year-and-a-half ago, I started working on a Korean hornbeam by removing a few branches and repotting the tree (see “Defining the branch structure” for details). After pruning and repotting, January,...
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Rehabilitating a coast live oak – part 2
It took a while to get to this point, but my semi-cascade coast live oak put on enough new growth to warrant pruning this year. Here’s a photo of the tree from 2019 (see “Rehabilitating a coast live...
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Decandling season wrap-up
Towards the end of decandling season (mid-July where I live), I make a point of checking every pine in the garden to see if it’s a candidate for decandling. Most of my pines are young and don’t...
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