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 water doesn’t move through the soil well, so the goal for repotting a tree with compacted roots […]
Bonsai Blog
Bonsai Tonight features how-to articles, tips on growing trees from scratch, and reports from exhibits in the U.S. and Japan. See the top How-to Guides, visit the Complete Post Archive for a list of all posts, or start browsing recent posts below.
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Recent Posts
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 or second weekend in November, 2022. The main reason for this is to give exhibitors more […]
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 choice for cultivation as shohin. I have a number of sekka hinoki in one gallon nursery containers that need repotting this year. […]
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 budget, and the availability of the ingredients I’d like to use. If I’m working with […]
Aligning containers with development goals
I use a variety of containers in my garden, but over the years I’ve narrowed the types of containers I use at different stages of development. Here are some common options for our trees and some of the reasons why we might want to use them at a given stage of their development. Plastic containers […]