Earlier this week, we looked at the three basic types of buds found on black pine bonsai. Here’s what we can do to stimulate each. As terminal buds develop without prompting, we don’t need to do anything to encourage them. They’re the buds at the end of every living branch. To demonstrate techniques for stimulating […]
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Bud types on pine bonsai
Pines commonly produce three types of buds: terminal buds, needle buds and adventitious buds. Terminal buds, often referred to as apical buds when they appear at the top of the tree, are the buds located at the tips of branches. Terminal bud Large terminal bud flanked by two lateral or accessory buds Needle buds are […]
Summer fertilizing
There are a number of good reasons to fertilize bonsai in summer: The tree is young and the goal is to thicken the trunk The tree requires nutrition to recover from – or prepare for – defoliation and decandling The growing season is short and waiting until fall to fertilize is too late As I have […]
Carving tips for beginners
A member of the Bonsai Society of San Francisco, Samuel Tan, has taken an interest in juniper bonsai – especially deadwood work. Although relatively new to bonsai, Sam has picked up good tips from books like François Jeker’s Bonsai Deadwood and Cheng Cheng-Kung’s Bonsai Shari SiDiao. I was curious what information Sam had found most […]
Signs of overwatering black pine bonsai
About a month ago, I noticed some of my pines turning yellow near the base of the needles. Yellowing pine needles I rarely see this in my older pines, but it sometimes shows up in the younger trees in my garden. It’s a common sign that the trees are staying too wet between waterings. After […]
