If you’ve been to a bonsai exhibit in Japan or flipped though a Japanese exhibit book, you’ve likely seen accent plants featuring pyrrosia, an epiphytic fern. Accent featuring pyrrosia at the 2011 Gomangoku exhibition in Okazaki, Japan Although there are close to one hundred species of pyrrosia, many used for bonsai are cultivars of Pyrrosia […]
Bonsai Care
The bonsai care category includes topics like Watering, Fertilizing, Repotting and Bonsai Soil. You can also find information about the Pests commonly found on bonsai, and read Interviews with bonsai professionals.
Rehabilitating a Coast live oak
Two years ago a coast live oak I’d been fond of for many years came into my collection. Coast live oak – January 2017 I’d enjoyed watching the tree develop over the years and was looking forward to working on it. Before getting started, however, I repotted the tree to get a look at the […]
Determining flower color by looking at the foliage – satsuki azalea
I sometimes come across satsuki azaleas of unknown varieties. Although it’s nice to know what the flowers will look like, it can be fun to wait and see what colors show up in spring when the tree blooms. Young satsuki azalea In the meantime, I can make rudimentary assumptions about the flowers based on the […]
Repotting exposed root satsuki azalea bonsai
Here’s an example of an exposed root azalea that has been bare-rooted. Exposed root ‘Korin’ satsuki azalea – 19″ from top to bottom These trees can be tricky to repot as they lack a solid rootball to tie down. Exposed roots One of the best ways to secure trees with good roots but no rootball […]
More Millettia bonsai
This week I received a lot of hints, clues, and suggestions for the botanical name for dwarf wisteria. For everyone who contributed, thank you! By far the most detailed information came from Bill Valavanis who published an article on the species Millettia japonica ‘Microphylla’ in International Bonsai (2004, No.1). The article, “The Care & Training of […]