We all know the basic signs that are our pines are healthy – dark green foliage and long spring shoots. Green growth on a 12 year-old pine Vigorous spring shoot There’s another clear sign that pines are healthy that may not be as obvious. At first glance, the pine below looks like you would expect […]
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.
Field grown cork oak update
I recently posted photos of four cork oaks that responded differently to being dug up and planted in containers. One weathered the transition well, two immediately lost their leaves, and the fourth showed few signs of life. Just three weeks later, the trees are looking a lot better. Here’s the first tree. Cork oak – […]
Growing terrestrial orchids
Years ago, Boon Manakitivipart introduced me to orchid varieties used as accent plants. One in particular stuck with me. Boon gave me a few bulbs and I grew them successfully for many years. After a while, however, the numbers started dwindling as I often gave them to friends. A few years ago, the last few […]
It’s time to feed pines
One of the best ways to ensure decandled pines produce strong summer growth is to feed heavily in spring. Although people living in cooler climates are just wrapping up repotting season, others have been feeding their pines for several months. If you haven’t started feeding yet – and you live in the northern hemisphere – […]
Pollen cones on young red pines
A few of my young red pines were covered with pollen cones this year. Two year-old red pine with lots of pollen cones The appearance of so many cones is typically a sign of stress. The small number of young needles emerging above the cones offers further evidence – it looks like this pine had […]