Fall, in moderate climates, is a key time to look out for pests on bonsai. In colder climates, many insects are killed by cold weather. Not where I live. Within the past week I’ve found all varieties of unwanted guests in the garden. This week I’ll focus on scale. Healthy looking olive foliage What’s this – […]
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.
Fall is for fertilizer
A few weeks ago I was struck by yellow foliage on a number of my young pines. After thinking about it for a moment, I came to the conclusion that I hadn’t been fertilizing enough. Black pines in development require a lot of fertilizer. If they don’t receive enough food they can quickly turn yellow. […]
Name this accent
The flowering perennial below has long been a favorite of mine. Do you know its name? The flowers are pink and white, the fruit are red. Accent plant – Gaultheria procumbens (Thanks Laura!) White flowers I’ve seen it in Japanese exhibits and it sometimes shows up in local shows. A specimen from Bay Island Bonsai’s […]
Summer buds
When decandling pines throughout decandling season – late spring and early summer where I live – at any given time one can find summer buds at many different stages of development. The most recently decandled trees in my garden are barely showing signs of summer growth, while some of the first trees I decandled now […]
Of red pines and black pines
I’ve found that mature red and black pines can sometimes be hard to tell apart. Leaf character and bark can vary wildly from specimen to specimen and many trees exhibit qualities associated with both varieties. Younger trees, however, are generally easy to distinguish. The black pines I’ve grown typically have straight, sturdy needles while the red […]