Earlier this year I grafted a few cork bark scions onto 3-year old black pines (see “Creating cork bark black pine“). As the new shoots inside the grafting bags began to harden off, I opened the bags a big to prevent the foliage from rotting. A few weeks later I removed the tape shading the […]
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.
Graft after-care
This past spring, I grafted shimpaku foliage onto a Utah juniper (see “Grafting Utah juniper”). While getting the grafts right is important, I’ve learned from past experience that the after-care is just as important. Some simple takeaways – don’t open the bags too quickly; open a little bit at a time; leave the tie at […]
Hinoki air-layer follow-up 1
This past spring I layered two large hinoki cypress (see “Hinoki Air Layer”). I was unsure of the project’s success when I started and I remain uncertain today. The results so far are mixed. Tree #1 Tree #2 Tree #2 layer What accounts for the difference? The layers were done at about the same time […]
One-and-a-half-year-old pine seedlings
This past March I potted up a number of seedling cuttings made in 2012 (see Repotting 1 year-old black pine seedlings). 1 year-old black pine seedlings Just four months later, the seedlings are much bigger. 1.5 year-old black pine from seedling cutting Low buds developing without prompting Apical shoots opening – a good sign of […]
Watching trees grow
Common approach to writing about bonsai: photograph full tree, cut something, photograph less-full tree. Mixing it up for a change, here is progress after spring cutback on my Yaupon holly. I’m focusing more than normal on how quickly this tree grows as I’d like to show it in January and I’d like to calculate how […]