After some debate around whether or not to decandle one of my pines, I decided to remove the strongest shoots. I did this on June 16th. Five weeks later, the new shoots are growing well. Japanese black pine – 5 weeks after decandling Somewhat surprisingly, the growth is strong on the top, middle, and lower […]
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.
Vigorous summer shoots
It’s been three weeks since I decandled some of my 9 year-old black pines. Although the weather has been cool, the summer shoots are growing well. 9 year-old black pine after decandling – 6/30/13 3 weeks later – 7/21/13 Back side The new growth is strongest where I shortened some of the larger branches. Lots […]
Japanese maple air layer – a check up
Last May I started an air layer on an old Japanese maple (see “Air layering a Japanese maple“). Curious if there was any root growth, I opened up the bag in February. There was callus, but no new roots. Japanese maple Good callus, no roots To stimulate the production of new roots, I opened up […]
New bonsai fertilizer
Every year I experiment a bit with fertilizer and every year I seem to keep returning to my standard duo – cottonseed meal and fish emulsion. Although they’ve worked well for my trees, I’d like to try a more balanced mix this year. The fish emulsion I use is rated 4-1-1, the cottonseed meal, 6-2-1 […]
The easiest pine maintenance of the year
Like so many varieties, black pine bonsai tend to require our attention throughout the year. In addition to regular watering and feeding, needles need plucking, roots need repotting, and branches need wiring – tasks which often require some level of artistry or at least our close attention. Not so for my favorite spring task – […]