We’re used to looking at photos of trees with the camera pointed squarely at the front of the tree. It’s a good way to get the basic idea of a tree’s shape. Korean hornbeam before pruning Half-way done Front view – after partial defoliation What this approach can hide is what a tree looks like […]
Bonsai Development
Bonsai Development posts form the heart of Bonsai Tonight. Learn about varieties like Black Pine, Shimpaku and Japanese Maple, techniques like Decandling and Grafting and Air Layering, and bonsai features like Deadwood.
Pruning flowering quince
I usually aim to prune flowering quince such as boke, toyonishiki, or chojubai in fall after most of the leaves turn color and begin to fall off. In recent years, however, my garden has lacked the cold required to make this happen. Flowering quince in early January When this happens, I defoliate the trees and […]
Cutback on field-grown dawn redwood
For the first time in years, I have a dawn redwood in the garden. It was a favorite species of mine growing up but I’ve only worked on them as bonsai here and there over the years. After working on one last week, I’m not sure why I don’t see more of them trained as […]
Balancing summer growth on black pine
Black pines are one of a number of species that don’t naturally produce balanced growth. These pines are likely to produce strong shoots near the apex or at the ends of lower branches and weaker shoots everywhere else. Of the many ways to balance this growth, the most effective I know of is to decandle […]
Decandling a field-grown pine
I kicked off this year’s decandling season by working on a pine that had been left to grow freely for a few years. Black pine with long shoots When decandling, we have the option to simply remove the current year’s growth or, if the tree is growing vigorously, to cut back to any spot along […]