I’ve been curious, for the last month or so, if my ume was planning to drop its leaves this winter. Ume with green leaves in December Upon taking a closer look this week, I noticed that the lowest branch had lost all of its leaves. The lower branch after losing its leaves Although it’s not […]
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.
Refining cork oak – initial styling
I’ve been preparing a cork oak for its initial styling for two years now. In winter of 2018, I worked on the roots and planted the tree in its current container. This past February, I reduced the branches that I didn’t plan to use in the final design (see “Refining cork oak” for details). The […]
Thinning shohin Japanese maple
Creating branch ramification on shohin Japanese maples doesn’t happen quickly. After three years of producing short internodes, the tree is now ready for cutback to improve the silhouette and branch structure. (You can see the progress to date here.) Before I started pruning, I removed the old leaves. Shohin Japanese maple After removing the leaves […]
Five patterns for pulling needles on black pine
When thinning needles on black or red pine, I treat branches differently based on my goals for refining them. I typically want weak branches to grow stronger and strong branches to slow down, but there are cases in which I take a different approach. Here are the five most common patterns I follow and notes […]
The benefits of thinning satsuki azaleas in fall
Last year I grew a batch of azaleas that had recently been bare-rooted. To help the trees get established, I let them grow freely all year. By fall they were healthy and full of new leaves. Normally I like to thin azaleas in fall, but because I wanted these trees to continue growing vigorously, I […]