As I go into repotting season, I think about how my plants grew the previous year and whether I want to change the soil mix I use for the upcoming growing season. Last year, summer was mild which meant that many of my trees didn’t dry out between waterings. Among the pines, a few trees […]
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.
Fall cutback on ume
The basics of fall work on ume are straightforward: remove the old leaves and prune to silhouette and/or the desired internode length. Before removing the leaves – no signs of fall color Fall has been mild this year so the leaves remained healthy into December. By removing the leaves, I could better see what branches […]
Trident maple fall pruning and Expo update
Save the date! The second Pacific Bonsai Expo will be held on October 26-27, 2024. We’ll have more updates in upcoming posts so stayed tuned for more info! As for the fall pruning, below is a trident maple showing the last bit of fall color. Trident maple with fall color After removing the leaves it’s […]
Red maple forest fall cleanup
The most consistent fall color in my garden each year can be found on a red maple forest planting that was started by a friend’s father back in the early 80s. Once most of the leaves turn color, I remove them all and do fall pruning. Here’s the tree before I removed the leaves. Red […]
Making a plan for a new bonsai
Two years ago, I saw a large Yaupon holly available in the vendor’s area at the US National Bonsai Exhibition. I’m a big fan of the species but for some reason I didn’t think about taking it home at the time. Two months ago, I saw the tree again at this year’s National Exhibition. As […]