Five weeks ago I cut back and wired a coast redwood. Even though it’s mid-November, the tree is filling in quickly and some of the wires are already beginning to cut in. Coast redwood – 5 weeks after wiring and cutback The main goals of cutback and wiring are to ensure that light gets into the […]
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.
Coast redwood branch refinement
I’ve found that my coast redwood is one of the fastest growing trees in the garden. After cutting the tree back in July, it was completely full again by October. Coast redwood – 3 months after cutback I cut back again, reducing the long shoots to about half and removing unnecessary shoots. After cutback I […]
Refining a Sierra juniper
Ned Lycett was one of the happy exhibitors at the inaugural Artisans Cup held in Portland, Oregon, last month. The tree he displayed was a Sierra juniper he collected in 2006. Here is the tree as presented at the Cup. Sierra juniper by Ned Lycett aka Deadwood Bonsai This month, Ned got to work on […]
Developing formal upright cryptomeria
Four years ago I made a few cryptomeria from air layer (see “How to air layer cryptomeria” and “Cryptomeria from air layer“). I’ve worked little on the trees in the intervening years and only began initial styling this summer. As the goal is to make formal upright bonsai, it’s important to make sure the trunks […]
Yaupon holly cutback
It can take a long time to get a tree into rough shape, especially when making primary branches from scratch. Refining from takes even longer. Now that my Yaupon holly has the basic silhouette I had in mind for it, the current goal is to create more mature looking branch pads. This is done through selective […]