Two years ago, I started a few cork bark black pines by grafting (See “Creating cork bark black pine“). The grafts took, and that fall I began reducing the foliage on the host tree. Now, one year later, it’s time to repeat the process. Both the scions and their hosts grew well last year, so I […]
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.
Yaupon holly – before and after
It’s fun to see where bonsai come from. The journeys trees make from seed, layer, graft, cutting or point of collection can be subtle or dramatic. Rapid or dramatic changes are exciting, but continued improvement plays no less important a role in the creation of bonsai. Following a tree’s history can also be informative. People […]
Decandling – how late is too late?
Getting the timing right when decandling is as much art as science – or so it can seem. While it can be tough to determine the ideal time to decandle a tree upfront, in hindsight it’s usually pretty clear what went right or wrong (see When to Decandle for details). When the proper time to […]
White pine clean-up
Fall is a good time to work on white pine. The spring growth has hardened off, and the old needles are beginning to turn brown. White pine in need of clean up As the specimen pictured above was in need of a clean-up, I removed the old needles and lightly thinned branches in the strongest […]
Dwarf Sawara cypress cutback
I’m now one year into a project to develop a dwarf Sawara cypress bonsai from nursery material. Last year I reduced the silhouette and repotted. Am doing the same this year. Dwarf Sawara cypress I removed between one and two inches of foliage. Shoot before cutback Shoot after cutback And I’ve pretty much decided on […]