Until recently, I’ve known Yaupon Holly by its less appealing botanical name, Ilex vomitoria. I took it for granted that the tree produced berries that were better left to the birds. Not so – turns out Native Americans made tea known as asi or “black drink” from the Youpon berries that were used in male-only […]
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.
Trunk grafting – black pine
Grafting is one of the most useful techniques for developing bonsai from rough stock. A pine I have been working on for the past few years needs a few more branches before I can reduce it to its final height. To do this, I need to graft into the trunk. Grafting requires a bit of […]
Developing black pine
I really like working with Japanese Black Pine. Although they keep needles year round, their appearance changes with the seasons. The pine below is flush with last year’s growth – a mix of spring and summer foliage. Spring growth above – Summer growth below As you might imagine, the future silhouette of this tree will […]
Repotting and grafting ume
Almost 15 years ago, I signed up for my first Kathy Shaner workshop. I’d been informally studying with Kathy for some time – this would be my first opportunity to work with her on one of my own trees. Or soon to be mine. The trees for the event were included with workshop registration – […]
More pine cone technique
[8/16/16 – See the updated and expanded version: How to grow Japanese black pine from seed] After picking and prepping your pine cones, sunshine, when available, and dry air, work to open the cones. With good weather, which we’ve had in spades lately, this only takes a few days. When you remove the open cones […]