This past winter I bought a juniper, procumbens ‘Nana,’ that was already well established as a bonsai. I repotted it soon after taking it home and have been letting it grow freely ever since. I removed about half of the old soil when I repotted, but until I remove the rest, I won’t expect the […]
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Thinning procumbens juniper
Thinning procumbens juniper is straightforward. Remove downward-growing shoots, shoots that emerge from branch intersections and shoots that extend beyond the desired pad silhouette. Thin remaining shoots to facilitate wiring. Procumbens juniper – before thinning Before thinning – below Removing a downward-growing shoot After thinning After thinning – below Branch pad after thinning
Yaupon holly cutback
As it turns out, now’s the time for the final significant cutback and wiring ahead of BIB’s January exhibit. I shortened shoots that extended beyond the desired silhouette, thinned out dense growth everywhere and wired a few branches to add movement or make subtle adjustments up or down. Yaupon holly before cutback After cutback From […]
Kondo critique at BIB meeting
Last Tuesday, Akio Kondo visited Bay Island Bonsai’s monthly meeting and gave a mini demo and critique. He worked on two small shimpaku and offered suggestions for further developing a few member trees. Kondo has visited the U.S. the past few summers, making time to work on client trees and teach workshops (see write-ups from […]
One-and-a-half-year-old pine seedlings
This past March I potted up a number of seedling cuttings made in 2012 (see Repotting 1 year-old black pine seedlings). 1 year-old black pine seedlings Just four months later, the seedlings are much bigger. 1.5 year-old black pine from seedling cutting Low buds developing without prompting Apical shoots opening – a good sign of […]