Repotting season has mostly wrapped up in Northern California. Once trees start to grow in spring, repotting can slow or even stop new growth. I repotted the hornbeam below ahead of Bay Island Bonsai’s 12th annual exhibit this past January. I wrote previously about cutting back the branches and displaying the tree at the exhibit […]
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Refining a corkbark black pine
Refining old bonsai isn’t always a quick process – especially when the bonsai is a corkbark black pine. With brittle branches, the variety does not lend itself to dramatic restyling. I’ve been fortunate that the pine below has been healthy enough to decandle three years in a row. Many corkbark pines need a year to […]
Witnessed in a recent workshop
I know that life is good when I wake up and have only to attend a bonsai workshop for the day. I’m guaranteed an opportunity to work on my trees, and I’ll get a chance to observe what others are working on around me. Some of these projects are quite intriguing. A few weeks ago, I […]
Juniper pests
I’ve known for some time that a pest preys upon my junipers, but I had yet to see the creatures until yesterday. I poked around a bit and found the following. Caterpillar! I’d seen caterpillars in junipers before – nasty creatures that look like scale foliage and can eat through a tree’s new growth in […]
Bonsai ray gun
I don’t always know what I’m going to see when I walk out of Boon’s workshops. During a recent visit, I stumbled upon what looked like a bonsai ray gun. Bonsai ray gun? Turns out the green pistol is a water pik like device that’s great for removing loose bark on junipers. Alternatives to this […]