Air layering is a great technique for improving bonsai with flawed roots. Simply add new roots, and a new tree is born. Janet, a founding member of Bay Island Bonsai, the author of suisekiart.com, and a longtime friend, sent me some photos of a recent layer project that unfolded over the past year. She had […]
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How to repot a young Japanese black pine (2 of 2)
One of my favorite repotting activities is often neglected. After removing the tree from the pot and working with the small roots (see part one of How to repot a young Japanese black pine) it’s time to improve the nebari. “Nebari” refers to the area where the roots emerge from the trunk – it’s the one […]
How to repot a young Japanese black pine (1 of 2)
I have been growing Japanese black pine bonsai from seed for the past 17 years. During this time, I’ve done a lot of repotting. This past January, it dawned on me that I had to repot almost 50 young pines. Very few needed repotting last year, but this year all but a handful needed it. […]
Repotting a Japanese plum
Northern California’s mild winters aren’t always enough to put trees to sleep for the season. My Japanese plum started sending out new growth in December before all of the old leaves had fallen, but I didn’t get around to repotting it until January. The tree has become quite a long-term project for me. I’ve refined […]
Repotting Korean hornbeam
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 […]