Although the basics of spring maintenance stay the same from year to year, I’ll often make adjustments based on how the tree is growing. My standard approach to pruning ume, for example, is to cut every branch back to two or three new buds. Here’s a look at the result of last year’s cutback. Ume […]
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Identifying the right time for spring cutback
Last year, I pruned and partially defoliated the Korean hornbeam below in early June. The timing was just about right for the work as each shoot had a moderate amount of new growth (see “Spring maintenance” for details). This year the tree grew more vigorously – likely a result of being repotted – and was […]
Review: Kimura Masterclass from Bonsai Empire
Bonsai Empire’s newest online course features the best known name in bonsai: Masahiko Kimura. The course was filmed last fall at Kimura’s garden about one hour outside of Tokyo. Here’s what you need to know. Format The course features a pine demo, a rock planting, an interview, and footage of Kimura’s public (front) and private […]
Guest post: The story behind Michael Hagedorn’s Bonsai Heresy
By Michael Hagedorn Galileo had more in common with witches than you’d think. He narrowly avoided being tortured and executed by denying thinking thoughts that he really shouldn’t have been thinking in the 17th century, such as the earth revolving around the sun. Those early heretical scientists were a brave lot. I’ve known a few […]
A good reason to not skip annual maintenance on juniper bonsai
About a year ago, I passed a juniper in my garden that had filled in over the previous growing season. It was a good time to remove the old foliage, so I made a mental note to thin the tree. A full year later, I still hadn’t thinned the foliage. And then I noticed that […]