Here’s a simple guide for determining when to prune deciduous trees in fall: prune when foliage shows fall color but before the leaves drop. Porcelain berry ready for fall pruning The timing doesn’t need to be exact, but there are a few things to keep in mind. If the foliage is still green, the tree […]
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Fall pruning on Japanese plum
I’ve been working on a batch of plums for the last few years. I prune them every six months – once in spring, and once in fall. The work is simple. If a branch or section of the trunk is straight, I wire it or remove it. Here are two examples. Japanese plum After removing […]
Branch development on Coast Live Oak – results after 8 months
The basic steps of branch development on coast live oak are simple: stimulate new shoots, shape the shoots with wire, cut back to two or three buds in fall. Following these steps can yield secondary branches in less than one year. Here are photos of each step. February 2019 The coast live oak above is […]
Diagnosing root rot in black and red pine bonsai
For years, I’ve spotted unhealthy shoots on black and red pines and wondered about the cause. Unhealthy foliage on black pine The main symptoms are discoloration – primarily yellow foliage – and deformed needles. The problem affects young trees and old trees alike. On more refined trees, I see short, twisty, needles like in the […]
Cutback on winter jasmine
Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) is a deciduous shrub. Unlike trees that have specific branch patterns, winter jasmine produce shoots that emerge in all directions. Winter jasmine They are appreciated for their yellow flowers – flowers that open at the end of winter before the new leaves emerge (hence the name “nudiflorum”). The specimen above was […]