A common approach to developing bonsai from scratch is to focus on trunk development first and branch refinement second. When we focus on developing the trunk, we generally encourage rapid growth until the trunk reaches the desired size. Much slower growth is useful when focusing on branch ramification. Between these two stages of development is […]
Black Pine
Teach Yourself Bonsai #2: How to create a bonsai calendar – Japanese black pine
If you’ve been working with bonsai for several years, you may have an idea of what needs to happen when. If you’re new to bonsai, or to a given species, it can be helpful to create a calendar to keep track of annual maintenance tasks. Here’s a guide to help you develop your own bonsai […]
New pot for an exposed root black pine
Just over a year ago, I reworked an exposed root black pine and started thinking about what kind of pot it could go in (see “Refining a young exposed root pine“). Exposed root black pine – December 2017 Last month I took the tree out of the pot, did some root work, and started looking […]
Watch out for wilting candles on young pines
It’s fun to see new shoots elongating on black and red pines this time of year. The light colored growth makes a nice contrast against the darker green foliage from the previous year and the length of the shoots are a good measure of the tree’s health. Spring growth on a black pine group planting […]
Bonsai Development Series #14: Sacrifice branches – the last mile
Not all sacrifice branches need to be big. Small sacrifice branches are a good way to thicken the trunk and close wounds on trees even when most of the branch work is complete. Here’s an example. Shohin black pine – 7″ (16″ with sacrifice branch) The tree above is fifteen years old from seed. I’d […]