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 […]
Repotting
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 […]
Restoring a Japanese maple grove
Working on old or neglected bonsai is one of my favorite tasks. At a recent Bay Island Bonsai workshop, an old Japanese maple grove got the works. The owner is working to make something of these old trees whose roots have fused together long ago. Japanese maple grove The project is not inspired by wonderful […]