As the end of the year approaches, deciduous bonsai don’t typically look their best. No matter – once the majority of leaves on these trees turn color or fall off, I pluck the remaining leaves. Removing old leaves exposes interior buds to sunlight and reduces hiding places for insects. It also forces me to look […]
Trident Maple
Keeping bonsai from drying out in summer
About two months ago, I removed most of the Spring growth from my root-over-rock trident maple (see “Refining Trident Maple” for details). Trident maple – 4/1/12 Mild weather has produced moderate growth since then. The tree is again full and a few shoots are beginning to elongate beyond the general silhouette. Trident maple – 5/25/12 […]
Refining trident maple
I’ve been working to develop the ramification on my trident maple for several years now but the progress has been slow. This year I’m trying something different to see if I can speed up the process. I usually let new shoots run a bit before trimming them and I defoliate the tree 2-4 times a […]
Selecting a pot for a small trident maple bonsai
For months, I’d planned on showing a small hinoki in Bay Island Bonsai’s 13th annual exhibit. The hinoki’s health took a turn for the worse and I found myself with a few weeks to prepare another tree for exhibit. I selected a deciduous tree for the exhibit – a root over rock trident maple. I […]
Bonsai maintenance
I find mid-summer to late fall to be an interesting time of year in bonsai. It’s a good time for the little tasks – the maintenance work. In cooler seasons, I can bring one or two trees to a workshop that will keep me busy all day. This time of year, I tend to load […]