Over the years I’ve learned about developing Yaupon holly by doing the wrong thing (see “Developing Yaupon holly” for details). This year is no exception. For the last five-to-ten years, I’ve been neglecting the tree or occasionally pruning it to silhouette without thinning or wiring it. I knew this was not a good approach to […]
Yaupon Holly
Signs that it’s time to repot
There are some obvious signs that indicate when it’s time to repot a tree – like when the water fails to percolate or when a pot breaks. Other signs are more subtle. When there’s a significant change in the amount of time it takes for a tree to dry out, for instance, it might be […]
Developing Yaupon holly bonsai – a tale of when not to cut
Yaupon holly has been on my mind this week. I’m doing a demonstration on one tonight at a club meeting of the American Bonsai Association, Sacramento, and have been collecting notes on their care. Since I began working on Yaupon holly – known formally as Ilex vomitoria – I’ve grown to really appreciate the variety. It’s well […]
Yaupon holly cutback
It can take a long time to get a tree into rough shape, especially when making primary branches from scratch. Refining from takes even longer. Now that my Yaupon holly has the basic silhouette I had in mind for it, the current goal is to create more mature looking branch pads. This is done through selective […]
Yaupon holly – before and after
It’s fun to see where bonsai come from. The journeys trees make from seed, layer, graft, cutting or point of collection can be subtle or dramatic. Rapid or dramatic changes are exciting, but continued improvement plays no less important a role in the creation of bonsai. Following a tree’s history can also be informative. People […]