Workshops

Bring Your Own Tree Workshops are half-day classes in which you learn bonsai by working on your trees. Reserve a space at the Bonsai Tonight Online Store.

What to Bring

• Bonsai tools (scissors, cutters, etc.)
• Any trees you have questions about or want help with (you can bring more than one)
• If you are repotting, bring soil and pots. Soil is also available for purchase. You’ll be asked to bring home any old bonsai soil and pots as I don’t have a place to dispose of them.

What to Work on

January

• Repotting
• Cutback and wiring
• Grafting
• Thin needles on pines
• Satsuki azaleas: thin flower buds on satsuki now through April to give each flower adequate space to fully open

February

• Repotting: when possible, repot bonsai before new growth appears
• Cutback and wiring: finish wiring and cutting back all species that are just starting to grow
• Grafting: February is good for grafting species that are still emerging from dormancy
• Pinching: pinch new shoots on refined Japanese maples
• Thin needles on pines

March

• Repotting: although most bonsai have started growing by March in the Bay Area, junipers and deciduous species that have yet to start growing can still be repotted.
• Wiring: March through May is a great time for wiring young shoots on deciduous species before they become too brittle to bend.
• Pinching: pinch new shoots on refined Japanese maples and Japanese beech

April

• Wiring new shoots on deciduous species
• Deadwood: although deadwood work can happen year-round, bark separates easily in April
• Cutback and wiring: use caution when making big bends in spring as sap is flowing quickly

May

• Repotting tropical bonsai: May through September is the best time to repot tropical species so they have time to establish new roots before they slow down in fall and winter
• Cutback and wiring on deciduous trees: May and June are a great time for cutting back and wiring deciduous species
• Air layers: May is a good month to start air layers
• Decandling: the end of May is a good time to start decandling large black and red pines, particularly if you live in a cooler part of Northern California
• Azaleas: once azaleas have finished blooming, old flowers can be removed and branches can be cut back and wired; now is the second-best time to repot azaleas that weren’t repotted in early spring

June

• Repotting tropical bonsai
• Azaleas: continue deadheading spent flowers, styling branches, and repotting trees with poor drainage
• Decandling pines: pines can be wired after decandling
• Cutback and wiring

July

• Decandling: July is the last month to decandle black or red pines, particularly smaller pines
• Repotting tropical bonsai
• Junipers
• Summer is a good time to clean up deadwood and apply fresh lime sulfur
• Cutback and wiring

August

• Cutback, wiring, and repotting tropical bonsai
• Junipers
• Remove old needles on white pines
• Cutback and wiring

September

• Repotting tropical bonsai: this is the last month to take advantage of the relatively warm weather tropical bonsai require to respond well to repotting
• Deciduous cutback and wiring
• Juniper styling
• Ponderosa pine clean-up and styling

October

• Cutback and wiring

November

• Needle-thinning: remove extra needles on black or red pines now through February
• Cutback and wiring: November though February is a great time for wiring and cutting back temperate bonsai
• Remove old leaves on deciduous species after most of the leaves turn brown

December

• Repotting – December is a great time to get a jump start on repotting for all temperate species, especially bonsai that start growing in January such as umes, plums, and oaks
• Cutback and wiring
• Thin needles on pines
• Grafting: December through early February is the best time for side veneer grafts in the Bay Area