Bonsai Art

No Life From Oak Halfway Through May

Adam — Sat, 16 May 2009 18:05:59 +0000

One of my favorite trees - my Oak has not come into leaf yet this year. It’s getting very late now halfway through May so I decided to try and take some action today. I fear it might be a result of the screw I found going through the tap root a year ago when I repotted it. Repotting of Oak
I thought back then that it may cause problems but it’s taken more than a year for them to appear. I dug it up today and took a look at the hole in the root, it seemed to have mostly healed over and there was good fibrous root growth too. As a precaution I filled the hole up with cut paste.
I can tell the tree is alive because the branches are green and bendable. However, the buds just don’t seem to be opening this season or even swelling.
I planted it in the ground, deeper than I’ve had it in the pot to hopefully get some energy back into it. I will keep it in the ground for the whole of this season and perhaps next season as well to allow it to recover from the screw hole. That is IF it comes back to life! Fingers crossed.

Getting Fully Tooled Up With Bonsai Tools

Adam — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:28:17 +0000

There are a mass of bonsai tools out there to choose from. I myself have found it quite a struggle looking through the good the bad and the ugly to search out what you need and what is pointless. Here are my findings.

When you decide it’s time to get serious and buy the proper tools don’t buy Chinese. They will wear quickly and require sharpening quite often. The tools to buy are Japanese who seem to put a lot more effort into their tool making. As with most Japanese things, they see it as an artform and therefore produce great items. You will see that Japanese tools are more expensive but these are definitely the ones to go for.

Click Title for the list

Here are the most popular bonsai tools in the order I think you should buy them:

Long Handled Shears - Used for trimming small branches. Good for intricate work with small branches, the long handle enables you to reach places that you would normally struggle to reach.
Root Cutter - Essential to be used in the undergrowth where the stronger blades can cope if you accidentally try to chop up a bit of gravel. The larger blades tend to have more of a crushing action than chopping. Can also be used for larger branches.
Side Branch Cutter - Different to the shears in that the blade is angled to give you a cleaner, angled cut. The blade is shaped in a way where you can cut cleanly next to another branch. Also good if you are going to add cut paste afterwards.
Knob Cutter - Cuts off a small protruding lump from the trunk to give a neat finish where healing is more rapid. It’s concave blade gives you a perfect cut to place cut paste into.
Wire Cutter - To remove wire cleanly from the tree or to cut new pieces to wire your bonsai.
Jin Pliers - Have a number of uses. The first is to crush bark on wood you want to ‘jin’ (turn into deadwood). You can also use them to secure a tree in place with wire, using the pliers to twist the wire tightly. Another use would be turning thick wire around branches.
Root Hook - Perfect for combing out the unwanted roots and removing excess soil when repotting.
Trunk Splitter - To slice a branch in half to create jins and sharis. Or perhaps you just want to use it for aesthetics elsewhere. Quite a specialised tool which doesn’t get used as much as the others.

Other tools include - leaf cutter for snipping off leaves, coco brush to clean your pot’s surface, gouge for removing rotten wood, rake, spatula, tweezers. All of these I see as non essential items but you may think differently. All are fairly cheap.

You can find all these tools on ebay as well as other places online.

Update On Yamadori Hawthorn Stump

Adam — Sat, 09 May 2009 10:31:56 +0000

About 16 months ago now I collected this very large Yamadori Hawthorn which I chopped back quite dramatically to allow it to grow branches which were more in fitting with the size of the trunk. It has now grown back branches just where I want them and this is the current result (photo taken from back):

The tree is turned around this way at present to allow it to grow branches on this side as well as the other.
Realistically, we are looking at a 5 year plan for this tree. I plan to continue growing the branches and sub branches and in a few years we might have something special.
Problems I can see -
1. Big chop marks. Might be best to get some cut paste on them asap.
2. Lack of nebari on one side. Going to get some rooting hormone on the parts where there are a lack of roots.

New Japanese Maple Styling

Adam — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:19:14 +0000

Today I bought a new Japanese Maple Atropurpeum from the garden centre. It was very cheap and very big for the price, plus as far as I can see it isn’t a graft which most maples at the garden centre these days are. I got it home and immediately got on with the initial chop so that it can get on with growing new branches in the positions that I want. It looked great as it was but the problem was the branches were far too leggy and the leaves way to far up the trunk.

In the first two pictures you can see the initial tree look with my cat helpfully giving a size comparison. After analyzing the branches a bit I decided to go with this line which only included two cuts on the trunk.

The sec0nd two pictures show the aftermath of my chop! I have left one long branch at the top to help the tree recover after losing so many branches. At the end of the year I will be chopping this one off too so that it will look like the close up picture. I am hoping more branches will develop low down in this year and next year also so we can go on to the next stage.

Turning A Negative Dieback Into A Positive

Adam — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:08:50 +0000

I mentioned yesterday that my willows have all died back through the Winter leaving me quite distressed about the situation! The following one was perfectly shaped and was practically a completed bonsai on collection. Most of the tree had died but one side was still alive leaving growth to carry on as normal right up the length of the tree to the top.

I cut off all the dead bark to reveal the deadwood underneath. I then left the wood to dry out before applying lime sulphur to preserve it.

before the dieback - click pic for previous post.

front after carving and lime sulphur

back after carving and lime sulphur

Hinoki Cypress Repotting

Adam — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:58:57 +0000

I left the repotting of my Hinoki Cypress a bit late this year but It had to be done because It’s going to be a showpiece at my wedding in July. It was in a round plastic training pot and has now been moved to a light blue china pot. I think it’s a good fit and shows off the tree well.

Joined A Bonsai Club

Adam — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:13:06 +0000

I went last weekend to check out Dragon Bonsai which are based in Ammanford in Bonllwyn Aquatic Centre. It was really good as I got to talk with some other link minded people from the area. I will definitely be going back soon and taking a tree next time to show around. My girlfriend went with me and I think she was a little bored so I couldn’t stay that long but I did learn a few small things in my short time there.

Some of my willows have died back during the winter so I asked about them and was told that they need to be kept very wet as they like to live near lakes and rivers. I’ll be taking more care of them in future to make sure they have nice wet roots. One of my willows that has died back I gave a complete redesign of the other day, carving a lot of the dead branches back. I will get some photos online of it tommorow with a short description.

Apologies For The Downtime!

Adam — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:15:17 +0000

You may have noticed that Bonsai Art disappeared for a week due to a few complications moving to a new host. I’m glad to say that it’s all back up and running now although right this moment it doesn’t look too pretty! I’ll be working on it this week to get it all back to it’s best. Hopefully I can use this opportunity to completely redesign the site and get it looking even better than before. Stay tuned!

Updates:

All the old posts are online to view. (21/04/09 18:14)

Pictures in posts now back online. (21/04/09 18:25)

Sorting out new appearance of the site (23/04/09 11:17)

Now fully up and running - thanks for your patience. (23/04/09 14:59)

Finished tweaking the look of the site (05/05/09 12:42)

More Yamadori Finds (part 1)

Adam — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:42:11 +0000

A few days ago I found a lovely looking tree which I wrote about at “Naturally Formed Hazel Bonsai“. I went for a search around the same area again today and found other nice looking specimens. I brought home two oaks and two birches which I’ve yet to do anything with yet. All of them need a bit of growing on to look good as they are a bit bare at the moment.

One interesting yamadori specimen I spotted today looks very interesting. It is another hazel tree but is larger than the other one I collected. It’s going to need a good shovel to get it out.
The problem Is I don’t know what to do with it once I retrieve it as it’s a bit of a strange shape. It looks to have had a tortured life so far! I think it’s going to need to be a lot shorter than it is at the moment, but I don’t want to lose the character that it has.

Any suggestions?

Part 2

Part 3

5 Top Indoor Bonsai Care Tips by Samuel Phillipson

Adam — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 12:19:10 +0000

Indoor bonsai care can be quite a difficult process to say the least. Without proper care and attention bonsai trees are prone to dying which is a rather unfortunate for the grower and the tree itself. Many people have different views on the proper way to care for bonsai trees and today I am going to tell you the five top indoor bonsai care tips around. By using the advice provided you will be able to grow great looking bonsai trees and prevent yourself from becoming a “bonsai gardening statistic”. The tips I am about to share with you are of course reasonably basic, however, they are extremely effective at encouraging the growth of bonsai trees. Without using the five tips it is nearly impossible to grow a good tree as they are the basic things every bonsai tree requires in order to develop. In a way indoor bonsai care is a bit like building a house - you need firm foundations before you can complete the rest of the construction. The following five indoor bonsai care tips are a firm foundation for growing great trees.

Tip 1 - How To Water A Bonsai Tree

Watering is easily one of the most important elements in indoor bonsai care. Too little water and the tree will dehydrate and die, too much water and you will literally drown the tree. After many years experience of growing bonsai trees I have found that watering is the number one problem most people (especially beginners face) To ensure that you are correctly watering your bonsai tree you should wait for the soil to start drying out (don’t let it completely dry though!) Next, water the plant until excess water seeps out of the bottom of the pot. Don’t water the bonsai again until the soil starts to dry out. I have found that this is easily the best way to water a bonsai tree as it is nearly impossible to either over-water or under-water the tree.

Tip 2 - Picking The Right Soil

Picking the right soil is vital for indoor bonsai care - after all, half of the tree is covered by soil. To pick the right type of soil you should visit your nearest garden centre (or bonsai specialist if there’s one in your area) and tell them what exact type of bonsai tree you have. They will help you find the right soil for your needs. Also, remember to buy the highest quality soil you can as this makes a massive difference. Spending an extra $5 a bag on higher quality soil is definitely worth it in the long run!

Tip 3 - How To Apply Fertilizer Correctly

Incorrect application of fertilizer is quite a big problem for those new to indoor bonsai care. On many occasions I have even seen beginner bonsai growers pick insoluble fertilizers and then wonder why their tree wound up dying a few weeks down the track. Bonsai trees need to be given a water soluble fertilizer either once or twice a month during the growing season only. Also, the fertilizer must only be applied when the soil is wet or you will see no result from the fertilizer. Buying a high quality fertilizer is also worth the extra cost so visit your local gardening centre and inquire about the various types of water soluble fertilizer they have. If you try one type of fertilizer and it doesn’t work then wait until the next growing season to try a different fertilizer - don’t mix and match unless it is absolutely neccessary.

Tip 4 - How To Prune A Bonsai Tree

Pruning is another vital part of indoor bonsai care. The process of pruning is done in two different ways (”branch pruning” and “root pruning”) You should branch prune at the start of spring and carefully remove all the branches on the tree except those that you wish to keep. Root pruning is similar but should only occur when the bonsai’s roots have bound themselves inside the pot. It is absolutely critical to learn the basic process of bonsai tree pruning before you try and sculpt your tree into various shapes so make sure you get this basic stuff right!

Tip 5 - Choosing The Right Environment To Encourage Growth

This final tip is one of the most important factors in correct indoor bonsai care. You should place your bonsai in an area that receives plenty of sunlight (by a window is a natural choice for most but ensure that the windowsill is wide enough to hold the pot properly so that it doesn’t get knocked over by mistake) Make sure that the room is neither too warm nor too cold (room temperature works well if the tree is given a good source of light but this can vary species to species) Also, make sure that the room is reasonably humid so the soil doesn’t dry out too quickly.

In this article I have covered the five most basic aspects of indoor bonsai care - how to water the tree, how to pick the right soil, how to properly apply fertilizer, how to prune the tree for optimum growth and how to get the growing environment/conditions just right. Follow this advice and you’ll be well on your way to growing great bonsai trees and being an indoor bonsai care master!

About the Author

Samuel Phillipson has been a keen bonsai grower for over 30 years and has a large collection of bonsai trees that have won numerous awards. If you found these tips on bonsai gardening useful you can find out a lot more on how “Growing Bonsai Revealed - Step - By - Step” can help you grow amazing bonsai trees at http://www.squidoo.com/indoor-bonsai-care