Recent content by tolstoy

I purchased a small bag of tiny roots all-purpose bonail soil. I'm new to bonsai, but the mix does seem pretty heavy on bark and very light on grit. Does anyone have any experience or opinions on this product? I'm not looking to mix my own soil yet and was wondering if this is worth using?

Ok, so I will skip the wisteria. I'd rather focus on things that will be hardy in my planting zone.

Brian, Great info, thanks! One more question -- feeding developing trees. What? How much? How often? Ok, one more question after that -- should I be concerned about pests and fungus? I grow a lot of roses and these require a constant regimen of sprays to keep blackspot, mildew and rust at...

For one tree, I'm planning on taking the layer from branches, not an existing trunk. This is why I fear some of them will be overly large/long and un-weildy after I remove the layer. Most of the foliage for these is waaaaaaaay out in the end of the limbs, so after I remove the layer, I'll just...

Well I like to think of myself as saving it from the poison ivy, sticker bushes and very invasive wild grape vine that is currently completely obscuring this thing and all the other landscaping that borders my backyard. :rolleyes:

Not a bad idea. One of these trees is buried from view in an overgrown border between my property and a golf course/country club. It would be very easy to experiment with as there are ample places to try layering. I don't think anyone even knows this tree exists.

I have a few Japanese cherry trees on the edge of my property that I want to take an air layer from an existing branches. Both of these cherries are unwieldy and overgrown (one is hidden in large border of scrub). As such, they have some very long, thick branches. So my question is this, when...

My planting zone is 6B. Seedlings I am planning on growing next spring are -- trident maple, European beech, bald cyprus and chinese wisteria. I am hoping I can over-winter these in my un-heated garage, if need be. I was also planning on picking up some inexpensive nursery stock and to...

Hello all, I am going to try my hand of developing some bonsai from seedlings next spring. I've been trying to read up as much as possible, but I can't seem to get a clear picture as to what exactly I need to do for success. Assuming I will be purchasing some 1-year old seedlings for...

Does anyone have recommendations for making a soil mix for either an airlayer cutting or a newly dug up yamadori?

Hey all, I'm new to bonsai and I'm trying to read and get as much info as I can before embarking on my first few projects this spring. That being said: a few quick questions -- After collecting a specimen from the wild, what kind of soil should it be potted in the first year and/or second...

Hi everyone, I will start by admitting up front that I am a complete newbie when it comes to Bonsai and am very interested into getting into it as a hobby. I have been growing and caring for roses for many years now, so I have an idea of what it takes to care for plants that require lots of...