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  1. DrBonsai

    Strange JBP Candles

    Started de-candling a small JBP and noticed most of the candles are strange/deformed . I have had the tree about 9 years and this is the first time I have noticed this behavior. I read somewhere that it may be adelgids but I am not sure. Looking for other opinions.
  2. DrBonsai

    Chinese Red Pines "Pinus tabuliformis" and Chinese White Pines "Pinus armandii "

    I recently saw these for sale at an online plant nursery and in the description that stated they can be used for Bonsai. Anyone have any experience with them ? I didn't get a lot of hits on Google so I am assuming they are either not good for bonsai or not very popular.
  3. DrBonsai

    Ivan Watters Passing

    Taken from March newsletter of the Midwest Bonsai Society: "Ivan Watters Passing: Sadly, after a severe illness Ivan, one of our founding members, current board member and sensai, passed away quietly, on February 26th at the age of 85. Memorial Visitation to be scheduled soon. Cremation and...
  4. DrBonsai

    Best Root Stock for Grafting Cork Bark JBP in Midwest (Zone 5b) ?

    As a future project, I am thinking about grafting JBP Cork Bark (Nishiki?) on a more winter hardy root stock than JBP. Jonas Dupuich has an excellent blog: https://bonsaitonight.com/2013/01/15/creating-cork-bark-black-pine/ , which goes into the details pretty well. My question would be, " Which...
  5. DrBonsai

    Pruning Shoots in Scots (or Mugo Pines)

    In Zone 5, is it too late to prune/cut extended shoots in Scots pine to get ramification and promote back budding ? Leaving 5 or 6 pairs of this years needles on the shoot, would one expected to get new buds at the cut site ? I did not pinch candles and intended to cut shoots after needle...
  6. DrBonsai

    Repotting Mugo Pines in Summer

    I am located near Chicago, Zone 5, and was planning on repotting a couple of nursery Mugo Pines and other existing Mugo pines during this weekend, However, it looks like we will be having extended 90 degree temperatures throughout the next two weeks of July. With proper care is it ok to proceed...
  7. DrBonsai

    Chinese Quince Leaf Blight/Fleck or is it some type of Cedar-Rust ?

    Have some issues with my Chinese Quince. Started with a few leaves on larger plant, then spread like wildfire. I am sure constant rain in Chicago area did not help. https://extension.illinois.edu/focus/index.cfm?problem=cedar-rust-differences I have sprayed with Copper Soap ( Bonide) and used...
  8. DrBonsai

    Juniper Restyling Discussion

    At the recent 41st Annual Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition, I was admiring this Juniper which won second place in the show. Co-incidentally, a picture of the tree from the Sept. 2016 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition was also present in the issue of the BCI Magazine that was available free at the...
  9. DrBonsai

    Sad about Yew

    Taxus Baccata in Spring 2016 After Wiring and First Styling Oct. 22, 2017 Today The tree looked fine after wiring. No issues apparent and then tree was placed in un-heated garage for winter in late November, 2017. In early April, the Yew was...
  10. DrBonsai

    Juniper Grafting Results and Observations

    See: https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/juniper-whip-splice-tongue-grafts.26610/ In early March I made 12 grafts of itoigawa foliage on to Juniperus scopulorum. They all stayed green until July, then there appeared to be some browning of some grafts. I kept the bags on until September and made...
  11. DrBonsai

    Northern Charm Boxwood (Buxus 'wilson')

    While visiting my local Lowe's, I noticed for the first time a cultivar of Boxwood that I haven't seen before, Northern Charm Boxwood. It had very small foliage, very dense small internodes and best of all grows in zone 4-8 , cold hardiness. I have never seen this Boxwood discussed in the...
  12. DrBonsai

    Failed Approach Graft on JBP

    After 4 years I separated approach graft on a JBP. I cut half the branch in Dec. and the other half in Early March. I thought all was well, but apparently it took awhile for the graft to die. I removed the dead graft, however, there is a large ugly cut on the trunk. My question is how to best...
  13. DrBonsai

    Juniper Whip/Splice/Tongue Grafts

    I recently grafted some itoigawa foilage on to Juniperus scopulorum . How long before I know they fail ? Do they turn brown right away or do they tease you and stay green for months ? BTW, If anyone asks you about Bonide Granular Fungicide, you don't know me.....
  14. DrBonsai

    Weather Forecast and/or Predictions

    Chicago Area received our first freezing temperatures last night. Almost set a record for latest date for freezing temp. It has been a warmer November than usual. It got me thinking when to bring the trees in for storage. The issues I have is that Weather.com and Accuweather have pretty...
  15. DrBonsai

    Balled & Burlapped (B&B) Hinoki Cypress

    Yesterday I purchased a Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Compacta' from Home Depot on sale. It was in a 15 gallon Nursery pot with what looked like "Nursery" soil. It looked liked it had good potential so I brought it home. At home, upon further investigation (while looking to fully expose the nebari) I...
  16. DrBonsai

    Cork Bark Fir or Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica for Bonsai

    Google search and BN search doesn't yield very much info. Does anyone have any experience with using Cork Bark Fir for Bonsai ? I am always a little nervous when I don't see info about a tree species being used for bonsai. It usually means that species doesn't like being a bonsai OR its an...
  17. DrBonsai

    Pollen Cones (pollen strobili) on Yew

    Should I remove the pollen cones on a developing yew ? Does it help conserve resources for the tree to develop more needles or branches ? If removal is advised do you just twist them off ?
  18. DrBonsai

    Winter Storage in Chicago

    I placed most of my Bonsai in an un-heated garage for the winter before Thanksgiving. However, a few of the larger conifers and Larch were left outside. We are having an un-seasonably warm Dec. and it will stay above freezing and in the high 40's and low 50's for the next 10 days. Is there any...
  19. DrBonsai

    Pine Needle Cast Treatment and Prevention

    Is Copper Sulfate (Copper Dust) or Copper Soap (Copper Octanoate) better for bonsai applications to counter and prevent needle cast? Bonide makes both and I wasn't sure if one was better than another for bonsai trees. Is there a preference to using Daconil (Chlorothalonil) ?
  20. DrBonsai

    Nursery Japanese White Pine Styling/Pruning Advice

    Recently when making the rounds at Local Nursery, I found a Pinus parviflora 'Glauca Early Cones' on sale. The Graft was low and a little ugly but I thought it was acceptable. I was looking for a JWP for experience and I thought this had potential. I thought trunk chopping above the first set...
  21. DrBonsai

    Pruning JBP shoots in August (now) ???

    I am in the midst of pruning Scots pine shoots to 4 pairs of needles to promote back budding and ramification. Could you do the same to a Japanese Black Pine whose candles were not pinched or pruned ? I left the JBP candles to elongate and help strengthen the foliage after a lot of needles were...
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