Search results

I'm about to head down to Florida for a vacation. What bonsai landmarks should I put on my itinerary?

Does anyone know a good source for electronic versions of Bonsai books and/or magazines; specifically older, out-of-print material? I have a good collection of physical books, but I'd hate to scan them all just so I can load them on my tablet (it's pretty rough on the bindings).

I'm about ready to place my annual online order for Akadama and Lava Rock (no local retailers in my area carry suitable supplies of these materials), and I was wondering if anyone else out there has a preferred online retailer for these soil components. Personally, I've been ordering from Wee...

I was reading back thru some books by Peter Adams and he mentions a few fertilizers and I'm wondering if anyone has any details about these products (most likely Brittish or at least European, and most likely never available here in the States) and what "modern equivalents" might be: Fisons...

I'm debating if I chopped this dawn redwood at the right location. I'm trying to achieve a formal upright style. There are plenty of buds further down th trunk, but I'm not sure with Dawn Redwoods if I should treat it more like a conifer (not to chop lower than the lowest branch) or a...

Is there an international system of measuring climate / hardiness requirements other than the USDA zones we use here in the US? I'm looking for a way to check the climate zones in Asia, Europe, Australia, etc. and as far as I know the USDA only provides a map/zone listing for North America.

This was my big year to try out air layering for the first time on an assortment of trees that I was planning to trunk-chop or just use for ornamental trees/shrubs around the yard. I got the layers started in May and used the "1-inch ring-bark (without bridge), apply rooting hormone powder...

I've got a Japanese Red Pine that's had yellowing needles here and there for the last few weeks. I took a close look as I plucked some of these needles out and found some thin grey insects on the needles. (I tried to take pics, but none came out very well; I'll try again tomorrow.) I've...

I recently bought a nice-sized P.s. 'Beuvronensis' from a local landscape nursery. It's has nice, compact, short-needled foliage and looked to be in perfect health. I've had it for about 6 weeks and over the last 3-4 weeks I've had a branch mysteriously die. It's the thickest branch of a...

I picked this fella up at a local landscape nursery and am disappointed to see that he's getting large patches of brown tips all over. He was in full sun there and I've kept him in the same situation in my yard. I've had it for about 6 weeks and the discoloration has been happening for the...

I'm air-layering several of the trees I've collected prior to doing major trunk-chops on the bottom portions. My Dawn Redwood has been the quickest to respond and has sent out several thick roots around the perimeter, which then hit the side of the plastic I wrapped the Sphagnum Moss with and...

I'm not sure if this is universal, but in central Ohio I find that under each of my pots lies a small colony of woodlice/pill bugs and a fine layer of what is probably thier droppings. Should I be concerned about this? I have my pots and grow boxes on treated wood & cinder block benches...

As maples have set out their first flush of leaves, yews and spruces are pushing out their bright new needles, and pines are producing their candles, I think it's safe to say: Springtime has finally arrived in Ohio! The question I have at the moment is this: Other than balanced/high-nitrogen...

How does one become a "Bonsai Master"? A simple enough question, though I suspect, in some cases at least, the answer may be somewhat nebulous. I've heard the term applied to a wide range of personalities in the field of bonsai; almost to the point where it seems insulting to refer to anyone...

I've got a few two-year-old birch seedlings and I'm wondering about what the next step is for developing them into potensai. (Most books talk about how to get them through the first year or two, but leave the rest to your imagination.) I planted them in a tray the spring of 2007, let them grow...

(For this guy's backstory, you can see the post I made about his counterpart here.) Here's a link to a 360-view of the privet, but no promises on when I might get sketches up for this one; he's a bit more challenging than the other guy. I'm pretty uncertain about a design direction here...

This is one of two privets (I'm not sure what variety) I "rescued" from being trampled by myself as I put up a new fence last spring. Both of the privets had nice, compact roots and threw out lots of new branches after being chopped down a bit. (Other than the thickest branch off the main...

Some bad local news in the paper today.

My wife and I both have a passion for exotic plants (me for bonsai material and her...for everything else), so when she let me know she was ordering a few things from an online retailer (who will remain nameless for the time being) I took a quick look at their offerings in case they sold...

I found a 4-foot-tall Bald Cypress at Lowes. It was marked way down and was the last of its kind there, so I decided to pick it up and see what I could do with it despite it's shabby (though not quite unhealthy) condition. Here are some pros and cons about the tree: Pros: Nice thick girth...

I was up helping my grandparents move about a month ago and noticed two young pines growing in the back of their property. They were both between 6 and 8 feet tall and had a trunk caliper around 1.5 inches. I've never tried my hand at a pine, but since these trees would certainly be destroyed...

A while back Vance Wood had an article online discussing his grow boxes and how they are specially suited for training conventional (i.e. not grown as bonsai material) nursery stock. He had said he planned to do a follow-up article eventually as well. My Google-Fu is failing me and I can't...

I'm familiar with the axiom of not fertilizing your trees for a few weeks after repotting (aside from some Osmocote mixed into the soil) to avoid damaging the roots that are already under stress, but what about spraying the trees with foliar feed? I suppose "finished" trees don't need any extra...

So, I'm busy devouring Naka's first Techniques book and one thing he mentioned seemed somewhat dubious compared to other things I've read. On his section on fertilizer, he discusses how to make fertilizer "biscuits," and then suggests placing just one on the surface of the soil, in a corner or...

In Naka's book Bonsai Techniques, in the chapter called "Trimming Twigs, Small Branches, and Debudding," he concludes the section full of great information with an especially cryptic paragraph (at least to me). Maybe someone more familiar with his work or eastern bonsai in general could let me...