Bonsai Today

Spring

When and how to repot

Finding out for yourself the best time to repot deciduous trees isn't easy. Our smart guide to varieties and their cultivars gives you the answers you need.

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11 December 2025

Autumn

Clear as an open oyster

Are you giving your bonsai enough calcium?

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20 October 2025

Summer

Second flush

Defoliation and leaf reduction involves the complete or partial removal of the new spring foliage once it has hardened off. It is a widely used...

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30 September 2025

Shohin

Racing roots

Unlike the deciduous species, the interval between transplanting conifers is longer and care is needed not to over prune the roots. Using two examples, Hiroki Miura shows...

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19 August 2025

Shohin

Almost perfect

One of the very first trees I 'attacked' with my scissors was a Malus sieboldii (crab apple); a specimen very tolerant...

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18 August 2025

Summer

Slimming down

By removing branches to make smaller foliage pads, Harumi Ishii shows us how to improve a black pine (Pinus thunbergi) from an informal upright into a ...

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2 July 2025

Shohin

How to Hakama

Ayumu Fukano shows you how to control the Japanese maple's abundant growth during the summer. The maple featured here boasts a powerful nebari and a thick...

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25 June 2025

Autumn

Acers are one of the most widely appreciated species in the autumn when their foliage reminds us of the season. Trees in nature will create very beautiful colours if they are given the correct conditions and health; however...

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11 June 2025

Step by Step

‘Muscles’ on the beech

In the deciduous range, beech is one of the popular trees for bonsai. Although its leaves are not so tiny and delicate as elm, or even hornbeam...

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21 May 2025

Spring

All about the roots

How to carry out a proper root treatment in order to eliminate the differences in root strength and create an even better-looking nebari. Let us follow some example trees and see what can be improved...

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20 May 2025

Summer

Too hot or too dry

Bonsai can be in trouble during the summer. Here's what you can do.
How to detect or deal with overheated trees and avoid any further damage. Using actual examples, we will show you what you can expect and what to do...

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8 May 2025

Autumn

Delicate and painstaking

. . . but it needs to be done. How to remove the old needles on pines...

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23 May 2024

Grafting

The root dentist

In Japan roots are corrected and repositioned just as dentists do it...

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16 May 2024

Spring

Where are the flowers?

Janine Droste, many years fascinated by the beauty of Satsuki bonsai, shows how to style a Satsuki 'Nikko'.

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18 April 2024

Spring

Can an azalea be styled?

Hiromi Tsukada shows us how to create a deciduous-like image with a Satsuki azalea

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15 April 2024

Spring

After the blossom

Once the flowering is over we must see it as a fresh start and begin preparations for the following year...

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9 April 2024

Summer

Cool me down

Watering bonsai during the heat of the summer growing season...

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29 February 2024

Autumn

After leaf drop

A beginners' guide to pruning deciduous trees after leaf drop.

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1 February 2024

Winter

Bonsai in winter

The last leaves have fallen and winter takes everything into a deep rest. Is there anything we should do to protect our trees?

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31 October 2023

Autumn

How to improve euonymus

The winged spindle tree charms with its cork bark and deep crimson foliage There are a number of species in…...

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15 June 2023

Spring

Into the core…

A pine slowly starts to die off, so what is happening here?

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19 May 2023

Autumn

Pruning Prunus

Cultivating Prunus from winter into spring..

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3 May 2023

Spring

The key branch

The material used here is a Satsuki. It is a twin trunk and there are two apicies, but without a clear and obvious overall direction. The first thing to do will be to determine the front of the tree and work from there.