Menu
deciduous
In the Palmatum of your hand
Leaf reduction helps to protect and to gain more ramification. One important technique to help deciduous trees during the heat of the summer is leaf reduction, or defoliation. This protects the internal branches. Here we look at several techniques that can be used. Partial defoliation and shoot pruning to improve…...
A good omen
It is a deciduous tree of the Fagaceae family and grows naturally in the mountains of various parts of Japan, also on the coastline on the side of the Sea of Japan. The oak’s local name is ‘Kashiwa’ and is mainly planted as a windbreak in those areas where it…...
Talking trees
What can autumn in deciduous trees tell you about the health of your bonsai? ‘The hidden life of trees’, a book by Peter Wohlleben, has transformed our views of the way trees work. For Harry Harrington it was a real eye opener. This article is based on his understanding of…...
A better me
The bonsai passion of Guido Pozzoli Almost like the Karate Kid, Guido came in contact with bonsai through his ju-jitsu instructor. What was your professional education? I studied engineering, which gave me the right tools for organization, control and the management of my company. How did you get into bonsai?…...
From father to son
The bonsai passion of Lukás Sirotný It was Lukás Sirotný’s father who taught him the basic bonsai skills. While still a student preparing himself for a career as an engineer, his life changed after attending a big bonsai congress. What was your training? I was born and raised in a…...
On the scrapheap?
Harry Harrington recovers a crab apple (Malus sylvestris) raft bonsai with a new design. I think many of us, as bonsai enthusiasts, will be familiar with the phrase ‘a bonsai is never finished’. However, I suspect that some people do not necessarily understand exactly what that means. Some bonsai can…...
Fan of naked trees
The bonsai passion of Sergio Cuan A huge fan of deciduous trees, Sergio Cuan, at first thought that bonsai might be just too difficult to grow. Sergio Cuan Born in: Havana, Cuba Married to: Laura Cuan Children: Isabella and Madeleine Education: Bachelor in Fine Arts, the Pratt Institute, New York…...
Vitex rotundifolia
Jerome Kellerhals has his bonsai garden in sunny Florida, where he mainly works on semi-tropicals. This time he explains the virtues of the Vitex rotundifolia, which has many varieties. The Vitex rotundifolia contains about 60 species, tropical and subtropical. The Vitex featured in this article is the Rotundifolia, the round…...
Chronicle of a Mop Top
Martin Nielsen tells his story of the broom style The broom style or whatever you would like to call it – maybe ‘Hokidachi’, as the Japanese say, even ‘mop top’. It is up to you to decide. You could also refer to it as the style of The Tree. The…...
The last flush…
Harry Harrington sums up the tasks for late summer and early autumn July in the Northern Hemisphere sees the last flushes of growth in most of the broadleaf and deciduous trees. After the vigorous growth of spring months and a pause for midsummer, these last flushes of growth are typically…...
Is it natural? (2)
Harry Harrington’s helps you to create and use deadwood features on deciduous and broadleaf bonsai As discussed in part one my favoured approach to creating deciduous and broadleaf deadwood is one originally pioneered by UK bonsai artist, Kevin Willson. The deadwood is given a blackened hollow core surrounded by a…...
Cherry on the rocks
The challenge is to create a finished tree starting from scratch How to create bonsai from cuttings, grafting and other methods withinteresting and unusual species. With the help of illustrations we will see how to take a piece of material through to completion. Prunus lannesiana A deciduous broad-leaved small or…...
Summer is coming
Late spring (May/June) tasks for native and deciduous bonsai Harry Harrington: ‘May is always a very busy month for bonsai enthusiasts growing deciduous bonsai. After a long winter and early spring of dormancy, our trees explode into growth and it can feel like it is impossible to keep up with…...
Increase the effectiveness of fertilisation
Why do we fertilise and with what? Where do we place fertiliser and what is the most effective NPK mix available? What other methods can we use? It is not simply a case of placing fertiliser on the soil without thinking. The amount and type of fertiliser, as well as
A date with spring
Spring tasks for native deciduous bonsai Repotting is the primary focus for bonsai enthusiasts during spring. However, there are a number of other tasks, often forgotten, that are worth carrying out at this time of year. The beginning of spring and start of the growing season when deciduous trees come…...