Bonsai Art

Woodlice are insects that we see very often in the garden. Their main purpose in life is to eat wood so should we be worried about them around our bonsai?

Well the simple answer to that is yes you should be worried if you see them in your bonsai pot. They do eat wood, but they only eat rotting wood. So it can be a bad sign if you see them in the pot near the roots. It probably means that your tree has got a bit of root rot going on.

They will not eat wood if it is not rotting so it’s a good indication that something wrong is happening under the soil.

How can we stop them eating the roots? Quite easily actually. You need to repot the tree making sure that it has got ample drainage. Drainage is vital in a bonsai pot to make sure that the roots don’t get waterlogged and end up rotting (which will attract woodlice). Be sure to repot the tree in early spring which is the best time to do so.

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Seeing as this week is the week of the Chelsea Flower Show I thought I’d write about flowers.
Some bonsai are enhanced by flowers such as the azalea or serissa. They do however sometimes need a bit of special care and feeding so that they remain healthy during and after flowering.

The main part to remember is that they will need more fertilizer than usual during the flowering and afterwards too. You can use your normal bonsai fertilizer for this purpose. They also need to be checked that they have enough water while in flower as it can drink more than normal while they are there.

On some bonsai trees the flowers turn into fruit afterwards such as apples or cherries. It is not recommended that you let the bonsai grow fruit every season as it can really put a drain on it’s resources. It takes an immense amount of sugars and nutrients to create fruits so it should not be taken they it will be able to grow them often. It’s best to pluck them off when still small if you can.

The key points:
1. Make sure it’s got enough water
2. Fertilize more regularly
3. Remove fruits

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Leaves are there to build up a tree’s strength. Cut down a small sapling to below the leaves and chances are it will not survive. The leaves actually convert sunlight into sugars which can then be used to heal broken bark, grow extra roots and branches and generally get stronger.

Use leaves to help yamadori recover

With collected trees, you will most likely need to chop off a lot of the roots leaving very weak defenses. The best way to let the tree recover is to let it grow very bushy for the first year in the ground.

Less leaf growth shows a weak tree

Again the best way to let a tree recover is to let it grow on in the ground making sure it’s got water and not too much sun. Hopefully by letting it grow leaves naturally this way it will get back to health. But lack of leaf growth or brittle/wilted leaves definitely show an ill tree.

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Leaves are there to give the tree strength and you should not cut off too many or the tree will suffer.

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Planting a bonsai tree in the ground is the best thing you can do for a sickly tree in a pot. fact.
I have tried many many different techniques but found this to be the best option for you if you think your tree is dead or has lost all it’s leaves.

If you have been reading the previous articles on the site you would have seen that I had a hawthorn and an oak that I thought were dead. I am pleased to say they are on their way to making good recoveries and are now looking nice and green. The only part which I am concerned might not have survived is the top of each tree. The new buds are opening halfway down the tree, this is usually a sign that above that part it has died.

Buds tend to open and grow first from the top of the tree. All the nutrients seem to be sent straight to the top first of all and work their way back down the tree slowly.

Collected trees should also go straight into the ground if you have space for them. It helps them to recover from the stressful move they have just gone through. As I pointed out on goarticles the other day it is totally unnatural for a tree to move! Place your yamadori in the ground for a year before it’s pot and it should recover nicely.

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I’ve been putting off the update of this site for way too long.
Today I got hacked, I found a load of hidden porn links on the site. Well I learnt my lesson and from now on I will keep it up to date!

I think I’ve now removed them all. If you notice anymore please comment below, thank you.

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