Bonsai Art is styled as a blog, but it's actually a megasite containing all the info you need for styling bonsai trees.

New articles are added all the time to help you with caring for your little bonsai trees.

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The Common Woodlouse - Friend or Foe?

Posted in Diseases & Pests by Adam

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.

Oak Decline - A Growing Problem

Posted in Diseases & Pests by Adam

Reports of Oak decline are said to date back to the 1920’s so it is no new disease. However recently in the news has been reports of it spreading more rapidly and killing off whole oak groves. The disease is said to be welling up again more rapidly due to the increase in temperature in this country due to global warming.

The symptoms of the disease “oak decline” starts off by showing the yellowing of leaves during spring and summer. The oak dies from the top branches downwards inevitably killing the whole tree in the end. The branches towards the top of the oak resemble a stags horns being bare at all times of the year.
Cankers on the trunk will then bleed a black pus-like liquid from the trunk. Oak decline stunts the trees ability to defend itself against other insects, fungi and diseases.