I’m glad to say it’s going perfectly and could end up being one of my best looking bonsai to date! It’s still very small (about 2-3 inches) and is putting out loads of shoots. It’s had time to grow through the spring and summer and is looking pretty good. Have a look for yourself!

Original post here

- If you have monkey poles you should make sure that the pots are either tied down or place them on the floor while it is windy.

- Try to place exposed trees in more sheltered areas to minimize the risk of damage

- Look above for rotted branches in full sized trees. These can easily snap off in high winds and crush a poor bonsai!

- Resist the temptation to bring the trees indoors as this can do more harm than good with the extreme change in climate.

- Finally… Go and find a big open field and fly a kite in it.

tell me all you know so that I can be a master

Well unfortunately there is a lot to say about learning the full art of bonsai and becoming a master! However there are many different secrets to create on old looking tree without having to sit around for years waiting for it to grow. I bought a fantastic ebook called “Bonsai Gardening Secrets” a little while back which taught me a lot of new tricks. Although I did know quite a few of them already from studying bonsai for the past however many years!

The book is also perfect for beginners as it gives a full A-Z guide full of everything you need to know about bonsai. There is also two interesting free ebooks with it at the moment which I didn’t get when I bought it as the offer wasn’t on at the time.
One called “The Guide To Indoor Bonsai” and the other called “Your First Bonsai Tree: A Buyer’s Guide”.

To see the book and what it has to offer Click Here!

I was away this weekend when it got hot so I wasn’t able to water my trees. Worse still I forgot about it Monday night so they’ve had to go until Tuesday night without a watering. The last time it rained was Saturday morning I think. One or two of them are looking a little wilted but they will be ok.

The main part to remember is to always water your bonsai when the weather gets hot and they are in the sun all day. The best time to water your bonsai is at dusk when the sun is starting to set. If you have to water them in the day time try not to get any on the leaves because they can easily burn in the sun.

They burn because the water droplets on the leaves act as a sort of magnifying glass which scorches the leaves. Because of this it is always better to try to wait until dusk if at all possible.

Both contain some great pictures and information. It’s always good to have a bit of extra knowledge to read up on or just to have to hand if you need it. They came for the huge price of 70p for the two! One has 9.99 on the cover so it’s a big saving.

It’s always good to check out the car boot sale for bargains on the weekend whatever sort of things you are looking for. One guy was even selling a motorbike…

For the non-UK visitors, a car boot sale is a place where lots of people wanting to sell things meet up every weekend. They all park their cars in the car park or field and set out their junk on tables. People come around and check it all out and if they like something they ask them how much it is. This starts at first light on a Saturday and Sunday morning (about 5:30am)

Explaining it here it sounds quite odd but to us British it’s a normal weekend!

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.

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

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.