Late Potting Or Repotting Your Bonsai

by | Mar 27, 2021 | Care, Ginkgo, Maples, Most Recent, Potting

late potting or repotting your bonsai

the bonsai files

Sneak Peek

Who doesn’t dread the idea of late potting or repotting a bonsai? It’s all supposed to get done on time. But ….

Late Potting or Repotting Your Bonsai

There’s potting time for bonsai, which is usually repotting time. It’s supposed to happen at the time which is ideal for whatever species you’re growing. Now, everyone out there who always does this at the ideal time, raise your hands ….

I committed my first potting/repotting sin over 30 years ago, and am still going strong today! No, it’s not something I do for fun, it’s just a necessity sometimes. The good news is, I’ve learned a few tricks that pretty much ensure my trees will survive my transgressions. I’ll share them with you today.

Let’s start with this small Swamp maple bonsai I first potted back in 2019. I had grown it from seed, and after a few years it had a nice trunk with good movement and taper, and I knew I could complete the development of the tree in a bonsai pot. That was two years ago, of course, and as you might suspect from the size of the pot it’s in, there isn’t any more room for roots. You can see this lack of space reflected in the foliar growth – the leaves have some deformation in them. So the tree is struggling to continue on.

The obvious answer is to repot the tree. The obvious problem is it’s already fully in leaf. What to do?

First let’s take off the ugly foliage. It’s going to have to come off anyway, as it’s much too large and the needs of ramification mean defoliation step by step as new growth emerges.

 

Out of the pot it comes. I think the problems with growth we already noticed directly reflect the overcrowded root system.

Now, you may be wondering if it’s okay to root-prune at this time. I can say I’ve done it, but when I do it’s usually a light root-pruning. Many species can take a lot of abuse, but there’s no point in pushing things if you don’t have to.

In this case of this tree, it needs large pot so that gives me the opportunity to slip-pot and not cut any root at all. And that’s ideal in cases like this one.

I just in some round pots from Byron Myrick, and I think this one suits the tree very nicely. Obviously it’s roomier, and that will help me achieve my goal of increasing the trunk size of this tree (yes, I know that’s a slow process but I accepted a smaller specimen when I first potted it; if I had wanted a thicker-trunked specimen I’d have put it in the ground).

It’s fun to push the envelope from time to time, so how about potting up this Ginkgo today? Well, the tree is fully in leaf so that’s going to be risky. The bonsai pot this tree goes in is going to be a lot smaller than the nursery pot you see – that means a lot of roots will end up on the ground. So my risk goes up quite a bit. But there are a couple of things you can do when faced with this situation.

First I need to pick out a pot. There’s this Kintsugi I made over the winter. The tree will certainly go in it fine, but I’m interested in a more permanent home.

Here’s another Byron pot, and I’ve got to say I think this match was made in heaven. Let’s find out.

Yes, I think this really nails the composition. With this Ginkgo, I’m not looking for a much heftier tree; I’d like it to stay the height it is now, and fill out over time. So this pot should suffice for a very long time.

Okay, so the tree’s potted now and it has lost about 75% of its root system. That’s risky, to be sure. So how do we mitigate the risk? One thing I’ve already done is to remove one of the leaders on the tree. That’s not a huge amount of the top-growth, but it is some and it helps to balance the root loss. Whenever possible, I recommend keeping the balance between root removal and foliar removal as equal as you can. That way the stress on the tree will be lessened.

I have one more trick to ensuring (as best I can) that this tree survives the late potting.

Always keep a supply of produce bags handy. They’re great for maintaining the humidity surrounding the foliage of your tree, which prevents transpiration losses while the root system regenerates. I expect to have this bag on the tree for two to four weeks.

You may have noticed the twine I used to lash the bag to the pot. In your garden or yard, anything that an act as a sail will do so – in fact, if you want to kick up a breeze try bagging some cuttings. It works for me every time!

Let me know what you think of today’s work. Do you pot or repot out of season?

Big Water-Elm Progression

by | Mar 16, 2021 | Care, Elms, Most Recent, Potting, Water Elm

big water-elm progression

the bonsai files

Sneak Peek

We collected this big Water-elm in late-summer 2018. It’s three years later, and time for the tree to go into its custom bonsai pot.

Big Water-elm Progression

This very nice and very large Water-elm – trunk base 4″ above the root crown, height destined to be 36″ – had eked out some growth in the fall of 2018 after we collected it in late summer. Those are fall leaves you see on the tree, in this photo taken in February of 2019.

A couple of months later I was able to do an initial styling on those very few branches the tree made available. Hey, you gotta start somewhere. The tree doesn’t look like much yet, but this is where you’ll start with just about every deciduous tree you collect. I always recommend wiring branches just as soon as possible, because that’s when they’re easiest to bend into the position you want. The longer you wait, the harder it gets and at some point it becomes impossible.

 

It’s fun to be able to fast-forward a year (don’t we all love progression series?). Those branches I wired have certainly grown out. I’ve even been able to prune them back some and regrow them.

You’ll notice that the leader I wired up in the photo above is a lot thicker now. It’s been through at least a couple of rounds of grow and chop. That’s how it’s done.

This is September of last year, and the tree has just put on a huge amount of growth.
Water-elms develop very quickly once you have them in a container – even a bonsai container, and even if you jump the gun on thickening your leader. They’re not really weeds, but are actually considered as such (meaning noxious weeds) in areas where they’re plentiful. They grow accordingly.

 

Here’s the first shot from yesterday, the fateful day. With the warm weather that has set in lately, this tree (along with most of my other Water-elms) was swelling buds. I don’t mind potting or repotting when a tree’s buds are swelling, but I almost always avoid it once the tree is leafed out.

And this wraps up the magic for Monday March 15th, 2021. I had commissioned this outstanding Lary Howard custom pot last year, and it’s been waiting patiently for this tree. I can’t imagine a better match.

As is common when you root-prune a tree that’s swelling buds, this one is leafing out in just 24 hours! The root-pruning triggers the explosion of foliar growth. A week from now, this tree will be fully in leaf.

Let me know what you think of this one. I’m very pleased with how quickly it’s become a showable bonsai.

It’s Happening – Sunshine, Warmth and Foliage

by | Mar 6, 2021 | Blueberry, Care, Most Recent

it’s happening – sunshine, warmth and foliage

the bonsai files

Sneak Peek

It’s hard to describe how you feel when after bitter cold, snow and ice, you finally get sunshine warmth, and foliage on your bonsai!

It’s Happening – Sunshine, Warmth and Foliage

It’s so great to finally be getting some sunshine, warmth and foliage on my trees! So great, in fact, that I just wanted to post a quick blog featuring a few Huckleberries, which have beaten all of my other species to the punch this year (even the Chinese elms, which are certainly not far behind).

I potted this one recently and posted a blog about it. Today it’s up for sale at our Shop.

I’ve kept you updated on this specimen as it’s developed over the past few years. There are fewer blossoms this year, but that’s fine – I’m looking for more ramification and development of that leader on the right-hand trunk.

It’s year two for this big one. I love how the foliage is a mixture of green and magenta. Very inspiring at this time of year. Not to mention it’s got a good show of blossoms.

If you haven’t tried Huckleberry (or any of the Blueberries) as bonsai, I can’t recommend them more highly.

Big Bald Cypress Gets A Home

by | Feb 27, 2021 | Bald Cypress, Care, Most Recent, Potting, Styling, Wiring

big bald cypress gets a home

the bonsai files

Sneak Peek

I’ve been working on this big Bald cypress since 2015. I’ve been anxiously waiting for the day when it got a home suited to it. Today it happened.

Big Bald Cypress Gets a Home

You’ve seen this big Bald cypress on a number of occasions. I’ve been working on it since it came home in 2015. I could say it’s an awesome specimen, but the tree speaks for itself. A couple of years after I started working on it, I potted it into this training pot (a Byron Myrick piece that cracked during firing – he gave it to me and I put it to good use).

The tree was last repotted in 2019. It doesn’t necessarily need repotting this year, but since I finally have THE pot there’s certainly no harm in doing so.

First, of course, the tree needs a thorough wiring and some minor trimming.

I forgot to mention that this tree was the first one to start pushing buds this year. The hard freezes we got recently did nip the new growth some, but the warm-up that’s happened in the past few days has resulted in lots more buds. The tree is certainly eager for 2021.

Here I’ve started on the right-hand side of the tree. By the way, when you find yourself wiring a tree that’s coming into bud, you obviously need to be careful not to damage the new buds … to the greatest extent you can. You will damage some buds. With BC in particular, they bud so prolifically that you’re going to knock off quite a few buds as you wire. Do your best, but don’t get too worried if you lose some buds. This is the time of year when these trees are super strong and determined to come out.

 

Here I’ve switched over to the left side of the tree. Ordinarily I wire from bottom to top, first branch second branch third branch and so on, but you can do it this way if you want. This is especially true when wiring a dormant tree or one that’s just coming into bud.

I’m almost done. There are some smaller shoots in the apex that I’m leaving to help continue the thickening of the tapering transition. No need to wire them. Then there’s that lowest left branch that has plodded along all these years. I’ll wire it today, but I also have a couple of small new shoots that could end up taking its place, if either one decides to get really vigorous. Time will tell.

And finally, this big BC is in its custom-made home. Lary Howard did a spectacular job on this pot – the color couldn’t be better suited to Bald cypress. Plus I think the rectangular shape with rounded corners is just right for this tree.

I’ll post additional updates on this tree as it finishes its transformation into a fine specimen bonsai. In about two years, I expect to have it done.

Let me know what you think of today’s work.

Post-Snow Elm Work

by | Feb 21, 2021 | Care, Chinese Elm, Elms, Most Recent, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm, Wiring

post-snow elm work

the bonsai files

Sneak Peek

This past week was the worst, weather-wise, since 2014. I did better at freeze protection.

Post-Snow Elm Work

It’s been an interesting time since my last blog two weeks ago. Last Saturday and Sunday were spent putting all of my temperate trees on the ground and under benches where possible, then covering the entire system of benches with plastic. I know what can happen at 15F, with freezing rain and snow. This time they predicting 10F, after the freezing rain and snow. Last time I simply couldn’t take any protective measures; this time I did all I could.

The good news is, despite freezing rain and snow our lowest low temp was only 20F. Now that’s pretty doggone cold for some of the species I grow, deadly in fact for some, but on the ground and under cover I think everything should make it. I’ll know in about four to size weeks.

Yesterday and today were spent uncovering everything, moving blocks of ice that hadn’t yet melted, and cleaning up broken overhead shade cloth supports that couldn’t take the hundred pounds of ice that froze on it. All in all, I had some minor apex damage on about a dozen trees due to the weight on the plastic covering. But everything’s back on the bench now.

We move on. It looks like temperatures are moderating this coming week, so it won’t be long until the Chinese elms are starting to leaf out. I actually have one specimen that’s unfurling some leaves, and though they got a little bitten this past week it won’t stop the tree from pushing on ahead soon. This forest planting, which is starting to look very nice, should be budding in the next week or so. There are a couple of things that need doing today, before this happens.

You probably noticed the left-most tree – it was just too straight. So I put a piece of 6mm wire on it and gave it just a little curve. That makes a big difference. I also wired up the apex on the number two tree.

Once the tree has put on a flush of growth, I’ll trim it back pretty hard to increase ramification. Chinese elms are very cooperative when it comes to reducing leaf size and twigginess. So this forest is going to be in great shape by summer.

This is one of the Water-elms we collecting last summer. It grew really well into fall, so well in fact that it needs to be wired in order to prevent it from becoming a do-over. What’s a do-over? That’s a piece of raw material that’s so overgrown you literally have to remove all of the branches and regrow them. Left alone, most collected deciduous trees will grow branches that reach for the sky, and thicken fast enough to render them useless in a bonsai design within two years at most. That’s one reason I like to move material within the first year if possible. I don’t have time to wire everything that hits my benches, so if a customer gets a specimen in that first year out of the ground, they can get an initial styling done before the branches get out of hand. That can save at least a year in the development of a tree.

Here I’ve started by removing the superfluous low branches, and wiring the first and second (in this case left and right) branches. This, by the way, is a key milestone in the design of any tree from raw material. As you work your way from the bottom of a new piece of material, that first branch sets the tone for all of the others. And once you get the first two branches wired and positioned, the rest of your design is almost guaranteed to fall right into place.

The next two branches are done, a back branch and a left side branch (which will also provide some front-facing foliage to cover some of the trunk). The left branch is just an elongated stub with a few nodes, as it hadn’t ramified yet. Once it does, which will happen starting in spring, I’ll be able to fill out its design.

The was a lot less than met the eye in the apex. While there was a good bit of growth, most of it was unusable. Not to mention the fact that there’s some dead wood that was just below the original leader. I didn’t like that as a starting point for my apex, so I cut it away. The current leader is emerging from what should be a good and healthy point on the trunk. I’ll let it grow unrestrained for at least a month once the tree comes out, and start building the crown from there.

I hope all of you affected by the deep-freeze came through all right.