The Bonsai Files
Your free access to general and how-to articles, The Bonsai Files. Detailed and filled with bonsai pictures, Zach shows you step-by-step how he designs bonsai and provides before, during, and after images.
The Bonsai Files
Potting And Repotting – Water-Elm, Boxelder, Lantana
I potted up this Water-elm last year. It's a specimen from the 2018 collecting season, and since Water-elms develop so quickly I was able to move it along less than a year after it was first lifted. It's a nice composition, but there's one problem with it - the...
Bonsai Odds & Ends – Hophornbeam & Dogwood
Eastern hophornbeam, Ostrya virginiana, is a good species for bonsai though seldom grown. It's a member of the birch family, as is its close cousin the hornbeam. The leaves, however, are coarser. On the good side of the ledger, they produce a rough bark when...
Chinese Elm: Unsurpassed
If I had to select only one species to grow as bonsai, it would be Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia). If I had to select the one species grown for bonsai that has been most abused by the commercial bonsai industry, it would be Chinese elm. Be that as it may, I...
Let’s Go Water-Elm Rafting
I love raft-style bonsai. We often find Water-elms (Planera aquatica) growing naturally in this style, as their tendency is to grow naturally in a shrub-like form. We brought this one home last summer, and it recovered very nicely. I've been itching to work on...
Flower Power
Just a quick blog this evening featuring a wonderful flowering species for bonsai, Huckleberry (blueberry). I've only been working with them for four or five years now, but I've been pleasantly surprised at how freely they bloom in a pot. It only takes a year...
Another Repotting Project – Cedar Elm
Here's a Cedar elm that needs repotting. It was collected two years ago, and has filled out wonderfully well. This growing season should see a finished bonsai of this specimen.Repotting time is always the time to make corrections to the rootage of your bonsai....
Chinese Elm Repotting – Key Bonsai Practice
Repotting our trees is a key bonsai practice, and one that you must gain mastery of. Here is a summary of basic steps you'll take each time you repot your trees: Make sure you have all necessary tools and supplies, including prepared soil, before you start Have...
A Quick And Easy BC Forest
A couple of years ago I planted some Bald cypress seeds in a cutoff 3-gallon nursery pot. I did nothing to them, just let them do their thing. I've had my eye on the dominant tree for a while now, figuring I'd split up the group and plant them separately into...
Some Things That Are Waking Up
Each winter there are certain specimens of certain species that decide to wake early from dormancy. It just takes a little warmth and sunshine, and they start popping buds. We just finished up Bald cypress collecting season last week. This one was collected two...