Brush Cherry and Miniature Hosta are currently flowering. Flying Dragon Orange and Natal Plum are setting fruit.

This will be the new tropical bonsai greenhouse to replace the one damaged in hurricane Sandy.

This is the time to prune and check wires!

Sometimes the summer sun can be a bit much for some bonsai. A shade-cloth filters the light, reduces the heat, and gives plants a chance to recover from the summer stress. When hurricane Sandy damaged the tropical house, we were originally going to replace it with a new greenhouse in the same location. Instead we decided to keep the structure and to build new display benches. Here are the results.

It’s been a rainy week at the nursery! The new bridge was able to withstand the flash flooding and all washouts in the driveway have been repaired. Unfortunately the mailbox was washed away in the process.

When we tell people that they’re welcome to bring their trees, we mean it! We’ve rearranged our work area to make things even easier:

The clutter is gone, all of the tools are arranged so you don’t have to dig through a box to find the one you’re looking for, and the worn-out tools are gone. The soil bins are off of the workbench, freeing up even more space.

The table behind the workbench has been replaced with a smaller table, making it easier for people to walk past:

The offer still stands… if you need help you’re welcome to bring your trees. You can do the work while you’re here, and if you have questions about how things are done, there’s a good chance we’ll be able to show you and/or let you try!

These are some big Trident Maple trunks with some seriously great roots. The chops are a little rough and will need some carving, and the branches need to be grown. In a few more years they’re going to be great trees!

Tridents are the best of all the maples. The leaves are small to scale, and they have ferocious ability to regenerate new growth. What this means is that we can regrow our branches from the old trunks.

There’s so much to consider when choosing a bonsai pot. There’s the obvious character, such as size, shape, and color. But how often do you look a little closer? The details range from simple to complex. Which is your favorite and why?

We’re happy to announce that Allshapes Bonsai gift cards are now available at the nursery!

These cards are available in any amount that you like, $5 and up, and can be used to purchase anything we offer, either online or at the nursery.

There’s no registration involved and they’re refillable too!

This is the PERFECT time to repot your temperate bonsai! Those are the trees that require a winter dormancy (tropicals get repotted in summer). Once the buds break and the leaves are out, it’s too late. You’ll want to use a fast-draining water-retentive mix specifically designed for bonsai. We have multiple soil mixes available at the nursery, as well as ingredients if you prefer to make your own. Our March 2015 class is currently sold-out, so if you have questions about repotting, please ask!

This Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris) is rather tall. Its most interesting feature is the hollow base that has worn away with time. Bringing the foliage closer to the focal point wasn’t possible, so we brought the focal point closer to the foliage, and had a lot of fun with a rotary tool in the process!

This Japanese Maple group was planted over a rock and left to grow in a field back in 1955. A year ago we did a little spring cleaning on it, and it grew very strongly. This weekend it was repotted, and one of the wild blueberry bushes was removed. The roots and rock are completely fused together!

The Material

Today we created a forest planting of Trident Maples (Acer buergerianum). The primary tree had been growing in sphagnum moss with virtually no fibrous roots; essentially a large hardwood cutting. While repotting it for the first time it was amazing to see how many white fleshy roots had wrapped themselves around the base of the pot. Tridents certainly seem to like their water! Additionally there were a couple trident maples grown together for many years. The two trees were separated, and while the larger one is very nice on its own, the smaller one had roots that were similar to the large stump. A small grouping was added for additional trees, and the forest was planned and planted.

Prepping the Pot

First screens are added to the drainage holes of the tray to prevent the soil from washing out. Then wires are added to tie down the plants, keeping their roots firmly in place. A thin layer of bonsai soil is added to the bottom of the pot.

Positioning The Trees

The main tree serves as the focal point and was positioned first. We positioned the other trees to provide negative space around the trunk, and so that the branches would cross as little as possible. This was relatively easy to accomplish since the trees were sparse on lower branches, much like you would see in a real forest. Roots of the primary tree were pruned to make room for the complimentary trees. A few addional Trident Maple seedlings were added for scale.

Planting The Forest

All trees need to be anchored firmly in place with wire so that the tree roots are not disturbed and damaged while growing. We used a haydite bonsai soil mix. This should provide an excellent balance of water retention and airflow to the roots. A chopstick is used to work the particles into all of the spaces between the roots. We don’t want to leave any air pockets!

Finishing Up

With the trees anchored firmly in place and sitting in a bed of soil, we then added moss and watered everything well. Over time the trees’ growth will start to coordinate and form a single canopy. The branches will be developed, and this should be a very nice forest!

Most people have probably heard that a bonsai will die if its new growth doesn’t have a chance to harden off before a frost. This Japanese Maple was trunk-chopped in very late summer, and was given a hefty dose of full-strength, nitrogen-rich fertilizer in the autumn. The leaves were about 1/8″ when they got hit by frost, and the tree went dormant. It was heated to around 25F over the winter. Today it has lots of back-budding in preparation of spring, including where the late-season growth had been.

While we wouldn’t recommend pruning just before dormancy, don’t panic if you make a mistake. Trees tend to be much hardier than we give them credit for. It can probably be considered wasting the energy that the tree used trying to produce new leaves, but it should hardly be considered a fatal error. Also, don’t believe everything you hear about caring for bonsai. Not all of the conventional wisdom is rooted in horticulture.

Thank you to everyone who purchased a bonsai for the holidays. We want nothing more than for you to be successful with your new plants! If you have ANY questions about your bonsai at any time, please call, email, or stop by the nursery. We love to help!

Here are some tips to get you started on the right foot:

Bonsai Are Plants

Bonsai are plants. Plants need light, air, water, and nutrients.

Light

Light requirements vary depending on the species, but the light from a window is generally less strong than in the shade outdoors. If your bonsai is kept indoors, please provide as much light as you can. Some plants, such as ficus, will react to changes in light levels by dropping their leaves. If that is the case, the leaves will grow back adjusted to their new environment. All bonsai will grow best outdoors in the summer. In the summer, our tropical greenhouse is completely emptied, and all plants are outside on the benches.

That being said, when you do bring bonsai outdoors after they have acclimated to low indoor light levels, adjust them to the additional light GRADUALLY. Plants get sunburned just like we do (honestly) and need to acclimated to the brightness of the outdoors gradually, just like we do. Ten additional minutes each day for a week or two should harden them off.

Air

You’ve probably noticed how bonsai soil looks more similar to rocks than soil. This is to provide the plant with air. Plants take in air through their roots, along with water and nutrients. The roots absorb CO2 from the air, and release H2O through their leaves. The C (carbon), and nutrients, are what the bonsai use to grow.

By using a granular potting medium, bonsai soil does not break down into finer particles the way that regular (peat-based) potting soils do, and air can continue to reach the roots. This medium works just as well for (almost) any plant, even though it’s called “bonsai soil”.

Air without water will dehydrate the plant.

Water

Improper watering is the quickest way to kill any plant. Again, bonsai are plants. Bonsai soil is fast-draining by design in order to get air down to the roots. The more access a plant has to BOTH air and water, the better it will grow.

To see the extremes, look at aeroponics and aquaponics. Although completely opposite extremes, they both provide plants with plenty of water and air. Aeroponics starts with the maximum amount of air possible and adds the water through extremely frequent misting. Hydroponics starts with the maximum amount of water possible and adds the air through oxygenating the water via a pump. Plants grow very well with both of these methods.

In order to provide both air and water to your bonsai, you have to water when the bonsai needs to be watered. There are several methods to determine when that is:

• Look at the soil. Dry soil is lighter in color than wet.
• Lift the pot. Wet soil is noticeably heavier than dry.
• Insert a toothpick into the soil, pull it out, and look at it. If the toothpick is wet, so is the soil.

Unfortunately, there’s no rule-of-thumb as to how frequently you should water. The frequency will change along with the temperature, light, and humidity levels, throughout the year. Find one of the three methods above that works for you and use it EVERY DAY. It’ll only take a few seconds.

When you do water, water well. Be afraid to give too little water at a time, don’t be afraid to give too much. The excess will drain through the soil. Focus on frequency rather than quantity.

DO NOT leave your bonsai sitting in a tub of water all the time. Hours are fine if that is how you choose to water (especially if your bonsai starts to wilt). All the time is not okay. Don’t even keep the pot sitting in a tray filled with water. The soil needs to allow air to reach your bonsai’s roots, and that will not happen unless the water is allowed to leave.

Water without air will drown the plant.

Nutrients

Plants need nutrients to grow. They get these nutrients through fertilizer. ANY relatively balanced fertilizer will do. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions for quantity.

DO NOT use organic fertilizer indoors! This is for your sake, not the bonsai’s.

Let Your Bonsai Grow

Plants can easily handle the stresses of bonsai training, if you let them have time to recover and do not stress them further. Provide plenty of light, air, water, and nutrients.

Styling A Bonsai Stresses The Plant

By pruning you are reducing the number of leaves capable of creating energy for the plant. By cutting the roots you are reducing the plant’s ability to take up water and air. By wiring the branches you are shifting the cells that transport water and nutrients.

Plants Can Handle Infrequent Stresses

Let your bonsai look bushy for a few months, then prune it back. Then repeat. Letting your bonsai grow will allow it to create more leaves, creating more energy. It will also allow it to create more woody growth and look like an older tree in less time. When you do style your bonsai, it will have more-than-enough energy ready to deal with the stress.

You probably will not need to repot your bonsai for about two years, assuming it’s healthy. If you have any reason to believe it’s not healthy, please ask for help!

Time

Although there’s a lot written here, the time needed to care for a single bonsai will be about 5 minutes per week. Set reminders on your phone/calendar if you have to. All of us have bonsai at our homes that we love to look at every day. It’s really a relaxing hobby!

PLEASE, Ask For Help

If you have any questions or concerns, please ask ASAP. We love to hear success stories too!