Bonsai tree: Restoring a Japanese maple grove

Source: Bonsai Tonight
Restoring a Japanese maple grove

Working on old or neglected bonsai is one of my favorite tasks. At a recent Bay Island Bonsai workshop, an old Japanese maple grove got the works. The owner is working to make something of these old trees whose roots have fused together long ago.

Japanese maple grove

The project is not inspired by wonderful trunk lines or branching – these elements will be built from scratch, as evidenced by numerous scars.

Scars – major work underway

The rootbase is in better shape, though it too needs lots of work.

Nebari

To improve the nebari, the tree’s owner removed roots growing from the bottom of the rootbase. This is slow work that will encourage the lateral roots that make the transition from the rootbase through the base of the trunk more attractive.

Rootbase from below

Root work complete – downward growing roots removed

Once the rootbase is in shape, the tree goes back in a pot.

Ready to be repotted

Repotting complete

Repotting rarely provides the dramatic moments we look for in demonstrations, but it makes trees healthy enough to withstand the dramatic moments that come later. I don’t know what the future holds for this maple grove, but I’m confident that it will grow well this year. Read more!

Bonsai tree:Decandling black pine – case study

Source: Bonsai Tonight
Decandling black pine – case study

There’s a lot to say about decandling Japanese black pine bonsai. I’ll start with some basics. Here’s a pine going into decandling season.

Japanese black pine bonsai – front

Japanese black pine bonsai – back

And here’s the same tree after decandling:

Japanese black pine bonsai – front

It won’t take much effort to see that I didn’t decandle this year. Why? Last year I showed the tree in Bay Island Bonsai’s 10th Annual Exhibit. Here’s a shot from the exhibit:

Tree as shown at BIB’s 10th annual exhibit in 2009

I repotted the tree before and after the exhibit. Several months later I decandled it. This winter I noticed that the drainage had slowed down, so I repotted again, clearing out a lot of old soil and cutting the tree back heavily, knowing that I wouldn’t be showing it for some time.
As a result of doing this work, the tree came out weak this year. New growth appeared at every shoot, but the growth was not vigorous. The tree needs a break, so I decided not to decandle it this year. Decandling weak trees can slow them down or even kill them – chances I have no desire to take. By letting the spring growth mature, I expect the pine will quickly regain its vigor. And when the tree is again vigorous, I can continue refining it. Read more!

Bonsai tree: Repotting a Japanese maple

Back in winter I took a few photographs of an air-layered Japanese maple getting repotted during a Bay Island Bonsai workshop.

Combing out the roots – Japanse maple ’sango kaku’

The new roots are well established. The next step is to get them to fuse while improving the ramification. Jeff, the tree’s owner, kicked off this phase by bare-rooting the tree and repotting it into a large, shallow, growing container.
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Bonsai tree: Transplanting Tips: An Uncommon Technique

Mystified? If you are not familiar with the technique shown here, you just might be.
The technique shown here is particularly good if you want to replenish the soil while leaving some of the roots undisturbed. Doing this lessens stress and hastens recovery.
The technique is useful when you want move a tree from a larger to a smaller pot, or into a pot that has a different shape. It also works when you want to replenish some of the soil and then put the tree back into the same pot and is particularly useful for repotting forest plantings.
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Bonsai tree: Black Pine trunk grafting

Grafting is one of the most useful techniques for developing bonsai from rough stock. A pine I have been working on for the past few years needs a few more branches before I can reduce it to its final height. To do this, I need to graft into the trunk.
Grafting requires a bit of homework for success. I highly recommend grafting with someone experienced or reading about it before getting started. Although I have been doing it for years, I still have a lot to learn. For pine, I have found that the end of winter is a good time to graft. I like grafting when it’s really cold out. On warmer days, sap can fill the cuts before the scion makes contact with the tree’s cambium layer. This year I repotted the day before grafting to further slow the flow of sap. Although this goes against common wisdom on the topic, I wanted to give it a try to see what happens.
For scions, I use branches that are one to two years old. Vigorous, but not too vigorous. I avoid using summer growth – the buds that grew after decandling the previous year. And typically, I used less vigorous shoots than the one below whenever possible, but these strong and compact shoots work too.

Scion – a shoot that developed last spring

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Bonsai tree: Japanese black pine

I really like working with Japanese Black Pine. Although they keep needles year round, their appearance changes with the seasons. The pine below is flush with last year’s growth – a mix of spring and summer foliage.

Spring growth above – Summer growth below

I am planning to remove the top half of the trunk when I get a few more grafts in place – more on that next week. After some cutback, needle pulling, grafting and repotting, the tree looked a bit more manageable.

All set for Spring

I learned years ago that bonsai folk can benefit from a deep sense of delayed gratification. Today this tree is both gangly and unbalanced – it looks like it’s waving its arms in the air in dismay. But it’s looking better every year and before long it will look great in an exhibit.
I’ve also learned that there’s far more to bonsai than making trees “pretty.” Routine tasks like repotting provide me with plenty of gratification. While repotting this tree, I was very surprised to see the condition of the soil.

Bonsai soil after 3 years in the pot

After at least three years, the bonsai mix had barely begun to break down. It’s a mix of pumice, lava and akadama. Normally I would expect to repot this tree every or at least every other year. It’s a large tree in a small pot and it’s growing vigorously. But because the soil is so hard, the drainage remained good and the roots developed well.

Combing out the roots

I also appreciate the time savings. Getting an extra year out of bonsai soil saves time and money. Getting that with no cost to the tree’s health is a super combination. Read more!

Bonsai repoting: ume

Several years passed – no flowers. I’d already carved away the lower 3-4 inches of the trunk and begun developing the nebari. I carved the trunk and helped new branches ramify. But no blooms. I’ll admit I am no fan of double pink, but the point of ume is the contrast between new flowers and old trunk. So I started grafting.
Another 5 years passed. The tree looked great with white blossoms – the fragrance was unforgettable – and I would had fun learning how to care the variety. But ume don’t bud back well, and the grafting became a regular affair. Then, out of nowhere, a few dark buds appeared from some of the original branches. Before long, I saw the first few double pink flowers. Which confirmed my decision to graft.
This year I am mid-re-grafting the entire tree. I let the branches grow past where I can safely cut back so I am essentially starting from scratch. Here is the tree a few weeks ago with the last few white and pink blossoms.

Ume – early February

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Repotting a bonsai: Western juniper

While preparing a Western juniper for exhibition, I became curious as to why the tree was planted so far to one side of the pot. I was somehow concerned because I couldn’t show the tree as it appeared below.

Western juniper

My worry was that all of the roots came from a single spot at the far end of the pot. After removing the tree from pot, I have found out that the roots were healthy.

Western juniper roots – note new growth in December

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Shimpaku Juniper pinch

If you are one of those curmudgeons who complains about the overly sculpted look of some Japanese bonsai, you have got to admit that this powerhouse Shimpaku approaches perfection. That trunk draws your eye like few trunks anywhere, with its single living vein, mysterious holow at its base and the spidry fingers and hole at the top. But it’s the tight lush foliage that I want to point out here; the result of some serious trimming and pinching.
Although it is so difficult to advise without seeing an image, in generally saiyng, I pinch far too much on junipers. I recommend cutting the longer shoots that push out of a foliage pad with a scissors, a couple of times a year, rather than trying to create density with pinching. That tends to greatly weaken junipers. Repoyting can rejuvenate a tree that is metabolicaly slowing down because the pot is full of roots.

You can pinch with your fingers.

You can also use the tips of your shears for fine trimming.
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Repot a Japanese black pine

I wanted to post an example of repoting a tree into a two hole pot – my small pine is a good candidate. Here is the rootball after removing it from the pot.

Before root-work – one year of growth

I was conservative with the root-work as I had yet to determine which pot would be best for the tree. I ended up with removing almost half of what you see below.

After the root work

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Repotting Bonsai Tonight

This photo is from Bonsai Tonight’s first in a series of posts (five total with excelent photos) on repottng.

A clear thorough series on repotting

Jonas Dupuich (Bonsai Tonight) has one of the best visual and written instructions on repotting we’ve seen yet. If you haven’t done a lot of repotting (or even if you have) it will set you straight on details you may be overlooking. Check it out, it’s an excellent series on an excellent site.



It starts here with this Trident root-over-rock. Read more!

Repotting a trident maple: securing the tree in the pot

Part 4 of 5

Once the tree and pot are ready, it’s time to put them together. For starters, the pot gets a drainage layer of pumice. If the pot were much thiner or the climate warmer I might forego this step, but I’ve found my maples do well with it.

Pumice drainage layer

After spreading out the drainage layer, I add my decidous bonsai mix – mostly akadama with pumice, lava and charcoal. I typically form a mound in the center of the pot when I pour in the mix to help prevent air pockets from forming when the tree is set. If the base of the rootball is concave, this becomes particularly important.

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Repotting a trident maple: root-work

Part 3 of 5

I’ve seen it first-hand. Visting bonsai teachers come to town and whip trees into spectacular shape only to leave the trees’ owners with ticking time-bombs. Until a tree is in outstanding health, it’s a poor candidate for even the most basic bonsai tasks. Great bonsai work requires great health, and great health begins with the roots. If you hear otherwise, think twice before handing over the scissors.

All of this to say that repotting is serious business. Cuting too many roots can weaken or kill a tree – not cutting enough can lead to root rot or die back and prevent good nebari from developing. When done well, however, repotting can invigorate bonsai and give them the strength to recover from the most intensive styling techniques. That’s why repotting has always been among my favorite tasks. It’s an art unto itself, and it’s never failed to keep me interested.

Trident maple is best repoted in late winter or early spring. And while most deciduous trees are typically repotted before they leaf out, tridents can be repotted as long as the leaves are ruddy. Repoting this late can slow a tree down a bit, but if it’s in otherwise good health, it won’t skip a beat.

Root-work begins, in this case, with the botom of the rootball. To get to the bottom I have to tip the tree onto its side. After removing the tree from the pot I can see that the roots are loose where the sickle passed, but nice and compact on the other side. If I tip the rootball onto the side where the sickle passed, I can damage loose roots. Tipping the tree onto the untouched side can protect the rootball while I work on the base. This explains why I begin with the bottom of the rootball. If I start with the top or the sides, I’ll be exposing roots that could get damaged when I turn the tree onto its side.

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