Poplar Whips and Wire

I have poplar whips which I wired in spring, before full bud break. I just removed these wires this week.
One of the whips is very wire scarred. I think it is going to go into the garden to grow to a point where its currently mangled trunk won't matter.
The other tree is fine. I took off the wire at the perfect time to keep the marking to a minimum, but the tree is holding its place.
The tree has grown one set of branch about 5-6 leaves before they were trimmed to two; then they have budded and leafed but are only at 2-3 leaves.

Bonsai Haircuts

I have spent time trimming my bonsai lately. You know - cut back to two leaves, or leaf sets. With the juniper I just pinch some growing tips whenever I walk by. It is what keep the tree small.

Watering Constantly

Since last Tuesday, when the temp. hit 24 degrees Celsius, I have been watering daily. My bonsai soil dries out enough to water daily. These trees I will have to move into more shade as the seasons pass. The plants in nursery soil have to be watered daily even though they are not dry. If they are not watered daily when warm, it is difficult to re-wet them. Watering them so much causes worts and mushrooms to grow - because of warm, wet soil. Guess what else grows well? Bacteria and molds which kill trees. But it is that or a sure death with dehydration.

Confusing Fertilizer

People are often mystified by plant food. There are three numbers on all fertilizers, like this 10-10-10. These numbers always stand for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These correlate to leaf growth, root growth and plant health.
If one is diligent with their plant, one can feed one's plant any plant food whatsoever.
However, if one is poor at plant care, even a perfect nutrient mix can weaken or kill a plant.
Fertilizers are made of salts, which dissolve in water. The plant is salty too, usually more so then the nutrient solution. When the salty water touches the salty plant, all the water involved (and the nutrients) go to the saltiest area.
When the plant is salty, then the plant absorbs the water and nutrients.
If one is over feeding one's plants, then there will be an accumulation of unabsorbed salts in the soil. One day this accumulation will result in the water/nutrient solution to be saltier then the plant. In this case the salty water inside the plant will be drawn outside the plant by the salty water/nutrient mix. When this sad thing happens, the plant will dehydrate, even though it is surrounded by water.

Hardiness of Boxwoods

I have reduced a 3 gallon (8" tall, 12" wide) potted boxwood (16" bush diameter) to a 6.5" tree with a dozen leaves, with a 4" round rootball.

It looks great. It seems healthy.

Organic Aphid Control

All the books claim that it is easy to control aphids. They suggest squishing the bugs or shooting them with a hose. The experts even claim that an aphid will seldom return to a plant from which it has been dislodged.
Well, these organic people have forgotten that ants cultivate aphids in return for the secretions the aphids produce. When a few hundred strong ant colony decides they want aphids on your trees a shot of water or squishing the bugs will not control the problem.

Surficant

There is a new product - surficant. I looked it up on wikipedia. It does three things.
1) it helps nutrients emulsify with mixed base - if it is an oil/water nutrient/base mixture.
2) it can coat the leave of a plant; reducing transpiration and reducing the chances of leaf fungi.
3) and most interestingly, it reduces water tension. Water tension is caused by the magnetic properties of H2O. This is why we have such large holes in our pots - the water holds onto itself and does not drain from the pot unless the hole is really big - in which case lots of water comes out at one time, which pulls more water out with it. Water tension is why we have to water some plants twice or three times. The water hits the surface, and because the first part beads off, it all beads off in one magnetic lump.
So surficant reduces water tension.

Nitrogen and Leaves

Nitrogen is the nutrient responsible for leaf growth. As such, some sadistic bonsai masters would restrict food from a plant during the spring growing season.

Taub's experiments were meant to determine the difference between low and high amounts of nitrogen feed in 19 species of grasses (1/10th strength and full strength of a complete nutrient product). It turned out there was a 34% increase in leaf mass; a 12% increase in the amount of leaves; but oddly, a 4% reduction in the size of those leaves.

I say feed, feed, feed.

Wires on Pines

I started to take the wire off my scotch pine, which I got in a workshop with David Rowe. The wire looked like it could be biting in. The wire was starting to cut in, but only barely and in only a few spots. It was, really, about the perfect time to remove them.

The small branches were happy, but the larger branches had not set. So I unwired the small branches, and left alone all the large branches I had not unwired. I used guy wire to resecure the branches had unwired.

How much time can you put into one bonsai?

What I mean is how much time can you spend refining a tree?
It takes alot of time to apply wire to every branch!
Before today I did not think it was worth it. However, I needed a small juniper branch to cover a very specific area on the tree. There were 15 branchlettes. I wired the branch to heck, and it did what I wanted it too.

Now I wonder how much more I can do with branches that don't need to be wired to the nines, but could be anyway.

Plant's Personality

Trees are individuals, just like people. And sometimes there are thousands of the same individual, for plants. This is not in reference to a tree's shape, or the history.
From a handful of japanese maples seeds I have maples with red bark and with green bark. I have leaves with very pronounced lobes, some like Canadian flag, others have 3 lobes instead of 5.
From another batch of seedlings, I have one tree which is very sensitive to dryness compared to its siblings. It will droop at the slightest provocation, though its growing conditions were identical (until I learned it was different). By the way - it is not more thirsty, it just wilts faster.

I am wondering how to incorprate such details into my bonsai.

Insects!

Just to let everyone know to keep an eye out for caterpillars. I found one today curled up in some maple leaves. They had already stuck them all together with its silk. I know this stunts the branch that the caterpillar does this on.

The darn aphids are out in numbers too. I have tries squishing, spraying with a hose, Tabasco and water. This year I am using pesticide. Just whatever Canadian Tire sells.

Works on big maples...

My local nurseryperson told me that topdressing maples with steer manure will help prevent various fungi from harming the maple, like those that cause branch blackening and dieback. This is due to bacteria in the steer manure. Chicken manure will do the same for roses.
I wish steer manure came in 2 to 5 mm particles...

SRING!

Pretty much all the deciduous trees have swollen buds, or the leaves have already come out.

Some trees which are slow at breaking their buds this year are the smooth bark elms, hackberry, hedge maple, and dwarf dawn redwood.

For most trees, root growth comes later then bud break, but not by much. Some exceptions are yew, boxwood, some pines, and wisteria.

Keep an eye out for aphids. Use leaf friendly bug sprays; lime sulphur will cause problems with leaves.

Guests

I have a guest coming over tomorrow!

A couple things needed to be done. I had to put out my display ready bonsai. I usually have projects or favorites out on my main table. I hosed the dirt and debris off all my tables. I weeded pots. I cleaned my yard of small pots and plant flats - the wind really throws then around.

Maple Seedlings!

I usually pick up a handfull of seeds from a japanese maple I know that seeds regularly in fall, and I throw them into a 'soiled' flat to come up in springtime.
I happened to find that many seedlings come up under the tree the next spring. I collected many of these in a ziplock bag, with a wet paper towel in it, and transported these new trees home.
Well, it is ziplock bag time for the next month! I saw the first crop of seedlings break their shell on Feb 25.
I will wait another week for my first harvest.
1) I had better have time to pot them up fast!
2) I have to have soil too - something I am low on right now.
3) if I wait to long, the seedlings will lose growing time this year.
Let me elaborate on point 3. Seedlings (in general) grow only from the energy they have stored within them. They do not need any nutrients or anything from the environment. After the first quick burst the plants begin to utilize their environment to generate more energy and structures. If the seedling is disturbed during the first flush of growth, it will quickly recover and re-establish itself.
So damaging the maple seedlings roots by pulling it out of the ground, and then storing the plant in a plastic bag with 200 of its brethren for a couple hours while I finish my errands; won't harm the seedlings a bit - if I do it to the seedlings first couple of weeks of their life.

Last Years Willow Cuttings

I repotted last years willow cuttings today. The primary reason I did it was because I like to play with my trees. Next it was: one year old willow cutting have got to be as hard to kill as fresh willow cuttings - which are very hard to kill - so these ought to be tough and can take a February transplant.
The yearlings had plenty of roots. I chose the lowest, most radial roots and chopped the rest. I planted them in cut-down gallon pots; and put them close to the house so they don't catch any sudden frosts.
I would not do this with a bonsai-ed willow. Willows drop branches when stressed. Don't ask what stresses a willow, the list is too long. Dropping branches is, of course, very bad for a bonsai. Take the utmost care to baby willows.
But the yearling trees have no branches - so either the "one branch" will die, or nothing bad will happen because there are no branches. I have stated why I don't think the one branch theory will happen.

Dug up trees

There is construction going on near my house. They are putting up a condo or something. They ravaged most of the plants on the lot, but there were a few left. I have looked at them every day for 3 months. I asked the foreman if I could dig up some of the trees left on the lot. He was more then happy to let me do so so long as I was careful and did not get hurt on his site.

These trees are honeysuckle. They bud back super well from old wood and hard cuts. They also shed bark like mad. Fortunately, they were planted in front of a cement wall. The roots did not have a chance to spread far, but they were deep. I just hacked at the deep roots with my shovel. I took home 4 root balls, which ended up as 6 plants. One is thick (2 1/2 inch), two have nice shape and taper, two have dynamite roots, and the third is pleasantly grotesque. On the last I had to choose between the roots which emerged from the trunk at the surface of the soil, or the the heavier roots from the bottom of the bucket the plant was grown in before planting out. I chose the thick roots, but this leaves me with a bulge where the top roots were.

Cactus Bonsai

I transplanted my cactus into a bonsai pot today. I haven't done any bonsai things for a while and I needed to do something. I thought it may be OK to repot because it is not zero degrees inside the house, where the cactus lives, as it is outside.

The cactus is about 4 inches tall. I found it in a nursery and was attracted to its trunks. There are three of them, growing from an underground root. Honestly, the cactus's canopy is sub par. I put it in a square terracotta pot to signify dessert. I think the pot is good, it promotes mood and it has a squat appearance which seems to work with the plant.

I have no idea how to care for a cactus and to develop canopy and ramification, but I will do my best.

A Way of Obtaining Bonsai

Today I found and collected a tree. Above ground it measures 2ft by 2ft.
You are right - now is not the time to replant. It will stress the tree unnecessarily.
But I didn't just repot the plant. I ripped it out of the ground and stuffed it in a plastic bag. Then I jammed it in my vehicle, and went to MacDonald's. After dinner, I knocked most of the soil off the root ball. Now I am going to leave it unpotted overnight, and do the dirty work tomorrow when it is light. Did I mention the tree has been mostly uprooted for almost three weeks prior, and was sitting in dry soil anyway? (I gave in and saved the poor sapling.)

I think the tree will be all right.
1) The tree is a boxwood. Boxwoods are quite hardy. Quite.
2) I am soaking the tree in water and B vitamins. The vitamin is supposed to increase water uptake, meaning the plant can rehydrate faster.
3) I will care for the plant. I will ensure it has proper food and watering. I will shelter it from the wind, yet give it sunlight. I will plant it in a soil which will nourish the roots.
4) I will not style it until it is healthy.
5) It is winter. In winter the tree is not very active. A dormant tree doesn't need much water, so the dry soil it was in wasn't a problem, nor is taking a long time to pot the plant.