Tropical Bonsai with Mary Miller & Friends

Would you say that this prize winning Ficus neriifolia by Ed Trout looks relaxed and sensuous (nothing like anthropomorphizing a bonsai)? Maybe, maybe not; but you’d have to say that it is powerfully stable with it’s wide flowing nebari and stout trunk. To my eyes it combines the traditional bonsai with a very natural uncontrived look. Almost reminiscent of an old live oak on California hillside. All the photos in this post are from Bonsai Mary. Mary’s website Mary Miller is one of genuine Florida bonsai mavens. Her years of experience as a bonsai teacher, author and grower come together … Continue reading Tropical Bonsai with Mary Miller & Friends

Green Workshop: Fertilizing #3 – A Plan We Like

This healthy looking, well-fed Green Island Ficus (Ficus microcarpa ‘Green Island’), by Alan Kieffer, originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 74, in an article by Mary Miller. A fertilizing program we like The following program is one that I like. Feel free to adjust, elaborate, or simplify according to you needs and preferences. Start with pellets in the very late winter Apply about one third the recommended dosage* of Green Dream or other pellet or chunky natural fertilizer in the very late winter (just before the buds begin to swell).