Jin & Shari #3: The Three Types of Deadwood

This classic Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora) shows all three types of deadwood: sabamiki (hollow trunk), shari (deadwood on the trunk) and jin (dead branches or dead treetop; if you look closely you’ll see a few little dead branches sticking out). The tree is from our Pocket Bonsai Gallery (it originally appeared on the cover on Bonsai Today issue 43). Backing up and starting over Even though we’ve already posted a couple times on the topic, I’ve decided to go back to the beginning for those of you who don’t know much about deadwood on bonsai. If you’ve been around … Continue reading Jin & Shari #3: The Three Types of Deadwood

Green Workshop: Feed Your Bonsai – part 2 – NPK

This well fed, healthy Lace leaf Japanese maple (Acer palmatum dissectum) is from our Pocket Bonsai Gallery. It originally appeared on the cover of Bonsai Today# 84. N-P-K (Macro nutrients) You will see three numbers on all fertilizer packages—for example 7-9-5 or 15-30-15. These numbers represent the strength and ratios of the three major nutrients (also called macro nutrients) in fertilizers. The three nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium or potash (K). They are critical to any plant’s health. Here’s a more complete explanation.