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Forever Young? How Not to Fertilize

You can bet that this Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) was fertilized with a master’s touch. Speaking of masters, this photo is from our Masters’ Series Pine Book.

Staying in our archival mode, here’s another post on fertilizing (from last June). Well, fertilizing and needle reduction on Black pines (as opposed to fertilizing Black pines). Anyway, it’s the fertilizing part we’re most interested in now, which was the topic of our last post. But we left out one very important point: don’t fertilize old trees the same way you fertilize young trees.

Whenever Michael Hagedorn writes, I read. What follows (in italics) is a part of a post by Michael on his famous Crataegus Bonsai blog:

“For fertilizing bonsai, we can make this one basic distinction: Begin fertilizing a young, unrefined tree when it begins growing early in the spring. Wait a bit with an older, refined tree—usually begin fertilizing when it’s just hardening off it’s spring growth…

Quiz: If we were to fertilize everything the same, strongly, starting early in the year, what would happen?
The young trees would stay forever young
The old, developed trees would become young again.” Here’s the rest of Michael’s post.

Michael doesn’t talk about which fertilizers he uses, so… in my experience, fertilizers that promote soil health (soil is another topic we’ve been exploring lately) are the best. This means somewhat mild organic fertilizers (Green Dream pellets or rape seed cakes for example) are usually preferable. Slow release is good too. Also, I think mixing (or alternating) two or three types of fertilizers works best.

Black pines? This post has expanded beyond just fertilizing to include needle reduction on Japanese black pines. It’s just a fortuitous accident; Michael references cutting candles (needle reduction) on Black pines in his post, so why not?

There’s plenty to say and show about needle reduction on Japanese black pines and these illustrations provide only part of the picture. For the whole picture, check out our Masters Series Pine book (all the images in this post, including this one, are from this book).

 

A part of a Black pine right after completing needle reduction.

Usually, when we think of Japanese black pines, we think of larger bonsai. However, with good needle reduction, smaller Black pines can work too, as attested to by this photo and the one at the top of the post. Both are from our Masters’ Series Pine book.

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Feed Your Bonsai!

Your bonsai may never look like this, but they can be this healthy. This magnificently robust Willow leaf ficus (Ficus nerifolia) is by Jim Smith of Dura-Stone in Vero Beach Florida. The photo is from Bonsai Today, issue 61 and was taken by Jim.

While we’re on basic bonsai health topics, we might as well discuss fertilizing. And, because I’m traveling again we’ll dig into our archives. All the way back to May 2009 (with some fairly extensive adding and editing this time).

Your bonsai depend on you
Bonsai do not survive on water, light, and love alone. Because most bonsai soil has very low nutritive value (if any), your bonsai depend on you for feeding.

Feed generously
Feed generously if you want your bonsai to thrive. The best way to do this is frequent moderate doses during the growing season. This is especially true if you use liquid fertilizer. With pellets and cakes, how often you apply them depends on how they break down (more on this below).

The perils of not feeding enough
Most people underfeed their bonsai. This may be because they want them to stay small, so they don’t feed much, if at all. What you end up with if you don’t feed enough, may or may not be small, but it will be unhealthy.

Healthy trees
Healthy trees take better to the deprivations of small container growing and other insults like severe top pruning, bending, carving and rootpruning. So make sure your bonsai get the nutrition they need, especially during the peak growing season from spring through mid summer.

b1junp13a

When you use pellets or other solid fertilizers, each time you water, nutrients are washed down into the soil. Illustrations are from our Juniper book.

Organic fertilizers
Many bonsai enthusiasts and professionals swear by slow release organic pellets and cakes. Japanese bonsai growers have been using them for a very long time with excellent results. Some people supplement with liquid fertilizer. There are benefits to using more than one type of fertilizer, as each type has its strengths. There’s a lot more that can be said about organic vs non-organic and the use of liquid fertilizers, but we’ll save that for another time.

Most pellets and cakes and other organic fertilizers (for example liquid fish) are mild (have fairly low N-P-Ks) and tend to have a broad spectrum of macro and micro nutrients.

b1junp13b1When trees are in the pot for a long time, the roots spread to the edge of the pot, so you want to place the fertilizer near the edge; the fine feeder roots that absorb water and nutrients are mostly at the outer reaches of the root system. These fertilizer balls (or cakes) are large, so not too many are needed. If use pellets, then you need more. In my experience, most people sprinkle the pellets over the entire soil surface, not just the edges. Still to encourage roots to grow out, the edges are important.

Pellets and cakes
Perhaps the best way to fertilize is with pellets, cakes or other solid forms that break down over a period of several weeks. This provides  a slow steady supply of nutrients as the cakes or pellets break down. Having said this, plenty of people get good results with liquid fertilizers. Others combine solid fertilizers and liquids.

 

b1junp13c1After transplanting it’s good to place the cakes (or pellets) halfway between the trunk and edge of the pot as the freshly pruned roots will not reach the edge for a while.

Add new pellets regularly
If you are using pellets which break down faster than the larger cakes, you can add a few pellets every week or so during the growing season. This will assure that some are at their nutrient-releasing peak at all times (this is how I fertilize with Green Dream pellets, even though Colin Lewis – Mr Green Dream – says that the pellets break down in a way that provides a steady stream of nutrients if you only apply them a few times during the growing season).

 

b1junp13dOn forest style plantings, spread the cakes or pellets around so that each trunk gets its share. Be sure to put some on the inside of the forest.

There is so much more that can be said about fertilizing and fertilizers, so we’ll just consider this a good start. Meanwhile you can find more information online or in  bonsai books.  Though you need to stay alert. Misinformation is easily as common as good information.

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The Art & Science of Watering

 

b1junwateringThis drawing is from our Masters’ Series book; Junipers, Growing & Styling Juniper Bonsai.

Our last couple posts have been about soil, so maybe it’s time to talk about watering. This will be the third time we’ve featured this post, but the time is right once again and, as it turns out, I’m on the road once again. A good time to dig into our archives.

The more you know about watering, the better.
Without timely, intelligent watering, any plant in a container is at risk. The more you know about watering, the better. BTW: A perfect complement to this post is a post about summer misting (hamisu) by Michael Hagedorn.

 

b1shohingwatering

Photo from Shohin Bonsai by Morten Albek. Published by Stone Lantern.

Over the course of my thirty years working with bonsai the thing that most amazes me is how little most people know about watering (it has gotten better over the years, but still…). Brown thumbs abound.

One of the traits that people in the brown thumbed tribe share is a desire for easy answers. Don’t confuse me with valuable information, just tell me what to do. Or, in other words “how often do I water?” If this is your question, perhaps the best answer is: “how often do you drink a glass of water?”

Just a little plant science can go a long ways
Plants absorb most of their water and nutrients when the water content of the soil is around 20% to 50% of the available space. Available space is the space in the pot that is not taken up by solid matter. In other words, it is the space that can accommodate water and/or air. This space is found between soil particles and in pockets, holes and cracks within soil particles.

Skip this paragraph if you are easily confused:
Some sources use a percentage of total volume; if the soil takes 50% of the total volume and available space takes 50% (a pretty good ratio for bonsai soil), then you would say optimal water content is 10% to 25% percent of the total volume. This is the same as saying 20% to 50% of the available space.

If you water thoroughly, all the air is driven out of the available space. At that point the water content is 100% of the available space. If your soil drains properly, within a matter of moments, excess water will run out and the available space will contain a mixture of water and air.

Ideally, you want this mixture of water and air to quickly reach around 50% water and then slowly dry down to about 20% water. In other words, you want soil with excellent drainage and with good water retention at the optimal levels (this is a good place to tell you about our new Masters Bonsai Soil).

So, how often do you water?
How long soil holds water at optimal levels depends upon all kinds of things: your soil mix, size and type of pot, sun, heat, wind, temperature, time of year and health of the plant, to name a few. This goes back to the questions “how often do I water?” and “how often do you drink a glass of water?” You water when needed (when the soil is almost dry) and you drink when you’re thirsty.

Soak thoroughly when you water
In order to dispel all the old stale air and to assure the soil is thoroughly watered, make sure you soak the soil when you water.

Then wait until it’s almost dry to water again
To assure that the water/air mixture goes through the optimal range for water and nutrient retention, wait until the soil is almost dry before you water again (there are occasional exceptions, but that’s for another time).

Soil is key
So, for the two of you who have read this far, it should be clear that good soil is one of the keys to bonsai health. Without complicating matters by going into the numerous soils on the market, suffice it to say, if the soil you are using doesn’t allow for good drainage while providing some water retention at optimal levels, then it’s time to try a better soil (you might consider our new Masters Bonsai Soil).

Our newish watering wand is now on special.

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Fear of Water & Kokufu Too

After Michael Hagedorn’s expert touch (the before photo is below). This photo is from Michael’s latest post which is about his trip to Japan to visit his teacher and the famous Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition.

I’ve taken the liberty of combining pieces from three of Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai posts: His two latest posts from his recent visit to Japan and an an older post about Turface and Bonsai Soil.

One of the many positives about visiting Crataegus Bonsai is that I always learn something. There’s more than just learning for sure, including great trees, Michael’s personable easy-to-read writing style and his positive attitude about bonsai and life (even when he’s slamming Turface). But in this case it’s mostly about learning.

First, there are Michael’s comments about Turface, a common component in many bonsai soils (he doesn’t like it and he carefully explains why). The post is titled Life Without Turface and like pretty much everything on Crataegus, it’s worthwhile read (as is Michael’s excellent book: Post-Dated – The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk).

Second, and still on the topic of soil, there’s a great new word that Michael uses. A word that, at least for the moment, added pleasure and even a glimpse of enlightenment to my life. It’s Hydrophobia (fear of water). At first I thought it was Michael’s clever invention (he’s fully capable) but no, it’s a real word and it’s a good one: “In chemistry, hydrophobicity (from the Attic Greek hydro, meaning water, and phobos, meaning fear) is the physical property of a molecule (known as a hydrophobe) that is repelled from a mass of water” from Wikipedia.

At this point, you may be thinking that this post is another shameless attempt to promote a couple of our products. And you’d be right. However and in spite of perceived motives, there’s some very useful information here (courtesy of Michael Hagedorn) and a couple photos of a great tree (also courtesy of Michael Hagedorn). BTW: the use of Michael’s photos and writings should not be construed as an endorsement of our Masters Bonsai Soil (though he does love pumice).

Before. Here’s Michael’s caption about part of his Japan trip: ” I worked on four trees in the five and a half days I was not shoveling… this was the first. I’ll post the reworked tree in the next post.” (it’s at the top of this post).

 

Two gallons worth of our lava and pumice Masters Bonsai Soil (in a 2 1/2 gallon bag). Below is a more or less readable version of the text on the label.

 

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Modern Masters Bonsai Soil

This Hawthorn in bloom is from Walter Pall’s Bonsai Adventures, as is the article below. The rest of the photos in this post are from Walter’s online gallery.

It’s about the soil. This post originally appeared here on Bark June last year. We’re revisiting it because it’s about soil and because we’re about soil, at least for the moment (see our new Masters Bonsai Soil at Stone Lantern).

Walter Pall, world famous bonsai artist and much more… We’ve feature Walter’s bonsai numerous times here on Bark (and in Bonsai Today) and will continue to feature them for as long as we continue posting. I won’t say much more, except that Walter produces quality trees by the hundreds (seemingly at least) and he also sometimes produces worthwhile and even provocative ideas about bonsai. What follows may be his most fascinating and provocative idea yet (not to say it isn’t still fascinating and provocative, but now I’m leaning more towards ‘educational and practical’ ).

The first few paragraphs of Walter’s article begin just below the photo… (note, Walter uses substrate where most of use soil). I look forward to your comments.

 

This sturdy, barely tamed beast of a tree is a perfect example of Walter’s naturalistic style. From his conifer gallery.

Feeding, Substrate and Watering
Methods of Walter Pall (edited by Victrinia Ridgeway)

“First, I set aside everything that has been written in most bonsai literature about the subject. As technology grants us access to new and more effective methods and products, the way we care for our trees has progressed beyond the boundaries of tradition. It has been a new and modern world for some time, but many have not realized this. Even if some measure of success is achieved with the old methods it can be dangerous if used with modern substrates and practices, or even deadly.

Substrates (soil): Good substrate material must: be of equal particle size, have the ability to absorb water and release it back, have no fine particle organic material, must not decompose easily, be as lightweight as possible when dry, preferably inexpensive and should have an aesthetically pleasing appearance. This would then be: lava, pumice (note: lava and pumice are the two ingredients in our Masters Bonsai Soil), baked loam, Turface, zeolite, Chabasai (a type of zeolite), coconut pieces, bark pieces, Styrofoam pieces (no joke) and a few more which you can find yourself if you have understood the principles. Please note: Some of these materials may not be available in your area…” (continued after the photo and caption)

Another naturalistic bonsai. Naturalistic doesn’t mean ‘left just the way you found it.’ This and others in Walter’s collection may have spent numerous hours being transformed from raw stock to what you see. But what you see, is a tree that looks like it has barely been touched by human hands.

“Normal akadama is questionable as a good substrate as it inevitably decomposes, especially when exposed to winter frost. It can become deadly loam in the pot, choking the flow of water and air into the soil. This is especially true for trees which are only rarely repotted, like collected conifers and old bonsai in general.

Substrates which are not useful: soil, compost, stones, sand etc. Trees grow in sand and flower soil, of course, but it is not an optimal growing medium for health in bonsai culture.
All substrates can be mixed according to your liking and it makes almost no difference. They can also be recycled and used again, but make certain to sift and clean any recycled materials as needed.

There is no such thing as an ‘ideal bonsai substrate’. There are in fact thousands of ideal substrates. I believe that IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT YOU USE AND IN WHAT MIXTURE as long as it is a modern substrate…”

This should be enough to stimulate your interest. Here’s the rest.

The clean, elegant lines and simple crown give on this bunjin style pine a more refined look that the two trees just above.

 

Here’s what our new Masters Bonsai Soil looks like through the lens of an iPhone. It’s 50% – 50% lava and pumice.

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The Most with the Least

Even though the crown is leaning back a bit in this shot, still, I’m going to call this side the front. Especially if we take front to be the best view of the trunk and deadwood rather than imposing some imagined rule. The four photos of this tree are by Haruyosi, as is the tree itself.

We don’t usually show four shots of the same bonsai, but I like this little tree a lot and the shots were just sitting there begging to picked up and shared. It’s a Shohin (you could even say Mame) Shimpaku juniper by Haruyosi. From his numerous wonderful facebook photos.

This is the first time that we’ve featured Haruyosi’s trees, but we have shown some of his pots here on Bark. They are as remarkable as his trees. Stay posted. We’ll have more soon.

 

This side is very good too and presents a better view of the crown. But we’re going to call it the back. It doesn’t really matter, especially given that the tree is in a round pot.

 

Close up.

 

Another close up.

 

Cherry blossoms. It was -15F this morning when I got up, so we’re still a ways away from spring up here, but those of you who live in warmer climes can relate. This photo and tree also belong to Haruyosi.

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A Bonsai Story (Sometimes You Just Can’t Tell)

You can get some idea that this might be a pretty big bonsai from this photo (the little leaf at the bottom helps). But how big, you could only guess. This and the other photos in this post are from Peter Tea Bonsai.

I started this post with the title Sometimes You Just Can’t Tell. That’s because I wanted to talk about how difficult it is to tell just how big some bonsai are without something to indicate scale. In photos that is. Now you might not think this is a big deal, but it is. Photos, even when there is something to indicate scale, never really capture the power and grandeur of bonsai, especially large bonsai. Without something to contrast with, the problem is compounded. That’s what this post was going to be about (and still is, in part at least).

The tree in question is a Trident maple that belongs to Peter Tea (a bark favorite). You can find Peter’s story of this tree on his blog ‘Peter Tea Bonsai.’ I encourage you to pay a visit.

Somewhere in the process of preparing this post, it dawned on me that I was reading and viewing a compelling and entertaining bonsai story that expresses a lot that’s important about bonsai in a personal sense and in a technical sense as well. A story that most of us can learn from. Especially if you grow deciduous bonsai.

Back to the scale part. It’s impossible to get the feel of just how huge this Trident is without something to compare it to. In this case that something is Peter’s hand in the photo just below. If it weren’t for that photo, I never would have guessed just massive this tree’s trunk is. I can only imagine how grand and imposing it will be when Peter is finished.

 

This is the photo that caught my attention. The trunk is massive. But you still can’t tell just how massive it is, because the entire girth of the trunk isn’t shown. Still, it’s best we have and it’s a pretty good indication.

 

The whole tree. You know it’s big, but just how big isn’t at all obvious. BTW: that soil looks something like our New Masters Bonsai Soil.

 

Now that you have some idea of just how big the trunk is, you can tell that that’s a pretty big hole.

 

An added bonus. Peter decides to fill the hole and takes us through some of the steps involved.

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Earth and Fire

Mottled beauty with just right mix of tradition (form) and innovation (glaze). One of many great pots by Peter Krebs. All the photos in this post are from Peter’s Earth and Fire website.

We are well into our sixth year here on Bark and we’ve never devoted a post to Peter Krebs’ exquisite hand made bonsai pots. Fortunately, the time is right to repair this oversight. Potting season is here for some of us and soon to be here for most of us. This is not to say that everyone should hurry over to Peter’s website (Earth and Fire) and purchase his pots, but purchase or not, it’s a web journey well worth making.

Though we’ve never devoted a whole post to Peter’s pots, we have shown a couple bonsai with his pots (here and here).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good pots need good soil. Just in case you haven’t seen our new 50-50 lava and pumice Masters Bonsai Soil, it’s a mix that more and more pros and serious enthusiasts are using. A soil mix that you can use as is, or an ingredient in your own mix. BTW: that’s a root hook that I’ve been employing for a while. We’ve got new ones for you, just in case.

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Capital Bonsai Shadows

Here’s Capital Bonsai’s caption for this photo: Three point display with Trident Maple. In training since 1895. Donated by Prince Takamatsu. Mt. Fuji scroll and Japanese Blood Grass.

A few years ago there was a lot of buzz about bonsai being a fine art. Now, the issues seems settled. If you start with the right material and add a masterful eye and touch, both the process and the result can be called art.

Photographing bonsai, when done well, is also art, and the photos shown here are no exception. They are a small sampling (I chose just one tree) from a much larger selection of photos that is featured on Capital Bonsai in post titled 2014 Winter Silhouette Bonsai Exhibition. It’s a click well worth making. Or better yet, a trip well worth making if you’d like to view the wonders of our National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in person and up close.

Close up. I cropped this photo so you can see just the tree and its shadow up close. The other three photos in this post are just as I found them on Capital Bonsai.

 

Closer still.

 

Aha! The art of bonsai photography just got a little more daring.

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