This gallery contains 4 photos.
Silver Birch
Refine your fertilizing this year!
Yet more words of wisdom from Mr Hagedorn. Excellent post and something that I have been trying to do for the last few years. The old wisdom of fertilization for all trees in Spring as new growth appears is utter tosh. I can already see a massive difference in my maples.
Nothing like a dogmatic title for good dramatics, right? I should add an ‘Or Else!’ but I don’t have the heart for it. Nevertheless, we should be duly chastised for broadcasting fertilizer as if it were an unmitigated good.
Whatever that guy is using should obviously be applied with discretion-
For bonsai, generally we don’t need axes to control growth. And 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
This makes two assumptions:
- For the young tree, you wish to develop the trunk size and continue it’s youthful vigor…to fatten trunk, develop branching, get big joyful growth, have loud cellular parties
- For the old tree, you wish to retain an ‘old tree’ feeling…to have thin twigs…
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Tall Larch is Out
This gallery contains 17 photos.
Hurry Up Hostas
Thanks to a bit of swapping this year I have lots of new mini Hostas, I just wish they would get a move on so I can see what they are like! This last week has seen a bit warmer weather and they are now starting to respond well.
Beach Accent
I picked up this little plant on a walk along the coast last year. I noticed it among the rocks and loved the flower. Initially I thought it would be too big for an accent but I noticed some in a garden lawn that had self seeded there. With the grass being cut every few weeks, the plant had adapted and was flowering tight to the grass level. This one needs to fill out to fill the pot but you can see from the flowers that it’ll make a nice accent next year.
Killyleagh Landscape
My work has taken me through Killyleagh in County Down a lot recently and I spotted this tree on the rise of a hill. After the third time I just had to take the camera with me for a snap to share. Loads of nice image trees about but always hard to get a photo with a uncluttered backdrop. If you look carefully, you can just about see the old rope hanging from the bottom right branch were the swing used to be. At least I hope that’s what it there for!! I’ve been watching too much Game of Thrones lately ❗
BCI in China
Just had to add links to this! Photos from the BCI in Yangzhao, China.
I don’t think there is a single tree here that doesn’t make you think out of the box! Some I really really love and a few that are a bit out there but really made me stop and look.
Pots and mudmen not always to my taste but even some of these work for me! Don’t take my work for it, check out these links in IBC Forum and French Forum.
Just look!!
Nuts, but I love it 🙂
Touching Base
I had the opportunity to touch base with Bertie B, another NIBS member, earlier this week. We enjoyed a good chat over a couple of cups of coffee, solved a few of the world’s problems and had a look at his trees. I really enjoyed the time together and took a few pics while I was there.
Just like the rest of us Bertie’s trees have had a slow start this year because of the late cold spring but they are really starting to develop over this past week or so. Some of his shohin trees are just delightful
Cavan’s Place
I got a call from an old club member last week asking for some advice. I popped over to Cavan’s place to see what was occurring 🙂
Cavan, when I first visited his garden about 12 years ago had a massive collection of bonsai. He was totally self taught and had been doing bonsai for over 25 years. Since then he has been reducing his collection. They where mostly big trees and like many of us, his back just couldn’t take all the lifting. He still had about 30 – 40 trees left, about a quarter of what he used to have!
This is Cavan showing me a few of his trees.
His main bench area now pretty empty after selling over the last few years.
Still many trees in his growing beds, Elms and Zelkova mostly with a few beech and hornbeam thrown in.
A rare Junper in his collection, mostly deciduous bonsai here.
I have never known anyone to have so many rock plantings especially root over rock! This is a hemlock on a rock
JH Elms on rock, he has a few of these.
Zelkova just out of the ground.
A nice Larch for sale.
His favourite Larch and one of the trees that he’s keeping.
Trident on rock
Trident and rock
Unusual Elm for Mr Warren 🙂
Deshojo Maple
Another Elm on Rock
Root over rock Maple
A greenhouse full.
A monster root over rock Elm!
Larch for sale.
Had a great time looking around. He wanted me to help price a few trees for sale. I even took a few away with me that I thought some club members might be interested in. More on those later perhaps.
Stephen’s Garden Between the Showers
Popped into Stephen’s house for a cuppa on Monday and enjoyed a look around the garden between rain and hail showers! Amazing changes in the leaves in a few weeks since the show.
Bonsai Eejit 