Orlando Bonsai » repotting

Bonsai in Spring – the Best and Worst

Sandy Racinski — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 06:19:58 +0000

Best of all, Winter is OVER! Yay! No more winter protection …..? unless of course your Spring hasn’t sprung yet. Spring in Florida means Spring temps are heading northward soon. I know because most of the Snowbirds just left or will soon. If you are south of the Equator then all bets are off but your day will come. All four seasons have their moments of beauty and, well, a few not so good days.

In Florida, Spring is my favorite time of year. The excitement of seeing deciduous trees leaf out is always a thrill. If you haven’t experienced it, you might not fully appreciate it. Just like if you have never experienced throwing your own slab of clay on a potter’s wheel, you might not fully appreciate potters work. Speaking of that, it is a time of year to start getting your hands dirty (or your gloves). But first, just feel the joy of Bonsai as you see all the fresh beautiful shades of green as everything starts growing, especially after you begin your fertilizer regime again. That’s the BEST!

The birds are singing and all manner of creatures are out and about including bugs. BAD People-biting and Bonsai-eating BUGS are the WORST! I planted some flowers last week after dark (don’t ask) and had to grab the bug spray but too late as I had already been bitten numerous times. I like to use organic, natural things when possible but some things can’t be tolerated like ‘no-see-ums’ and mosquitoes. Inspect each bonsai for bugs and decide /ask / research how you want to treat whatever you find. There are natural ways of treating too, as well as other methods. Bugs like aphids, thrips, scale and mites are bad. Lady bugs are good (they eat aphids). Even spiders can be helpful; they eat other insects (i.e. ants, etc). Know your bugs. County extension centers are very helpful with insect and plant classification, soil analyzing and more. All for free! Consult your local bonsai experts if you have specific bonsai questions or just to chat bonsai.

Then get your hands dirty as it’s time for repotting many trees, or styling, pruning, wiring, defoliating, trunk cleaning, etc. Consider Orlando Bonsai for your new tools, wire, pots, and more. We love to help people find out how much tools help their Bonsai journey. Wire cutters from a box store just aren’t the same. My dad taught me to use the right tool for the right job and that definitely holds true in Bonsai. If you didn’t receive concave cutters at Christmas, do yourself a favor and buy yourself a birthday gift. Clean cuts are important but that’s a lesson for another day.

Do the right things now with the right tools during the BEST of Spring and your bonsai will be thanking you all year long. ENJOY BONSAI.

… a few words of encouragement from …

Sandy R

Orlando Bonsai

sandy@orlandobonsai.com

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Back to basics

Paul Pikel — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 12:00:36 +0000

The details involved with bonsai are many, but there are some simple tasks that sometimes are overlooked that shouldn’t be. I searched the internet for a good demonstration on how to secure the mesh screening into a bonsai pot. I didn’t find one so I decided to create my own.

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Why use bonsai soil?

Paul Pikel — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 12:00:15 +0000

There are a lot of things that Bonsai artists do without really knowing why. One example is the use of bonsai soil mix over a standard nursery soil mix. The reasons are many but for the most part it is to help stimulate more feeder roots over the long leggy roots that nursery soil promotes. In the following video I show examples of roots as they have grown in each of the medium and tell why bonsai mix works so much better.

If you need a good bonsai mixture, I sell some on Orlando Bonsai.

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Reducing pot size

Paul Pikel — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 16:50:59 +0000

I realized over the past week that the pot that I had planted my Wrightia religiosa was too big. The color wasn’t bad, but the large wide pot make the trunk look small. This tree has a rather large trunk and I needed a smaller pot to emphasize it. As for the color, I was told that a light blue glazed pot works well with the leaf color and the small white flowers that bloom during the year.

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The Incredible Shrinking Bald Cypress

Paul Pikel — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:00:32 +0000

Well actually the tree isn’t shrinking, just the bonsai pot that it is in. Last year when I potted this tree up for the first time it went into a very large bonsai pot. However because of the lack of roots close to the trunk I had no choice. This year is a different story.

Bald Cypress ready for repotting

This tree put out so many new branches in all of the right spots. I can’t wait to wire it out. It is naturally weeping a bit, so that is how I plan to style it. First I need to get it into a smaller pot.

New Bonsai pot comparison

As you can see the new pot is a great deal smaller. I remember potting the tree last year and there were very big roots so this is going to be a very tight squeeze.

Great New Roots

When I pulled the tree out of it’s current pot I was very happy to see these kinds of roots. The tree thrived this past year and these roots are proof. Also if you ever had a question about how well my bonsai mix works, now you know!!

Raked roots

After a quick rake the roots are now combed out, and the tree is ready for the new pot.

Too Big

Okay, don’t panic!!! This tree really is ver large and I knew this challange was coming. There is some growth on the tips of the roots, but still there is plenty close to the trunk. I’m pretty confident this will go in with some help.

Saws All to the rescue

Of course when I said help I was referring to my Saws All. I removed just enough of the roots to have a nice fit with a little room for new growth. You can still see loads of roots remain.

Repotted Bald Cypress

Success!!! The tree fit, and this combination pot and tree looks very good. I have still some carving, wiring, styling, etc to perform but the hard work is done. Now comes the fun!

Big Nebari

One last shot to show the nebari of the trunk. The tree is sitting a little low in the pot on purpose to let the roots heal up. Next year I’ll raise it up a bit more to really show the trunk spread.

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