Clinton's Jobs

April

It’s been great to see the humidity disappear and the picture perfect Autumn days becoming a pleasant regular occurrence. It’s certainly a great time of the year to be spending plenty of time outside. I’m sure plenty of you have caught up with work on your Bonsai over the Easter holidays and admiring the change in season that will be starting to show in a lot of your trees. It however can be a time of the year that gives you a sense that the development on most of your Bonsai has come to an end for another growing season. But there is no end in a Bonsai Garden, unless the tree is dead. Then that tree suddenly becomes low maintenance…and yes, that tree has reached the end!

Spring and the growth and development it brings can seem quite a distance away at present but the preparations for the best possible results for then in fact start now and over the next few months. We definitely want trees going into dormancy as healthy as possible. So definitely maintain your fertilising programmes right up until Autumn, and tone down the regularity a little once we get into Winter, but do not stop all together. If trees go into dormancy under fertilised they will definitely be more susceptible to excessive die back, and will certainly not come out with the same vigour in Spring compared to other well maintained trees. Regular re potting is also a huge factor in maintaining the vigour in plants. Your faster growing plants should be re potted on an annual basis. Trees that you are looking for rapid development should be getting potted up into the appropriate pots that will aid your aim for them. Black plastic pots, Mica pots or deep ceramic pots will certainly provide the root systems of those trees with plenty of volume to make a huge impact with the possible rate of growth of your tree. Ideally the shallow ceramic pots should only be utilised for Bonsai that are in refining stages, certainly not development stages. You probably have most of your developing trees in the appropriate pots for training but in some situations you might want to be potting on to the next size up during the appropriate re potting time for that tree. Even some training pots eventually have their limitations for some of your trees future objectives.

Over the next few months there is no better time to have wire placed on branches. Because the trees have greatly reduced their vigour, wire can be left on trunks and branches for an extended period of time. The longer the wire stays on the branch or trunk then the greater chance for successful shaping. Organised branch placement on a tree of course enhances the silhouette and three-dimensional appearance of your Bonsai. But it also ensures all branches will be able to reach there development potential once the growing season re starts. As they will not be covered or over crowded by other branches. Pruning also becomes easier as well later on in Spring as you have a greater scope of what you have in regards to the shape of your tree and what needs to fill out, what needs reducing and what new branches can be incorporated into the design of your tree.

Always remember that the above practices will only greatly enhance your trees productivity as long as one thing remains a constant throughout, that being sunlight. Especially amongst beginners it can be one factor which is totally overlooked but in fact it is the most important factor for the development of your Bonsai. For most of your Bonsai the more sun you can provide for them the more vigorous they will be. They will also show it in so many other ways; the appearance of the foliage, the amount of back shooting, the abundance of flower production, direction of growth and strength of branches. If some of your Bonsai didn’t get appropriate sunlight in the past growing season then take time now to help remedy that situation for those plants for next season. Everyone will have different reasons why some trees aren’t getting enough sun. But if it means trimming an overhanging tree in the garden (or removing it altogether), adjusting your display benches, building a new fixture then think about making those adjustments now before the hectic Spring arrives again.

Finally, don’t forget to take care of the perceived smaller issues with your Bonsai at present. Tend to pest and disease as soon as first sighted. Aphids have been in abundance recently and will be seen appearing on the tips of new growth on quite a variety of trees, sucking on the sap and weakening the new growth. Although not life threatening to your Bonsai they are detrimental to your trees development and should and can be quickly eradicated with Confidor.

With the regular rain of late weeds seem to pop up quite readily and heavily compete with your Bonsai for nutrients and root space in your pots. So removal as soon as possible will prevent competition for those resources that should be after all only intended for your Bonsai.

Pluck out needles from the undersides of branches on Pines and thin out some of the longer older needles in other areas of your tree. It will give your Pine a tidier appearance, provide more airflow around the branches of your Pine, reduce hiding spots for pest and disease and allow more sunlight into your tree. Make sure that you don’t have more than two new candles per branch. If you do, remove the excess candles now and this will enable the two remaining candles to develop much quicker.

Remove any browning off of needles in dense areas of conifers such as Junipers and Chamaecyparis. Apart from giving your tree a more tidy appearance and reducing possible havens for pests. It will let in more light for lower branches and allow possible back shooting to occur.

Clinton Nesci         (Ray Nesci Bonsai Nursary)