Clinton's Jobs

September

* The first month of Spring is a very exciting and colourful time of the year. The fresh new growth of deciduous trees and blossoms of flowering plants make a spectacular picture on the benches. Some of you have already enjoyed the late Winter blossoms of the Japanese Flowering Apricot, Cherry and Quince. The foliage on these plants develops at a quick rate straight after flowering. It is very important to trim back this early aggressive growth they put on in Spring frequently to increase the branching volume in those respective plants. The second wave of flowering colour is on the way. People who have Azaleas, Crabapples and Wisterias will be hopefully currently admiring them in full flower. Their are plenty of other flowering plants in Spring but these three plants are certainly the big three that make a huge impression in Spring at their peek.

* Don't be admiring the flowers for too long however. Spring sets off a hive of activity for your Bonsai and it "should " cause the same reaction from their owner. Pruning is one of the major tasks at this time of year and a key priority. Target your pruning firstly on all your deciduous trees that come out with a bang in Spring. Most will produce undesirable long internodal growth within weeks if not attended too so get on top of them early and often. Japanese Maples are a tree that has to be monitored rigorously so this type of growth doesn't occur. When two newly emerged leaves develop pinch out the centre bud. (A pair of tweezers is very handy for this task.) Not only will this ensure shorter internodes in your tree and aid ramification but it will also force other budding on other areas on your tree. Pruning on other deciduous trees doesn't have to be this scientific. (Although could be used on most) Elms of various varieties are another deciduous plant that will need plenty of attention early in Spring. You can prune Elms back to a couple pairs of leaves and they will come back with increased numbers. Once you have the deciduous trees under control you can move onto your evergreen plants in order of their growth rates. i.e. Privets would be first!!! Towards the latter part of Spring you can get stuck into your conifers, as they will take longer to develop worthwhile growth to be attended to. Make sure your trees are spaced out adequately on your benches so your trees can obtain an even amount of sunlight on ALL areas of your tree. This way there will be less chance of weak growth areas in various parts of your tree and cause imbalances. If you already have some weak areas always leave extra growth than you normally would in these areas and prune harder on your stronger areas.

* If you have any Pieris Japonica they would've just about finished flowering by now. It is very important to prune them back straight after flowering. If you don't the tree will waste energy going to seed and the new growth will also form from that point and appear leggy. The best way to prune them back is to remove the spent flower and then prune it back a couple sets of leaves.

* It is important to increase your fertilising frequency now. Slow release fertilisers combined with ORGANIC liquid fertilisers make an ideal fertilising combination. Freshly repotted trees should've had some slow release granular fertiliser added to the mix to give a slow and steady food source to your tree over the next 4 to 5 months. A small top dressing can be added towards the end of Summer. You can also fortnightly feed with ORGANIC liquid fertlisers which are relatively safe as they have relatively low nitrogen rates. Strictly adhere to the measurements of fertiliser dosage rates. More is not better. I have seen plenty of trees killed over the years with over fertilising particularly from chemical high nitrogen fertilisers. Also if you have any Native trees only use fertilisers that are low in Phosphorus. Every fertiliser bottle should have an N:P:K ratio on it. The P stands for Phosphorus and should be no more than 2. Also be attentive on keeping your trees weed free as they will rob your trees of the fertilser that you apply to them.

* Keep an eye on some of the wiring that you may have placed on any of your trees over the Winter. Foliage growth may cover wiring and you may become unaware that wire is on a particular tree. It is always an idea to put a coloured tag in the soil of the pot of your tree to remind you that it is indeed a tree that has wire on it. Then simply remove the tag when the wire has been removed. Monitor the wire you have placed on trees weekly this time of year as the growth of trees thickens at an alarming rate and you don't want to spoil your wiring efforts with deep scars in the branches of your trees because it has been left too long.

* Finally, Spring signals the start of a large itinerary of Bonsai exhibitions and garden shows. Try to get to as many as you can. At Bonsai exhibitions you will be able to observe a wide variety of plant material used for Bonsai and gain ideas on styling particular plant varieties. Garden shows are also of an interest to attend as most often many new release plants are launched and some may be new hybrids of plants we currently use but offer alternatives to flower colour, leaf shape, growth rates etc. Go and explore and hunt out your next Bonsai treasure!.

Clinton Nesci         (Ray Nesci Bonsai Nursary)