Spotted in the Wild
Historical Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and RSS posts previously curated by the club (2017–present). Not authored by the club — preserved here since the original source feeds no longer carry this history.
Oak Gallery
Refining a slender Korean hornbeam
A year-and-a-half ago, I started working on a Korean hornbeam by removing a few branches and repotting the tree (see “ Defining the branch structure ” for details). After pruning and repotting, January, 2020 I let the…
Monster Bald Cypress Available
Bonsai Development Series #25: Pruning exposed root pines
Some of my exposed root pines are close to seven years old. They have long sacrifice branches to help thicken the roots. Although the fastest way to thicken the roots will be to let the tree grow freely all summer, I…
Change Of Design For Spekboom
Decandling field-grown pines
When decandling season comes around, I start with the biggest pines in the garden and work my way down to the smallest ones over a period of four-to-six weeks. This gives the larger trees enough time to develop needles…
Spring 2021 Open House
Our Spring 2021 Open House & Sale will be held in a few days on Saturday and Sunday in Rochester, New York. Although the Wisteria have finished blossoming the dwarf Japanese dogwood and golden smoke tree are in full…
Post-bloom care for satsuki azaleas
When all goes well, satsuki bonsai can produce lots of flowers in spring. Hakurei-no-hikari – 15″ After 80% of the flowers have bloomed, it’s time to remove all remaining flowers, taking care to remove the seed pods…
Spring cutback on stewartia
For the past few weeks, I’ve been writing about maintenance work for mature deciduous bonsai as that’s what I’ve been focusing on in the garden. Before moving on to a new topic (it’s almost decandling season!) here’s a…
Maple Layering Success
Bald Cypress Styling – Formal And Informal Upright
Spring cutback on ume
Last year I tried a variation on my normal spring cutback for ume. Instead of reducing mid-sized branches to 2-3 leaves, I left them long but defoliated them (see “ Cutback ” for details). I found that the defoliated…
The Beech Code?
Thinning a European beech grove
The last deciduous tree in my garden to open up this spring was a European beech. Normally I pinch the new shoots as they open, but as this tree was recently repotted, I let the new shoots elongate to help the tree…
Rebuilding A Live Oak Bonsai
Spring cutback on Korean hornbeam
I usually start thinking about pruning and partially defoliating Korean hornbeam in May. It’s around this time of year that the spring growth hardens off and shades out the interior branches which makes it a good time…
Hard cutback on satsuki azaleas
A number of my azaleas have been slow to leaf out this year. Here’s an example. Exposed-root Kozan-no-hikari As you can see, the foliage is anemic and the old leaves curve downward. It’s the first time I’ve seen these…
Mayhaw Work And Lantana Flowers (Surprise)
Flat-top Bald Cypress Bonsai – Starting A New Specimen
Evaluating vigor of trident maples in spring
Before I prune on my deciduous bonsai in spring, I check to see if they’re up for the work. Here’s a trident maple at the end of March. Trident maple – March 30th Although the leaves are healthy, they are pale green and…
Portrait Time – Hawthorn, Oak, Elm
Removing large leaves on a red maple forest
My red maple forest has filled in nicely this spring – so much so that some of the interior leaves are already turning yellow. Acer rubrum, Red maple Weak interior leaf To let more light into the tree’s interior, I…
The Four Seasons Of Rochester, New York
SONY DSC Contrary to popular belief, Rochester, New York, has more than the two seasons of snow and construction. We do actually have four distinct seasons, and very often can “enjoy” two seasons a couple of days apart.…