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I finished decandling my black and red pines about a week ago. And since I’d neglected to pull needles or thin branches last fall, I did that work too.

After growing a trunk to the desired size, the next step is creating primary branches. And the bigger the trunk, the bigger we can expect these branches to be.

Summer is a good time to prune olive bonsai. By pruning when the weather is warm, I can expect olives to produce new growth until the weather cools in fall.

It’s been a while since I last pruned some young quince and crabapples I’ve been growing from seed. By pruning in summer I can encourage them to produce new growth that I can wire in fall.

One of the most fun stages of development is when the trunk has reached the desired size and the focus switches to improving branch density.

For the last few years I’ve been pruning my young pines down to a single sacrifice branch. This slows growth but allows me to fit more trees on the bench.

On May 21-22, 2022, the Bay Area Satsuki Aikokai hosted their 25th annual exhibition at the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland, California.

The ABS Rendezvous On The River Conference was held in Memphis, TN on May 26-29, 2022. It was hosted by the Memphis Bonsai Society and Brussel’s Bonsai Nursery. The venue, Whispering Woods Conference Center was decorated by masterpiece bonsai from Brussel Martin. Welcoming visitors in the lobby was a magnificent Satsuki azalea in full bloom.

During my recent visit to Portland, Oregon, I spent the bulk of my free time at Rakuyo-en, the bonsai garden of Andrew Robson.

Last weekend the Bonsai Society of Portland held “Farm to Table,” an event that focused on techniques for developing field-grown material.