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Greenwood Bonsai Studio in Nottingham, England was established in 1978 by Harry Tomlinson. After Harry’s passing his two sons, Corin and Paul are the new proprietors and have developed the garden into the oldest and largest bonsai nursery and teaching studio in England.

I’m working on a number of five and six-year-old pines. Several look like the tree below, with vigorous growth on the top half of the tree and smaller shoots below.

The decandling season is starting earlier than normal for me this year. I’m looking to prepare a few trees for an exhibit in September but the pines in my garden usually grow through October and into November. By decandling early, I can increase the odds that a tree will look good in September at the expense of it looking slightly overgrown by the end of the year. (See “Overview of decandling” for details.)

Now that our deciduous bonsai are mostly transplanted and trimmed, its time to begin with the evergreen species. Many of the pines have been pinched, at least once and I have learned that this is the prime time to root prune and transplant established pine bonsai.

The first few years of growing pines from scratch can be a lot of fun. From sprouting the seeds, to making seedling cuttings, to setting the first curves of the trunk, the early years of pine development include some fun steps.

When it comes to juniper bonsai, spring is great for watering, fertilizing and letting new shoots grow freely. It’s also a good time to remove newly formed berries.