Bonsai News – Expressions of Grace Bonsai

KEY Bonsai Tasks for Feb / Mar

Xavier Martinez — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 12:37:30 +0000

5 Things happening right now:

Three days ago I uploaded this video to YouTube, and guess what? I have done nothing from that long list of tasks! The wind has been howling around the bonsai garden and rain has also made an appearance. The best thing about it, is that it stopped ‘drill man’ from featuring on my next video soundtrack

Seriously, I did spend all weekend breaking up the rotting benches and also cutting up and clearing away a lot of last years dead branches – left kindly by my very expensive Tree Surgeons (not sure that is the best description). Then I had the joy of meeting our very well paid ‘Rubbish Disposal Technicians’ who were happy to watch me struggle with a diverse range of rubbish. Why do they have to be so rude and unhelpful!

Cutting up the Branches left last year!

I was actually told, bluntly, that I had to hold my rotting pieces of wood and NOT put them on the ground – whilst waiting for the current load to be compacted. Now I know I’m not exactly feeble but I did struggle to understand why he was so adament I could not put them on the ground whilst waiting!

I started to become a wee bit uppity and then stopped myself as he suddenly spurted out some **** about ‘Health & Safety’ rules! These council departments have so much power and the last thing I needed was to be slapped with a Tip Ban for being ‘aggresive or confrontational’…

So of the 5 Things I should be doing now, I can definitely mark myself with a big green tick. Dry and ignored Dawn Redwoods watered, benches removed, majority of trees are happily dormant AND everything is safely tucked away from the wind. I even moved my little Forsythia into the coldframe for some additional protection due to unwanted bud swelling. I suppose I now need to let you know how I have got on with the 10 Tasks for Winter (or not)…

Deadwood Work.

Andy’s Tanuki Stump Challenge

Do you know how cold it is right now? I mean, I did look at a few Bonsai with deadwood but then the rain hit hard and I had to run away inside and comfort myself with a hot chocolate. By the time the rain had stopped, my enthusiasm had waned. So I reminded myself that there is always summer to do this job. After all, why do something now when you can enjoy it much more in 6 months time! A bit like cleaning dirty bonsai pots…

I did plug the dremmel in to a power socket and set my studio up with Andy’s lump of wood. And I did even look at it for several minutes. I tutted and mused over different ideas and drew all over it with my HB pencil. Not sure why, because I have never followed any pre-planned cutting lines in the past.

Having decided where I was going to start channeling out this piece of trunk I realised I needed my safety glasses and gloves. Although I didnt find the left glove I did manage to find a packet of Doritos instead…perhaps a sign that this job should be done another time too

Clean up your Pine Bonsai.

If you watched the video you will already know that I did my Pine clean up work in Autumn. I did find a few dead needles and one or two terminal buds to remove but I am happy these can be left for a good few months yet. The next bit of work will not be till late spring when the candles have elongated.

Bonsai Bench & Garden Clear-up.

I spent all Friday with my serrated saw blade and branch loppers to reduce everything into easy to handle pieces that I could pack into my old ‘skip’ bag. The benches themselves fell apart as soon as I showed them a picture of my hammer. It appears the only things keeping them standing were the wood louse. I can happily report that I achieved this momentous task without injury – a definite first for me

As for the Tip run…well, enough said at the beginning of this article.

Create Rock Structures for plantings.

I have the glue ready and the lava rock ready but unfortunately my studio lights have decided to blow their bulbs, making it impossible for me to film. I suppose that means I need to get some more hot chocolate instead…

Building my new Website Pages.

I am loving this task and my biggest fear is it will distract me from my Bonsai Channel too much. At High School I majored in Journalism and Literature. I love nothing better than spending a day just creating articles or starting ‘another’ prize winnning novel. Needless to say, they remain unfinished – like most of my creative projects. I really do need to learn to commit to something and stop getting bored and distracted.

There is so much work to do to make this website really useful and so many of the pages need lots of work. The calendar may be the biggest issue with the volume of entries I need to start putting in it.

Update my Bonsai Workflow App.

Lexi’s Brilliant Bonsai App

The day after this video was released 8 people asked to try the app from various parts of the world. Since then, I have sent out another 7 files. Lexi and I are absolutely blown away with the interest and pray that there are no major issues using this product. It has worked so well for me during the last 4 years AND the first group to use it have also reported postive results.

If you have taken advantage of this offer then please provide postive feedback in either the comments here or on the tuition videos uploaded to YouTube. You are of course more than welcome to send a Gift Donation via Paypal to help me spoil Lexi for her hardwork

Bonsai Soil / Wire & Pots.

Pond baskets and Cutting Mix

You all know that I have 29 bags of Zeolite and Pumice thanks to an order put in by my good friend Alex. I also still have another 4 bags of Kitty Friend, 100 litres of vermiculite and a little bit of Pine Bark. So I don’t forsee any issues with repots this spring. I do need to order in a few rolls of 2.5mm and 3mm aluminum wire but that can wait for a few more weeks. The price has remained pretty constant at £12.50 for 500g.

I did order over £100 worth of Pond Baskets for my Japanese Maples and last years succesful seedlings. That is going to take a lot of time and this will be subject of one of my repotting videos. Everything gets more expensive each year!

Cleaning Pots:

Everay day I step outside and then shudder in fear as I look at the piles of dirty and uncared for bonsai pots. They litter most areas of my Nursery and have been the biggest thing ignored over the past 4 years. I think the idea is good – but it is a little too cold right now!!!

Establish Bonsai Repots and Pruning Lists:

This is an ongoing nightmare. I already have three A4 pages full of URGENT repots and the top of that list involves my Chinese Elms. Some of these imported bonsai have not seen new soil in over 5 years – might also explain the occasional deaths. Since starting a YouTube channel I have definitely found it impossible to keep up with this important job and my trees have suffered. I think someone once accused me of ‘Tree Cruelty’ in one of my early videos. I may not agree with the tone of the comment but I cannot argue with the sentiment. I have too many trees to be able to care for them properly.

Managing your winter watering.

In truth, this doesnt present much of an issue. The Dawn Redwoods missed out because I had stacked bags of bonsai soil on the bench above them – DOH!!!

I have visited the coldframe a couple of times this month and found most of the bonsai are happy and ‘refusing’ free drinks from me right now.

ANYWAY…

I have just spent another 2 hours writing this blog so I shall sign off here with a reminder of my biggest Bonsai fear: False Spring

Every year I wait as long as possible before starting repots on my Trident Maples, knowing that we always get a dramatic return to freezing nights (for about a week). This has put my Bonsai back over the past two years and my Tridents are without a lot of their branches as a result of this. Fingers crossed this year will be a mild entry into spring and the dreaded False Spring will stay away for once

God Bless & Happy Bonsaiing

Xavier

Launching a NEW Website for 2024

Xavier Martinez — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 16:00:14 +0000

Six years ago I had grand plans of selling bonsai online and hosting visitors to my Backyard Bonsai Nursery. To make this a reality I would need a website – and a lot more education! Skip forward to 2023 and the site looked pretty good…yet still the shop remained ‘An Unrealised Dream’. All the Blog posts and Projects pages had been uploaded. I had sections relating to Species Advice and Bonsai Sitting Services. Yet their was still nowhere to purchase anything online. So what went wrong?

Lockdown in 2020:

Everybody was effected by the pandemic and knock on issues it caused. The biggest for bonsai hobbyists was the crippling price rises associated with packing crates. Many nurseries saw a fourfold increase in transport and this had to be recouped by price rises. Shortly after restrictions had been lifted I drove down to Savin Nursery to pick up more stock for a ‘Grand Opening’…

That visit changed my entire outlook. It was clear that the days of cheaper imports had gone for good. Without a reliable source of budget stock I knew it would be impossible for me to maintain any sort of credible business model. I still had a reasonable number of ‘mass produced’ Chinese Elm and Trident Maple but I knew that there were no replacements coming. This was the point I chose to take my plans in another direction…

YouTube Arrived:

On February 22, 2022 I uploaded my first bonsai video to YouTube under the banner of ‘Expressions of Grace Bonsai’. Within a few weeks I had my first 50 subscribers and by August had reached the incredible figure of 500! I was now creating three videos / week and was working fulltime to keep both my trees and content going. By January 14th 2023 I achieved the milestone of 1000 subscribers and was immediately monetised. My first payment was a ‘whopping’ 8p from a video about wiring

The excitement of video production and editing took me back to my school days at Upwey High – where I excelled in Drama and Journalism. Finally, i was able to fulfill my true vocation spurting rubbish in front of a camera.

Any Other Nursery Progress?

I had severely underestimated just how much time I would spend on YouTube and any plans for revamping my website or sorting out a ‘new’ sales strategy quickly dropped off my priority list. Editing and producing videos took a lot of time and energy and I still had to carry out the regular building work on the bonsai ‘not featuring’ in videos. By this stage I had well over 700 trees in various stages of bonsai development.

I was still selling trees occasionally using Ebay and had started seeing an increase in visitors to the nursery. The visits were the highlight for me and it was rare for somebody to be ‘in and out’ in less than 2 hours! I am always more than happy to sell trees from my garden as it does not require the additional stress and costs of packaging and postage.

I was also delighted to be invited to a couple of village events where I was able to share my passion of bonsai – whilst seeing some trees sold too

Monetised after 11 months:

It astounded me just how much work was required to sustain and build the channel. The monetary gain was negligible but the prospects for growth were very real. Within a further 5 months I reached 2000 subscribers and was averaging 1000 views / video – which equated to about £5.30. When you consider each video takes about 10 hours of production time – well I won’t break that down into an ‘hourly’ rate.

The biggest gain for me was the incredible volume of Community Engagement through the channel. Although it wasn’t financially productive, the number of regular subscribers who kept in touch through comments and other social media outlets was beyond belief. I now have a strong group of ‘like-minded’ colleagues and a growing number of friends. Despite the loss of my wife in 2020 I finally believed that my life could start again.

3000 YouTube Subscribers

A Change of Name:

It was in early 2023 that I made the decision to change my channel name to ‘The Bonsai Retreat’. This was related entirely to the Google Algorithm and had an immediate postive influence on my growth. Ultimately, the word Bonsai wasn’t being seen quickly on the search page of mobile devices – the revised channel name has made all the difference. Of course I do miss being identified as Expressions of Grace Bonsai and I think that is one of the reasons for revamping my website.

By the new year of 2024 my subscriber base had climbed to over 3000 and my videos were regularly achieving 1500 views. I did have a couple of ‘break-out’ videos, one of which gained 10k views and earned me £43.15. Certainly not enough to retire on but pleasing none-the-less. The biggest issue I faced was stopping myself from feeling a ‘failure’ because other channels were doing much better than me. I started around the same time as 5 other creators and they were all achieving much bigger success in growth and video views.

However…I just had to remind myself that my primary aim for YouTube was: rebuilding my self-esteem, gaining confidence and building a circle of friends and colleagues. This I most certainly have achieved, so anything else is just a bonus

The Future:

My Bonsai Calendar

I have taken the decision to reduce my uploads to 1 or 2 per week which will allow me more time in the bonsai nursery developing my trees. I am currently planning the uploads for the new season and intend to maintain my chatty VLOG style approach. I am definitely not knowledgeable enough to be considered a ‘teaching channel’ but my experience is enough to appeal to the enthusiastic bonsai hobbyist. But I will leave you to decide that

This website will become ‘BLOG’ centred and will allow me to promote new uploads as well as give regular informal updates on things planned for The Bonsai Retreat. I will work on promoting my Bonsai Portfolio pages which will provide a pictorial timeline of ongoing projects. I will also be running a Calendar which will allow viewers to see when I have certain bonsai work planned throughout the year.

I still sell Bonsai from the nursery and via personnal approaches using the contact page. Visitors are also welcome and all I ask is that you let me know you are coming to ensure parking is not an issue (I live in a small cul-de-sac). I am literally 5 minutes off the A1 and 3 minutes from Burger King and KFC…

Just 5 minutes from the A1

I shall also be looking to promote the ‘Accesss Bonsai Management System‘ developed by my daughter to allow others to benefit from this ‘free’ application. I have a lot of development plans in store for the nursery itself which will include new ‘sponsored’ display and work benches. But for now…

All the best & Happy Bonsaiing

Xavier

p.s.

Please be patient and allow me the time to continue the website building process. I am happy that it is sufficiently completed to allow a decent experience for viewers BUT I am definitely aware that more work is needed and many pages remain incomplete…

1000 Subscribers on YouTube!!!

Xavier Martinez — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 13:13:34 +0000

What an incredible feeling it was when one of my first subscribers, Gaye Fanner, let me know I had passed the 1000 subscriber milestone on 14 Janaury (This date also coincides with my late-mother’s birthday). I never realised just how important that was to me…until it happened.

When I uploaded my first video on 28 February I never considered that I might actually get people to watch my content. I would be lying if I tried to tell you that wasn’t my hope, but reality suggested a completely different outcome. I am definitely a glass ‘half full’ sort of guy! But…here I am, just 11 months later and the hope has been achieved. So thank you so much to everybody who has made this possible.

Many of you may be aware that numerous unexpected events between 2014 – 2020 forced a radical change in my life. I went from having a solid career to becoming a full time carer. During that 5-year period I looked after my mother, helping her battle throat cancer. Then I needed to care for my father whom I recognised had alzheimers. Finally, in late 2018, my wife Zita was diagnosed with Bile Duct cancer. She died one year later, a month before the lockdowns commenced.

We all have different experiences of that period and I will not pretend that my situation was any different than yours. However, I did have to face the reality of starting a new life, especially with personal circumstances making it impossible to return to my old career. Faced with this, I retreated into my bonsai and just hid from the world. We’ve all done it…

But, two years later, with the world opening up I found a new enthusiasm for an old vocation of mine. My senior school years were spent exploring my writing and acting talents. It had been Zita, during her last few months, that suggested I should refocus my efforts in this field and link it with bonsai.

So, with the support of my children and the words of my late-wife still ringing loudly in my ears, I took the plunge and started my YouTube channel. It changed my life and revived my desire for acting and writing. I love the production aspects as well as the creative opportunities and I am blessed that I can do all this centred around my love of bonsai.

So what did it take for me to reach 1000 subscribers?

I worked full time: 9am – 6pm, 6 days a week. Even before YouTube, bonsai had required a full time commitment from me because of the number of trees I had. Now, I had to continue to work the trees but also combine it with film production. I thrived on the hardwork and hopefully my enthusiasm shows in the finished product.

I have had to learn about camera’s, lighting and sound. I have had to spend endless hours staring at my computer screen perfecting the art of editing using AVS Video Editor. In the end, I have had to learn an entire new speciality / career. Not something I ever envisaged having to do back in early 2000.

So what next?

It’s simple – more hardwork and more brainstorming for video ideas. I hope to triple my subscriber count by the end of this year and enter into many more collaborations along the way. I am fortunate that I have a degree of financial security but I hope to realise enough additonal income through bonsai that my kids neeed not worry for me in the future.

This is like a dream come true and my only regret is that my wife, Zita, cannot share it with me. This is what she always wanted for me. As for me, the most rewarding aspect of this has been the community engagement and the number of new friends I have made. Subscribers and fellow creators have given me a new future…

God Bless & Happy bonsaiing,

Xav

A Christmas Bonsai Carol and a look at plans for 2023.

Xavier Martinez — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 16:36:19 +0000

Where did 2022 go this year?

I have barely touched the website despite numerous promises to do so. There are unfinished pages and countless other issues and there is still no shop. Does that mean I have stopped working – NO, of course not. My bonsai and pre-bonsai stocks have grown considerably to just over 750 specimens and I am now committed to full-time hours in the backyard nursery. So what did change?

My YouTube Channel

I will blame all my failings on YouTube. Yep – I finally succumbed and am now regularly creating content on my channel. I think I have just over 130 videos and shorts and am now reaching the 1000 subscribers level. I am pretty staggered by this support and can only thank all those who have encouraged me to keep going.

I HAVE FINALLY FORCED MYSELF TO TAKE A MINIMUM OF TWO WEEKS REST FROM THIS…

So that means I can try to rectify some of the failings of my website. Firstly, I have to confirm that I do not have plans, in the short term, to open an E-shop. I still regularly sell bonsai from my garden and through Ebay (occasionally). I am also open to prviate sales through Paypal but must stress that this is generally for subscribers to my channel. I am not set up to ship internationally.

Due to my unexpected growing success on YouTube I will be prioritising this for 2023 and the first big change will be allowing advertising as part of Google Adsense. This is part of my longer term objective to turn bonsai into my full time profession. This means you will now also start to see ads placed on the website.

I am currently working through my video backlog and updating all the English ‘closed captions’. This allows me to then translate it into other languages. Clearly this takes time but will hopefully reap some benefits in the future. Please let me know in the comments if there is a language you would like included.

Website updates

I will be concentrating on updating and improving the Species section. This will include linking a lot of my newly created instructional videos to the specific tree type.

I will be adding a Workflow Calander that will allow you to see dates that I carry out different types of work on different bonsai.

Projects will also be updated and will also link to videos fo the work carried out.

I am also reviewing the services that I could carry out. Tree sitting is still going to be available for those of you close to me. I am also looking at providing 1:1 help with bonsai development. I am not a professional so i’ve yet to decide on how best this could be safely managed.

And finally...

Please let me know if there are any ideas you have that may make this site more useful to you. I love bonsai and sometimes it is easy to forget that things I find ‘great’ may not appeal so much to others. Thank you all so much for supporting me and I look forward to better things in 2023.

God Bless and Happy Bonsaiing,

Xav

Bonsai in Bloom – Spring Catwalk Display

Xavier Martinez — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 11:43:49 +0000

"Baby Ficus Bonsai is banned from all future competitions after admitting the use of performance enhancing wire."

Despite this shocking revelation there are still some exceptional bonsai gracing today’s catwalk displays. Allow yourself 9 minutes to relax and enjoy the spring show. The fashion is dazzling and opens with three Dwarf Azalea sisters at the peak of their abilities. They are followed by twin Fuji Cherry models – each survivors of near catastrophic separations at birth!

A couple of aging elite bonsai models then take the applause by showing off their curves – well done Lucinda Larch. With the crowds in raptures, sudden and unexpected complaints are received from the Forsythia camp, when she notices that the youngest entrant – a baby Ficus – is clearly using performance enhancing 1mm wire. An instant lifetime ban follows with further threats that fertiliser will be tested…

Thankfully, the bonsai display is saved by the late entry of Zita the Chinese Elm and her cousin, Twin-Trunk Maple – surely stars of the future?

Several other complaints have been lodged after enquiries suggest some ‘insider trading’ has unfairly advantaged many of the bonsai dress choices. The designer of the costumes – Dawn Isaac ( of deiCeramics), has been unavailable for comment. More information on this uncertain situation may be found on her website: deiceramics.co.uk

It is also worth noting that this is the first competition allowing both disability and LGBTQ+ bonsai to compete on an equal rooting. Definitely a step forward for diversity :()

I hope you enjoyed this light hearted approach to showing my bonsai in bloom. Regular informative videos are being uploaded to YouTube so please subscribe and keep on watching…

Happy Bonsaiing

Xav

I’ve finally started a YouTube Channel

Xavier Martinez — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 09:25:20 +0000

I know…it has been ages since my last post and I am well aware of the work to be done on our bonsai right now. In truth, I have been diverted by my new project – You Tube content creation. I have been undecided on taking this route for many years simply because I believe there is enough great channels already. However, I was aware that without an external video platform I would never be able to include my own material on this site.

So, with great nervousness, I loaded up three videos this past week. The first two take you through my ‘opening up’ processes. In these, I provide a detailed look at what I have in the nursery and what work priorities I have to juggle to be ready to open. The second video features a repot of one of my mame Japanese maples and shows exactly what you are required to do – NOW.

I would encourage any of my customers to subscribe and actively comment on anything you see…or do not see. My approach is fairly casual and I do intend to discuss personal issues as well. Bonsai was central to keeping me ‘on track’ during many stressful and emotional situations. I want to use these videos as a means to help others understand how I used bonsai to manage or overcome these difficulties.

Some of the issues I intend to discuss will include:

Dealing with cancer
Dealing with Alzheimer’s
Becoming a carer
Dealing with addiction (predominantly internet / social media related)
Grieving
Setting up and managing a small business

This will be done in a sensitive but honest manner and will relate entirely to my own experiences. I do not pretend to be an expert or to suggest that my approach should be anybody elses.

I hope that the addition of this platform will allow me to pass on my bonsai knowledge in a better manner. My aim is to have the video run alongside my ‘usual’ descriptive blog content. We all recognise that seeing a tutorial is so much more effective than reading one.

Most of the work done to date has related to repots and bud pruning. I have also carried out some wiring on many of my trees over the winter. This wire will need to be checked regularly over the next 4 – 6 weeks as shoots swell. Now is definitely the time to be working on your Dawn Redwood. This is an ideal moment to select and clean up unwanted buds and decide where your new growth is heading…

Check out my latest video below.

The latest on my Shop Page

And finally…

I am still struggling to sort out any sort of store. The work required to get the stock properly photographed and correctly (fairly) priced is overwhelming right now. There is no doubt that recent events have had an unforseen influence on bonsai prices. Not quite as bad as energy rises but certainly similiar. I have always attempted to keep things in the ‘budget’ range but recently found I could not replace my imported stock for anywhere close to last years prices.

As always, visitors are more than welcome to book a viewing and if they see a tree they like then prices can be discussed. This nursery remains, primarily, an outlet for my hobby and though I will sell my trees – this is not my main objective. I want people to learn to love bonsai – in whatever direction they take it.

Until next time,

Happy Bonsaiing

Hinoki Cypress Bargain Basement Project

Xavier Martinez — Sat, 28 Aug 2021 09:58:39 +0000

So, as the end of summer rapidly approaches, I find my thoughts wandering eagerly to a time of rest. The past 5 months have been hectic and despite the enjoyment, I am definitely ready to take a break. However, we are not quite at that time yet…

Now is often a great time to start scouring the nurseries for unwanted ‘summer-damaged’ stock. Normally I will find dwarf azalea or potentilla but this week I was lucky enough to discover a Hinoki Cypress. Although I have never worked on this genus before, the price reduction to just £5.99 was too good to resist

The rules for purchasing ‘bargain-basement’ nursery stock remain the same:

Check beneath the soil for signs of inverse taper on the base of the trunk
Is there a good number of usable branches (not just 2 dimensions)
Is it relatively healthy (I am sure there will be some obvious dieback)
Is there a unique feature to seperate it from ‘the rest’?
Is it cheap enough that it dying will not be a big drama

You must get you fingers dirty before you make that final decision! I have pulled this out of the plastic container and immediately noticed healthy white roots. It is also not root bound so I could get away with leaving it ‘as is’ during styling.

It has a unique twin trunk feature which means it is very likely to have a strong base for the future nebari to develop. I had a little dig under the surface and could see that inverse taper would not be a problem.

Definitely worth paying the price

When I got it home I drenched it and then left it in a shady part of the garden until I had a chance to do some research. I always take the time to learn about my tree before I jump in with the chainsaw! I was satisfied that basic structural work could be done safely and because the root ball was nice and healthy I chose to do a very simple ‘slip pot’ into a bigger container to protect it through the winter.

I ‘m still not entirely certain which will be the front for this design. I have decided to wait until next year and just let the tree recover and push out new growth in 2022. I may yet remove some more lower branches and apply wire sometime next year. The main priority for me is allowing the tree time to develop a strong root base. Patience…patience…patience

And of course…now is a good time for taking cuttings. I obtained 8 usable shoots making sure to make clean cuts just below the point where the colour has changed from green to brownish. They are potted up in vermiculite and peat based mix and have plastic humidity ‘domes’. I will check them in about 6 weeks and hopefully see fresh growth. They will stay in the greenhouse through the winter.

And now for some bonsai 'home truths'.

Every year, no matter how careful I am, some bonsai just die. Sometimes it is due to mistakes I have made and sometimes it is just down to the environment. Whatever the cause – it happens and you must be prepared for this. When you take a tree out of its natural environment and make it grow in a small pot things will sometimes go wrong. The best we can do is to try and observe and understand how our bonsai grows and responds to different environmental factors.

Learn about the tree before you start to do any type of work on it. Remember, the tree is already unhappy that you are not letting it grow in the open so anytime you do anything else it will have some form of adverse affect. Hence, most of the pruning and shaping work is done in the spring when the tree is full of stored energy.

This year I had to say farewell to: a mature Japanese Maple, two ten-year-old Satsuki Azalea and several younger assorted varieties. I also had a near-miss with my prized Japanese White Pine and several Chinese Elms.

I think the Azalea died as a result of poor soil which allowed the roots to dry out during the hot sun. I have no idea why the large maple died – shame, it had a great nebari

So, the advice is to never totally give up on your tree. I always wait at least one year before consigning anything to the bonsai funeral pyre. At this moment two more of my ‘deaduns’ are sending out baby shoots from their root base. Granted, the tree will not be the same as before but at least it will have a chance to start again.

Now is also the time for the 3rd round of pruning on your Japanese Larch. Check those new shoots for tight buds close together and prune back to this point. If the internodal distance between buds is still large then cut back to the first whorl where you should hopefully activate two opposing buds. If you are unsure or your tree is still in development then leave things until next spring.

You should also be seeing a lot of leaves yellowing on your Satsuki Azalea. Don’t worry – it is perfectly normal. All I do is gently pluck them off the branch.

This is also the time to do light pruning on your Chinese Elm. All I do is cut back to the design silhouette and remove those pesky mealy bugs feeding off the trunk and branches!!!!

Happy bonsaiing

2nd Larch Pruning & Snakebark Maple Tidy Up

Xavier Martinez — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 16:15:16 +0000

Around this time of summer, many of our Japanese Larch will have produced a long enough second flush to allow for a follow-up prune. As with the first pruning, we are seeking sets of buds that have a small internodal gap. If the buds are still too far apart then we prune right back to ‘just above’ the needle swirl at the base and wait for a final smaller push in Mid-Autumn.

If your tree is in early development and you are still looking to thicken branches then I would recommend you only remove unwanted new growth that will not be of use in the design or may lead to unwanted branch thickening and inverse taper. If you are unsure, then it is much safer to leave the growth and review it when we carry out the Spring prune and bud selection in March 2022.

Please read the June blog post which provides detailed images of this pruning technique.

Japanese Larch ready for 2nd pruning

Lots of new growth

Most of this is too small to prune

My Yamadori Japanese Larch

The images I have selected show one Larch that needs over 3/4 of the new shoots to be pruned. The lower branches will be kept longer with at least 4 viable buds as I intend to wire some movement into them when they start to swell next Spring.

The second Larch pushed out lots of new growth but it is very juvenile so I will leave it till Autumn before pruning.

Most of our decidious bonsai will now have a good covering of leaves and be in need of a tidy up to ensure we are able to maintain decent airflow and light into the core of the tree. We will want to remove any unwanted juvenile growth that sprouted from junctions or crotches and we will look to prune shoots back to the desired shape.

This pruning is not intended to encourage another flush, though it does happen. This is the time when I am looking to remove surface weeds and inspect for bugs. I also use this time to wire in ‘minor’ movement on branches for my younger nursery stock. I often carry a notebook and write down any thoughts I may have for the future of the bonsai.

It is important to remember that your bonsai needs a good amount of leaves to enable it to produce strong vascular growth in the autumn. This will be the period when the tree expands trunk and branch girth. If you remove too much of the growth now, you can severely impair this aspect and put the tree back a year…or two!

The current tree front

The potential new front

Japanese Maple - Post prune

Post prune - Front option 2

Post prune - Front option 3

This Snakebark Maple has been in the wars and has lost several key primary branches over the past 7 years. I have slowly brought it back to full health and am now looking at maximising the ‘charm’ of the chaotic root growth whilst hiding the obvious ugly trunk flare resulting from extensive dieback.

Once I had pruned and tidied up the tree I decided on using front option No 2. It still allows the central trunk dieback to be a part of the design but reduces the amount of visible inverse taper. This angle also improves the view of the nebari and the branch structure. It still has a long way to go yet…

So what else have I been doing?

Italian Alder Spinney

First wiring of my Hornbeam

Ongoing Hornbeam work

Wiring and branch development

I purchased a variety of 2-year-old starter plants in 2016 that included: Hornbeam. Italian Alder, Japanese Larch, Silver Birch and Crab Apple. I try to work on them but find the demands of the more developed bonsai sap my energy and time.

This week I have managed to do some more wiring work to establish a primary structure for these potensai. The key is to avoid trying to prune to the ‘final shape. You need all of this leaf mass to help the tree grow but you can definitely apply some wire and get your branches moving in the right direction.

I appreciate this is only a snapshot of some of the ongoing tasks in the nursery so if you have any specific questions you want me to answer then just ask by leaving a comment. If you take the time to look back over the previous blog posts and also my facebook posts I am certain you will probably find the information you need.

HOT TIP:
If you have applied any wire during the last 3 months then be sure to have a reminder set on your phone for early autumn because this is when you may see some pinching. Early autumn is also the time to apply some more biogold fertiliser so make sure you have some ready

And now for a final few images showing one of my imported Dawn Redwood. This has been put through quite a radical branch removal and it’s potting angle changed. This year I finally applied the ‘once only’ pruning technique and all of the new fronds look fantastic.

Another long blog but hopefully someone is getting something from them?

Happy bonsaiing

So why are bonsai so much harder to find???

Xavier Martinez — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 21:06:14 +0000

A better store of wealth than gold?

I spoke to a well known art dealer this week who suggested that, “Bonsai may become the next hedge against inflation…”

So what do you write about when the rain hammers endlessly on the kitchen window? I had intended to do some work on my Scots Pines, which are definitely ready for candle reduction and shoot selection but I suppose I can discuss some of the issues that have arisen from ‘the virus…’

The most obvious relates to the sharp rise in bonsai prices – especially those varieties that appear to have stopped being imported – Trident Maple being the most obvious. Back in February, when I was updating my stock records and reviewing prices, it became very apparent that the major bonsai dealers were struggling to maintain stock and their prices had risen steeply. Even on Ebay it was clear that something had changed.

I was concerned enough that I removed my internet shop from both Facebook and this website until I could establish what I considered to be a fair price. I have always maintained that sales are secondary for me. Bonsai is truly my love and my hobby so the last thing I want to feel is that I am ‘ripping’ someone off with hugely inflated prices.

Expressions of Grace is more than just the bonsai – it is also a way of life.

I have used Trident Maple as the subject for this research and tried to match up age and general characteristics. These all range between 40 – 50 cm in height and ages average around the 10 year mark. There were a couple of cheaper options available for ‘obviously’ younger stock – but only reducing the price to £99 (inc P&P).

I have similiar Tridents for sale and, up until very recently, they were marked up for between £45 – £55. I put one of these on Ebay and it sold for £120.

Herons and Greenwoods Bonsai had nothing under £950, though WillowBog (a Scottish importer) did have some Tridents at around £450. Clearly these are the quality premium examples – they had nothing at the budget end.

So is it the same for other varieties?

Again, I carried out the same research on Chinese Elms. Though they are much more ‘available’ the prices have definitely doubled. Smaller examples are retailing at between £28 – £35 (up to 30cm) and then prices increase as the relative heights do. What is also clear is they no longer seem to be available at your local garden stores. A manager told me they could no longer justify purchasing them.

I therefore tried a few sales on Ebay and the price results were confirmed when one of my smaller Elms sold for £40 and the next size range up went for over £60. So we are definitely seing inflationary prices but what are the major importers telling us?

Greenwoods Nursery (Nottingham):

Hello Xavier,

A lot of businesses are finding it harder to buy in stock. A combination of freight prices form Asia sky rocketing and far more restrictions in imports since we left Europe I am afraid.

Regarding Trident Maples specifically when trying to buy them in Europe most nurseries react like they have never even heard of them, so they pretty much exclusively come from Japan/Korea/China. We have not managed to source any new cheaper ones this year. A nursery we had some from last year have none this year.

Hopefully with time availabilty will improve, but while freight costs are still up to 10x what they were a year ago you are going to see an inevitable price creap for a bit. We are still, as always, doing our best to get in as much as possible at sensible prices, but it is currently harder than ever.

Regards,

Paul Tomlinson

Wattston Bonsai (Scotland):

On the subject of costs Covid 19 seems to be a convenient excuse to increase prices, example, my shipping costs is normally £ 2500, due to supply and demand ( so I’m told) my costs have risen to £9700 for the shipping alone, assorted fees i.e Vat, Import duty, moorage, freight forwarding etc, has still to be added, it was extremely difficult to find a ship willing to come to Grangemouth. Before I started to Import I was told you could buy Bonsai on every street corner ( if only), and that Bonsai could be bought cheaply, this is utter nonsense…

(excerpt from their blog dated 3 March 21)

Kaizen Bonsai (Great Yarmouth):

A little point that has not been reported on by the media is the fact that a container, shipped from China to the UK has gone up from about £1600 last summer to about £6000 today, some have been quoted up to £10,000…

That is just one of a dozen simply incredible circumstances that is about to change life in the UK forever. Take Akadama, there is simply not enough to satisfy the world and lead times can be literally months on end, the price is rising and the shipping has increased by up to 500%…

One of our European tree suppliers was charging us under £200 for a massive pallet up to 8 feet high. Pointless customs documentation and delays has now added exactly £250 to that price and by the time I get it cleared through an agent I expect another £125 this side of the water. Assuming 50 little trees that increases the price per item from £4 to £11.50 which is £13.80 including the VAT you have to pay. That’s actually more than the cost of a lot of little starter trees. Add UK shipping and you are up to £21.45. Add a decent cardboard box at £1, a glue slug at 75p and you reach £23.20. I then have to photograph and list the tree, we have to pack it and label the box and at a paltry £10 an hour that adds another £10.80 which brings us to £34 and so far there is not a single penny in there for the plant, it’s all just processing costs and with overheads running at around 40% of sales value…

(Excerpt from Graham’s blog: The Irony of my Life)

My summary:

I apologise for the length of this blog but I felt it was important to share what information I had collected from experienced, high reputation bonsai importers. The truth is that the days of regular low cost Asian imports has practically gone. Akadama is now costing £10 more a bag which certainly puts it beyond my means for repotting at £26/bag. This year I used 8 bags – kittydama (cat litter) is certainly the way forward!

I am sure bargains may still be found but I think the time is rapidly approaching when we all need to look to our own varieties. At this time I am concentrating most of my efforts on developing stocks of oak, hornbeam, ash, beech and of course…Scots Pine. Japanese Larch saplings can also be purchased and grown on – it just requires a little time.

In the meantime – look after any imports you do have. They may be as great a store of wealth as gold

Keep smiling

Xavier

It is a deceased Azalea…it is no more

Xavier Martinez — Sun, 30 Apr 2017 08:31:59 +0000

A deceased Azalea

Not the first and most definitely not the last…but it is a first for my business. Last year’s successful (I thought) air layer has given up the ghost and become the first to join the queue for the ‘Bonfire of Shame’.

A short but eventful life, it lived it to the full. Having made it through a traumatic birth – cut from its mother without warning! It struggled to establish any real root system or leafy growth. Words of encouragement fell on deaf bark so finally I accepted the truth and said farewell…

The mother is also looking a little ‘stressed’ and I feel it can’t be too long before she follows her offspring into the flames. I have to admit my success with azaleas is a little disturbing – especially cuttings and air layers. All the books suggest it is easy so any words of advice feel free to comment.

On a cheery note…it will mean I will have two free pots available to any new leafy prospects on the waiting list making the transition from potensai (Potential Bonsai) to bonsai

Happy Bonsaiing, Xav