shop – Expressions of Grace Bonsai

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…

Repotting & Root Pruning a Chinese Elm

Xavier Martinez — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 15:00:10 +0000

Chinese Elm Repot – 2018

Through a series of photographs and short notes I will take you through the repot and root prune process used for one of my Chinese Elms in Spring 2018. This process is the same I would apply for any bonsai that has outgrown its container.

Step 1 – Observation of the bonsai

Sitting very high in the pot

The tree is sitting very high in the pot suggesting the roots are now pushing it ‘up’ from its original placement. With Chinese Elm it is not uncommon to have to repot annually due to their rapid root growth.

I also noticed that water ran off the surface without much absorption and the lower soil was remaining dry and crumbly. This is an indication of poor percolation / soil breakdown. This reduces the ability for oxygen and water to interact with the roots.

Step 2 – Exposing the rootball

The rootball is exposed.

Take your time to remove the tree from the pot (don’t foget to remove the ties first!). Slowly tease away the soil mass to identify the primary rootball.

Make sure you have a spray bottle on hand to keep misting the fine roots.

Take care not to cause unecassary damage to existing roots. A chopstick is the ideal sorting tool.

Step 3 – Start sorting out the root structure

Slow and gentle with the chopstick

Using a chopstick I begin to remove the soil and other matter that binds the roots together. Carefully beginning the process of untangling the fibres – some will tear (do not worry)

I examine the roots for signs of disease. (They often smell or squash easily)

Watch out for any bugs or larvae that may be wriggling about – try to identify and eradicate. GET ADVICE!

Step 4 – Time to do some root pruning

A bad hair day

Once fully untangled it was possible to establish what I really needed in this mass of growth. I identified the core networks of roots I wanted for my tree – removing the rest!

In this case I have removed at least 1/2 of the lower root growth. New roots will emerge from the cut sites. In this way it is possible to develop a ramified system.

I have removed crossing roots and unwanted large surface roots. I keep misting the roots to keep them wet whilst I work.

Step 5 – Prepare the pot

Cleaned for its new owner

I have cleaned the old pot and checked for any winter damage. In this case it had a hairline crack so I changed it. Nothing worse than having a pot crack open in winter – risking root damage / death.

I have put a plastic mesh across the drainage holes to reduce the chance of insects getting in and grit getting out.

I then layed down a thin layer of cleaned grit as a base for the bonsai soil. This can reduce water collecting causing root rot…

Step 6 – Prepare tie wires and soil bed

About half filled with soil

I cut two lengths of wire for anchoring ties and thread them through the drainage holes. As the elm has lots of gnarly old roots beneath the surface I will use these to hold the tree in place.

I added the bonsai soil to the level I wanted the tree to sit at and ‘mounded up’ at the position the trunk will be placed. This is the time to re-check the root and tree fits the pot. I was aiming for a good radial surface spread and wanted to allow space at the edges for more root growth.

Step 7 – Position the tree

Still room for growth

By now you should be happy where the tree will sit. This is not a process you want to repeat unless you have to – it stresses the tree and can slow/stop growth for the year.

Secure the tree into position with the wire ensuring you avoid future damage to surface roots – wire digging in as they expand. I slide the wires beneath the lower ‘hidden’ roots or use a wooden peg system.

Step 8 – Fill the pot with soil

Fully dressed and watered

I gradually added soil to the pot whilst working it into the root network with a chopstick. Slowly trying to fill any air pockets in hard to get places.

This is the last opportunity to identify and remove any unwanted upward growing roots. So keep your clippers handy…

In this project I have added a rock and wrapped some of the roots around it to provide interest. Over the years I hope that it will become gripped by the expanding roots.

Step 9 – Water and Detail

close up

Water the tree carefully until it runs out of the bottom of the pot clear. Free draining soil avoids the risk of water collecting and risking root rot during this critical early stage.

Check for any final alterations – you can still move the tree if needed. Make certain it feels secure. You don’t want new root growth breaking due to insecure tie downs.

Brush away unwanted soil from the exposed roots and apply a moss top dressing. (See later blog post)

Step 10 – Admire your work

Good enough to buy.

Take the time to admire what you have achieved – well done!

I make notes in my bonsai diary with a bring up date for the next ‘planned’ repot. This tree will be fine for at least 3 years but I have a review date set for 2020 (2yrs)

I will not start applying fertiliser for at least 4 weeks or until any new growth starts hardening off. As an indoor tree you can repot throughout the growing season without much risk. I avoid winter as my indoor elms go dormant.

If you wish to purchase this tree then send me a message or look in the shop section.

Using Your Bonsai App 2

Xavier Martinez — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 15:42:48 +0000

To make the Bonsai Database work efficiently you have to be diligent with the Action Log entries. In this lesson, I demonstrate how to input new activities and how to link them to review dates. I also show you how to adjust your screen view and give you some tips about the type of entries you should be making when you first get a tree. Finally, I explain about multiple pictures and the importance of chronology.

Topics Covered in this Lesson:

A look at the Action Log page.
My first activity log entry.
How to alter the screen view to suit.
Using Review dates for our activity entries.
Deleting a line entry.
Loading and organising multiple pictures.

God Bless & Happy Bonsaiing
Xavier

Using Your Bonsai App 1

Xavier Martinez — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 15:19:35 +0000

These ‘step by step’ tutorials will guide you through the process of using your Microsoft Access Bonsai App. In Lesson One I will introduce you to the program, help you to set up a folder structure and take you through the steps required to add your first tree.

If you have not asked for a copy, but wish to know more, please contact me.

Topics Covered in this Video:

Welcome to your Bonsai Database.
A look at the ‘New Tree’ screen.
Setting up some folders on your PC.
Get your Measurements, Photos and Details first.
Adding photographs.
Completing the Tree data fields.
How the Action Log will look.

God Bless & Happy Bonsaiing
Xavier