Wiring – Expressions of Grace Bonsai

Azalea Bonsai

Xavier Martinez — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 11:11:21 +0000

Azaleas produce incredible flower displays and last year was fantastic. Let me tell you the KEY dates and Tasks that I ALWAYS follow to ensure my Satsuki Bonsai thrive.

A few Fun Facts about Azalea Bonsai.
What about the Flowers?
When is my BEST time for pruning?
What about Cuttings?
Repot: Spring or Summer?
When do I do my Wiring?
What are the issues with pests?

God Bless & Happy Bonsaiing
Xavier

My Japanese White Pine is in trouble?

Xavier Martinez — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 15:55:50 +0000

A video update of this tree is displayed at the bottom of this article .

Time seems to be flying by right now! I had intended to do a short post on how I take and look after Trident Maple and Chinese Elm cuttings…but something unexpected took priority.

My most prized Japanese White Pine, that I purchased for £45 in 2001, took a definite turn for the worst. The needles started to brown and fall off the tree and the new candles started to brown at the tips. Never having had to deal with health issues on this variety I naturally panicked and assumed it was Leptographium (Root Rot) or Dothistroma (needle blight). The first is generally excepted as the bringer of death whilst the second can be treated with fungicides.

I did consider over-watering as another possiblity and moved the tree to a drier location. The candles did not improve and I chose to do an emergency examination…

Over the course of about 2 months the needles continued to brown and then fall from the tree whilst the juvenile candles that had looked so green and healthy also started to brown off. This had progressed to nearly 85% of the existing growth before I realised I had a problem.

Too many other trees and I took this one for granted…

I pulled back the topsoil and immediately noticed a very fine white web-like substance covering the root area. I assumed this was some deadly root rot and assumed the tree would die so I removed the tree from its pot to establish the extent of the problem.

Having removed the tree I could see that the entire root system was affected by this white substance. I removed as much of this as I could and looked for any live roots. Having cleaned it up as best I could I repotted it into a larger ceramic and left it somewhere shady to die

I wasn’t convinced that this fit the description of either of the diseases mentioned but still had no clear idea of ‘why’?

I watered the tree once it was newly potted and then left it alone. In truth, I was convinced it was dead / dying and had given up hope. I was still unable to find any similiar pictures of this type of root rot online which was a little frustrating.

One month later over 70 % of the candles have returned to green vigour and are opening up. I have lost a number of smaller branches to this problem but I am feeling optimistic. I have changed the watering habits and am now allowing it to dry out more than previously – was over-watering the real issue?

Feel free to comment if you have any firm ideas or experience of this problem – especially longer term treatments. I am hoping it was just the volume of rain it received in the Spring. With this trauma managed, I moved on to my nursery stock Japanese White Pine that had been purchased in 2015 for £9.99.

Right now is definitely the time to look at wiring and pruning. You are specifically looking for the moment when the needle sheaths have dropped as your indicator. The rules I apply are the same as discussed in my Scots Pine post.

Root over Rock - Chinese Elm Pruning

In 2019 I finally treated myself to several completed ‘root-over-rock’ Chinese Elms. I had always promised myself that I would invest in some premium bonsai once my nursery sales had increased. Spending over £600 for just two tree’s was my biggest ever outlay but well worth it

Yesterday I spent nearly 3 hours pruning one of them so I thought you might be interested in some before and after images.

If any of your Chinese Elms are looking this way then now is a pretty safe time to prune them back to your desired shape. All of the normal pruning rules apply but just be sure to leave it in a shady place for a few weeks to allow the newly exposed leaves time to acclimatise.

Happy Bonsaing and enjoy the summer break

Chinese Elm Bonsai

Xavier Martinez — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 17:18:53 +0000

In this fourth episode I look into the most popular of species for both Indoors and Outdoors Bonsai – the Chinese Elm (Ulmus Parvifolia). Also known as the ‘lacebark elm’, this species is native to eastern Asia, including China, India, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Of all the bonsai available to beginners, this is probably the species most purchased…and also, most often killed

I killed my first Chinese Elm, also my first bonsai, within the space of 3 months. I had no knowledge of how to care for this plant and no understanding that such care was needed. When it first started to shed all of its leaves I panicked and thought it must need more fertiliser – to stop the leaves falling!

When more leaves fell from the bonsai I looked at a book in hope and realised my tree probably had a root problem and must need repotting. Needless to say, I had no idea about the right soil or when the right time was to do such an operation. I pulled it out and trimmed the roots, because the book said I should, and then put it back in using a combination of topsoil and John Innes No 2 (potting mix).

Surprisingly, it seemed to ‘pick up’ over the next month and I thought I had the problem solved. I was now a Bonsai Master!!! Alas, I then noticed the tips of the new shoots were wilting and yellowing. Clearly I thought, with an air of smugness, I needed to prune this back (like the book says)…

This process of plant murder continued for about 3 months. It is probably important to mention that I made the biggest ‘common’ mistake by daily overwatering…as well as giving it more fertiliser. One week later it dropped the last of its leaves and the new shoots browned off and died. I think I ‘loved it’ to death…

But here is what happened with a dying Chinese Elm that I did take the correct action on

So if you want to learn how NOT TO kill your Chinese Elm Bonsai then I recommend watching this video

God Bless & Happy Bonsaiing

Xav

Japanese Larch Bonsai

Xavier Martinez — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 08:54:03 +0000

Find out my KEY dates and Bonsai Care Tips for Japanese Larch.

A short and simple guide that is ideal for beginners. Pruning dates, Wiring, Potting, Disease, Fertilising and a bit of cricket too…

God Bless & Happy Bonsaiing
Xavier

Japanese Maple Bonsai

Xavier Martinez — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 17:45:39 +0000

Find out my KEY dates and Bonsai Care Tips for Japanese Maple. A short and simple guide that is ideal for beginners. Pruning dates, Wiring, Potting, Disease, Fertilising and a bit of history too…

God Bless & Happy Bonsaiing
Xavier

Dawn Redwood Bonsai

Xavier Martinez — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 17:34:39 +0000

Find out my KEY dates and Bonsai Care Tips for Dawn Redwood. A short and simple guide that is ideal for beginners. Pruning dates, Wiring, Potting, Disease, Fertilising and a bit of history too…

God Bless & Happy Bonsaiing
Xavier

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

Developing my Ficus and Jade Bonsai

Xavier Martinez — Fri, 07 Jan 2022 13:35:36 +0000

Happy New Year from Expressions of Grace Bonsai. I pray that your Christmas celebrations find you all rejuvenated and ready to dig deeply into bonsai for 2022! January is always challenging because it is the only month when I truly do nothing to my trees. Instead, I spend the time reviewing my website and bonsai database. I was very lucky that my daughter developed a very detailed Access database that has all manner of ‘drop downs’ and reminders…

This year I finally intend to upload lots of bonsai pictures into a gallery/shop section. I have thought about internet sales through Woo Commerce but I am not set up with appropriate banking and I don’t like the idea of posting. I do intend to encourage more visits to my private nursery where I will be more than happy to sell direct and chat lots

Wiring out my Ficus retusa

During the first few weeks of December I spent time reviewing my Tigerbark Ficus. I obtained the two pictured above in 2017 from Savin Nurseries and have been slowly developing the secondary branch structure. They are pretty easy to work with but can be problematic when dealing with pests. Mine get regularly infested with aphids that secrete a clear sticky substance that then ‘drips’ onto surfaces!

This year I decided it was time to do some major branch wiring which has finally allowed me to spread the growth out and maximise air and light circulation. It has also made it easier for me to see the pesky critters before hitting them with the spray! If you zoom into the images you will hopefully see that all branches have been wired – many hours of work

During late 2017 I planted about a dozen cuttings taken from my biggest tree. These were left to grow for 2 years and then wire applied to provide some trunk movement. Last year I pruned them back and continued to wire out promising branches. They all stand around 10″ and look to become great bonsai for the future.

Ficus are very easy to grow from cuttings and do not need rooting hormone. Just take the extra few minutes to plant some of your bigger pruning scraps and you will be rewarded. All of these are available for purchase – just drop me an email.

Needless to say I planted another batch of cuttings in 2019 which all appear to be thriving as well

Fun with Jade

I purchased my first Jade in 2016 and it forms the backbone for this forest planting. It is the largest tree to the rear left and is also the parent to several of the smaller plants. Jade is the easiest indoor plant to care for and cuttings develop from a single leaf.

This is planted in a 320 x 200 cm chinese ceramic and stands around about 40cm high.

As with the Ficus, I have taken cuttings regularly. Jade can be a little more challenging to style and I have found it best to let them run wild for a year before pruning them heavily back. They bud as ‘pairs’ from the cut site so you can ‘plan’ how it should develop.

Jade can be wired and I happily apply movement to any of the more juvenile growth. It is a slow process, but again, well worth the work.

That’s about all for now but please accept notifications to ensure you are alerted when I do any new posts. My next effort is a ‘catch-up’ on the autumnal pruning and wiring work I carried out on my Maples and Hornbeams last November.

Happy bonsaiing

Autumnal Pruning and Wiring

Xavier Martinez — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 11:28:56 +0000

Well…it has been a long time since I last posted and for that I apologise. The last few months have seen me busy with my secondary occupation and thankfully, the bonsai have thrived without much intervention. In truth, I find that Sept-Oct can be a period for rest and reflection. The last of the fertiliser has been applied at the commencement of Autumn along with a final bug spray. Though – the apples have really been attacked this year and have needed constant attention!!

I also had a visit from my favorite potter in September and she had some beautiful work for me to purchase. A separate post will follow with pictures and details soon. If you are unable to wait then have a look for Deiceramics on Facebook and Instagram. I have also done a little bit of work on two nursery plant projects which I can share with you now.

I found this dwarf Azalea struggling in the corner of a local garden center. Like many of my projects this one cost very little but has seen several ‘do-overs’ during the last few years.

Unfortunately, I have no earlier images to show how far it has evolved. I have wired and pruned it to maximise the flowering opportunities. I removed a lot of additional buds to ensure next years flush is at its best.

This Buddleia was another garden centre cast-off which I planted into a growing bed several years ago. It has been heavily pruned up to 4 times / year and was then transplanted this March.

The trunk has majestic movement and with a little more branch reduction in 2022 this specimen should make a promising bonsai.

I will repot this into a ceramic next year.

Decidious pruning & Wiring

We have now reached the time for pruning and wiring of some of our decidious trees. The optimal time is just as the leaves have browned off and begum to fall. We normally have about 2 weeks to wire and prune whilst the tree can still allocate resources. Any later than this and I find that work can be detrimental to the health of the bonsai.

So…right now two of my favorite species are dropping their leaves: The Linden (Small leaf Lime) and The Red Oak. The Linden is a relatively robust tree that has soft bark. Care needs to be taken when wiring but with patience you can obtain fantastic results. The Red Oak are much smaller examples and the wood is a lot harder to bend.

If your tree is still in development then I would advise you to prune only those buds where you are already happy with the branch girth. I find it better to wire out the long shoots into shorter and more interesting shapes. Invariably, these get pruned back heavily a year or two later…

This Linden was purchased from a local hedging supplier in 2017. I removed the top 4ft and left the tree to recover for 2 years in a grow-pot.

It had been pruned twice / year and fed heavily. The roots are still a mess beneath the soil line and I have yet to decide how many of the visible ones will be kept.

I have wired the secondary branches ‘out’ to optimise space for next years shoots. I reduced the ‘visual’ length of the shoots by wiring in bends at appropriate bud sites.

This still requires the removal of one of the lower branches to avoid inverse taper developing.

Some of the wiring has been done with the knowledge that I shall be removing the upper third of the trunk. This will be achieved by applying an air-layer in late May. The site of this is shown by the two black lines. I have traced in white what will hopefully become a new potensai.

The reason for this operation is to eradicate the ugly stright trunk and allow a new ‘tapered’ apex to be developed from the existing lower branch.

It will be frustrating having to wait another year for the air layer removal to take place but I am looking forward to seeing how this looks in 2023.

Red Oak - Pre and Post Autumnal Work

I purchased 10 x 2-year-old whips in 2015 and left them to grow in plastric pots till 2019. They were very slow to grow and I had no clear plan for their development. In the end, I decided to treat them all as Mame projects and secured them in small ceramics. These have large leaves so I tend to remove at least 65% of the growth to give an ‘impression’ of leaf pads.

The leaves turned a brilliant red in late September and then dried out by last week. I removed the final few leaves yesterday by carefully peeling them away from the new bud growth. I removed unsightly stubs and rubbed off the buds I did not need. I then wired a few of the branches out to optimise next year’s shoot growth. The branches can be quite hard so be careful with your bending!

Japanese maple - Autumnal Pruning

The one tree that must be watched for leaf-drop is your Japanese Maples. Due to the amount of water movement they have in Spring I always do my pruning work around this time. At the moment the leaves are about 50% still green so I shall wait another week before I commence pruning and wiring them.

Off all of the decidious varieties the Japanese Maple benefits most from having its development work done at leaf drop. The process is no different from what I have described above but i am sure i will add a few pictures of me carrying out this work in a later post.

This is a ‘must-do’ activity. if you forget, then your next safe opportunity for pruning will be in late May 2022.

Happy Bonsaing

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