A very big European Olive bonsai carved and styled in Croatia during May 2024.
Welcome to the Bonsai4me June 2024 Newsletter.
We're now heading into one of the busiest times in the bonsai care calendar for deciduous trees as their demand for water rises, pruning seems to be required on a weekly basis and trees wired during the Winter need de-wiring!
June is the perfect time for applying some very useful techniques to our deciduous trees such as Partial Defoliation to help increase ramification, reduce leaf-size and increase the light levels within the branch structure. For a video refresher on this technique, please see this video from 3 years ago
For well-refined trees, particularly Acer palmatum, partial defoliation in June is almost essential to prevent dieback of the branches in the interior. Here's a refresher video for partially defoliating Japanese Maple bonsai |
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| While copies of Bonsai Inspirations 2 should last for most of this year, I am down to the very last box of Foundations of Bonsai. If you’d like to get your copy now before they totally sell out, it would be worth doing now from the Bonsai4me.com/store! |
| Vitalink Liquid Silicone is the product that I have been using, purchased from Amazon. There are however a wide range of liquid silicone products available. |
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Pure finely crushed Oyster Shell. I use 2-3 desert-spoonfuls on a 12"/30cm wide pot. Chicken Grit tends to be 50% Oyster Shell and 50% harmless grit in larger grains. It still works but more is needed.
Slow growth on some tree species in soft-water areas, or, after switching to rain/R/O water
The use of Oyster Shell to add calcium to the soil isn’t new to me, but it wasn't something I hadn’t realised I really needed to use until late last year.
I was noticing that a few of the tree species I grow were no longer actually growing - extending- very well, and hadn't for a few years since I had installed a rainwater system in my garden.
Their colour was still a beautiful green, they were healthy and didn’t succumb to pests and disease. But they’d also stopped growing.
To cut a very long story short; I realised that this slow down had occurred since switching from the very hard (lime) tap water we have here in the Aylesbury area, to a combination of rain water and purified water from a reverse-osmosis system.
So, last autumn, on a hunch, I started reapplying a handful of oyster shell (obtained by buying ordinary chicken grit) to the soil surface. The oyster shell releases small amounts of calcium into the soil during watering and the calcium is then used by our trees for cell production; a lack of it can result in a loss of vigour. Something I wouldn’t have expected after leaving behind all of the problems associated with tap water and lime scale!
Elm, Hawthorn, Box, Olive, Spindle, Oak, Yew, Cedar, Cherry (especially Prunus mahaleb) all enjoy small amounts of calcium in the soil; this does raise the pH a little so care must be taken with any acid-loving or lime-hating species such as Azalea or Acer palmatum.
This season I’ve also been applying Liquid Silicone, a special liquid formula that provides additional Calcium to the soil. The results have been amazing when used with the species previously mentioned.
Speaking to Dr Karen at ProBio Carbon, she has warned me that the liquid silicone products are something of an ‘artificial steroid’ and shouldn’t be used long term. It is better to use Chicken grit or better still, pure Oyster Shell as a permanent source of calcium in the soil.
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Feeding and Growth Enhancers
I’m very proud to say that the products I offer on the bonsai4me.com/store are also the products I use on my own personal collection of bonsai and those that I sell through the store.
In terms of fertilising, I am using Oceana organic slow-release fertiliser pellets again this year, having applied Oceana Rootboost to all trees, especially newly repotted ones, already. The Rootboost is applied every 4-6 weeks.
Two products that can cause confusion are seaweed and fish emulsion from ProBio Carbon. Seaweed should be seen as a growth facilitator rather than a fertiliser and supplies essential micro ingredients to your trees that help promote better use of fertilisers when you apply them.
Fish Emulsion on the other hand, is a very strong nitrogen-based fertiliser that must be used with care as they can burn the roots of a tree if dosed too heavily. At the safe levels described on the bottle, it does however promote very strong growth in trees requiring plenty of extension and thickening.
Dr Karen's research is showing that seaweed and fish are best applied every 3 weeks during the growing season and not every fortnight as I had become accustomed.
All Oceana fertilizers and ProBio Carbon Products are available here in the Bonsai4me.com/store |
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Wound sealants and foil to encourage rapid cicatrization I’ve long been of the opinion that it isn’t necessary to apply wound sealants to the majority of trunk chops and wounds resulting from cutting branches.
(However….i do apply a thin layer of Vaseline to any species that produce excessive sap, such as Pines and Spruce. The petroleum jelly/Vaseline stops any bleeding instantly.)
BUT. The callousing that results from heavy pruning can take a long time to heal over the wound entirely. On some species that callous relatively well, such as Acer and Fagus species, it is expected within bonsai-circles that the wound will eventually heal over completely.
The way to speed up this process is to protect the wound from the sun. Which is where opaque wound sealants are advantageous.
Taking things forward another step; here is a large wound that I had to create on an Acer palmatum this week. To speed up the complete callousing over of the wound, I have used traditional opaque cut paste with a layer of foil to completely block out the light (and snails eating the cutting the cut paste) and this really encourages rapid cicatrization (callous formation) and it works a treat!
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UK Bonsai Association (UKBA)
UK Events Diary for the coming month:
01Jun24 Sat (Confirmed)
Milton Keynes Bonsai Society Show
Milton KeynesCentral Library,
555 Silbury Blvd, Milton Keynes. MK9 3HL.
Adm: Free. Times: 1000-1530.hrs
Contact: Simon Roberts
Email: simon.roberts26@btopenworld.com
www.mkbonsaisociety.co.uk
Supporting Clubs:
Bedfordshire Bonsai Society
Mid-Herts Bonsai Society
Middlesex Bonsai Society
Milton Keynes Bonsai Society
Northampton Bonsai Society
Local Ikebana Club
02Jun24 Sun (Confirmed)
Chiltern Bonsai Show &
Satsuki Azalea Bonsai Show
Liston Hall, Chapel Street, Marlow,
Buckinghamshire, SL7 1DD
Adm: £2 -16s Free. Times: 1000-1600.hrs.
Contact: Michael Pegg & Adrian Garnett
Email: mikew.pegg@btinternet.com
Email: adrian.garnett@virginmedia.com
www.chilternbonsai.org.uk
08Jun24 Sat (Confirmed)
Accrington & District Bonsai Society Display
At Nursery End Garden Centre,
Harrington Street, Clayton Le Moors,
Accrington. BB5 4DF.
Adm: Free. Times: 0930-1700.hrs.
Ctc: Diane Kennedy 07799.567692
Email: dianestardis@icloud.com
www.accringtonbonsai.co.uk
09Jun24 Sun (Confirmed)
Bonsai By The Sea.
The Pavilion, The Esplanade,
Exmouth. EX8 2AZ.
Adm: £5. Times: 1000-1630.hrs.
Contact: Brian MacKichan 01392.437525
Email: brian.mackichan@mypostoffice.co.uk
www.exeterbonsaisociety.com
Supporting Clubs:
Cardiff Bonsai Society
Celtic Knot Bonsai Society
Cornwall Bonsai Society
Dragon Bonsai Society
Exeter Bonsai Society
Middlesex Bonsai Society
North Devon Bonsai Society
Plymouth Bonsai Society
South Devon Bonsai Society
British Suiseki Club
09Jun24 Sun (Confirmed)
Midland Bonsai Society Show
Birmingham Botanical Gardens,
Westbourne Road, Edgbaston,
Birmingham. B15 3TR.
Adm: tba. Times: 1030-1600.hrs.
Contact: Richard Gilkes 07803.593024
Email: ragilkes@blueyonder.co.uk
www.midlandbonsai.org
Supporting Club:
Redditch Bonsai Society
15Jun24 Sat (Confirmed)
Berkshire Bonsai Society Display
At Winnersh Summer Fete,
Bearwood Recreational Park,
Mole Road, Sindlesham,
Wokingham, Berkshire. RG41 5DJ.
Adm: Free. Times: 1300-1630.hrs
Ctc: Keith Winter 07802.214150
Email: berkshirebonsaiclub@gmail.com
www.berkshirebonsai.co.uk
15Jun24 Sat (Confirmed)
Middlesex Bonsai Society Summer Show
South Harrow Methodist Church,
Walton Avenue, South Harrow,
Middlesex. HA2 8QU.
Adm: Free. Times:1000-1300.hrs.
Ctc: Mark Moreland 07850.771201
Email: markmoreland@live.co.uk
www.middlesexbonsaisociety.weebly.com
15&16Jun24 Sat & Sun (Confirmed)
Mid-Herts Bonsai Society Show
Kingsbury Barn, Branch Road,
St Albans, Hertfordshire. AL3 4SE.
Adm: Free. Times: 1100-1700.hrs
Contact: Geoff Conybeare 07396.732817
Email: info@midhertsbonsaiclub.co.uk
www.midhertsbonsaiclub.co.uk
16Jun24 Sun (Confirmed)
North East Lincolnshire & Humberside
Bonsai Show
Darby & Joan Hall,
58 Finkle Street, Cottingham. HU16 4AZ.
Adm: £1.50 -16s Free. Times: 1000-1500.hrs
Ctc: Ian Butland 07963.470696
Email: nelbs.chairman@virginmedia.com
www.nelincsbonsai.org.uk
23Jun24 Sun (Provisional)
Blackmore Vale Bonsai Group Show
Charlton Remembrance Hall,
Charlton, Shaftsbury, Dorset. SP7 0PL.
Adm: £3.00. Times: 1100-1500.hrs
Contact: Geoff 07837.781744 & 01747.853475
Email: m5eay.geoff@btinternet.com
www.blackmorevalebonsaigroup.com
23Jun24 Sun (Confirmed)
Bedfordshire Bonsai Society Show
Stockwood Park Discovery Centre,
London Road, Luton,
Bedfordshire. LU1 4LX.
Ctc: Richard Gaiger 07745.507318
Email: r.gaiger@ntlworld.com
www.bedfordshirebonsaisociety.weebly.com
30Jun24 Sun (Moved to 02Jun24)
Satsuki Azalea Bonsai Show
Organised by Chiltern Bonsai Society
Liston Hall, Chapel Street, Marlow,
Buckinghamshire, SL7 1DD
Adm: tbc. Times: 1000-1600.hrs.
Contact: Amnon Paldi 07801.183316
Email: amnonp@icloud.com
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STOP PRESS! Harry Harrington/Bonsai4me Team Workshops
The ever popular bonsai workshops here in Aylesbury will resume in the late Summer, and throughout the dormant season into next Spring.
I added a string of 8 dates to the Bonsai4me.com/store please visit to book your place. |
New exclusive video just added to YouTube! Threadgrafting New Branches Onto A Bonsai
Please forward the Newsletter to fellow enthusiasts and club members. They can also subscribe for themselves via the Form on the Bonsai4me.com homepage.
Enjoy!
Harry |
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