bonsai.

"All art is a proxy for something else. And I feel that bonsai, if not overtly figural, is at least a proxy for our hopes of the future, as a post-dated love letter."

— Michael Hagedorn

This is a collection of notes about each type of bonsai tree I own and guides for care collected from various sources. I have always had an appreciation of bonsai and Japanese gardening, but these became a more serious interest sometime in 2019 and I acquired my first tree in early 2020. I remain a beginner, especially not having any outdoor space to utilize for the hobby until 2022, but I'm excited to grow more now without the limitation.

In 2024 I joined my local bonsai club and am learning at a much more rapid pace than I was before, and now that I've internalized more of the basics I am restructuring this page to include less general information and more notes about my specific trees as I learn them.

bonsai in training.

chinese elm ("elmer")

Photo: Mar 2023

• Acquired in January 2020 from Kimura Bonsai at their former location in Northridge, CA. This was is my first tree which I kept alive indoors under grow lamps in our 1-bedroom apartment until June 2022 when we were able to move to a place with outdoor space. It's much happier to be outdoors now, but I am now in the process of re-training it as I need to develop the trunk more before concerning myself with the branch structure like I was previously trying to.
• Styling notes: Not sure yet! In the process of rethinking its entire design. I love the existing nebari, so I definitely want to keep developing that.
• Last repotting - Late Jan 2025: Repotted into oversized grow box to spread roots and develop nebari.
• Sunlight - Full sun: Chinese elms need a lot of light. Placing somewhere it can be exposed to morning sunlight is better due to its low intensity. Direct afternoon sunlight in summers can cause burns in the leaves.
• Growing season: Begins sprouting in mid-Feb to early March. Pruning a little before shoots start coming out can help stimulate growth.
• Dormant season: I've read that to store up enough energy before winter, you're supposed to prune the Chinese elm only until mid August. However in my very warm climate, new shoots are forming as late as mid-September, so I feel like later than August is probably ok.
• Soil and Fertilizer: Fertilize with osmocote, could try rose fertilizer which supposedly reduces the size of the leaves.

chinese elm (split-trunk)

Photo: Mar 2023

• Acquired in January 2023 from Kimura Bonsai (Kashi no Ki-en Garden) in Castaic, CA.
• Styling notes: Want to develop as a split trunk, with a primary main trunk and a secondary trunk going off to the right near the base.
• Last repotting - Late Jan 2025
• Same care notes as the other chinese elm. This one was aggressively chopped previous season, in an attempt to develop its natural existing split trunk.

japanese beautyberry (callicarpa japonica)

Photo: Mar 2023

• Acquired in January 2023 from Kimura Bonsai (Kashi no Ki-en Garden) in Castaic, CA.
• Not a lot of solid information out there that I've been able to find about this tree as a bonsai.
• Styling notes: Beautyberry at maturity is an irregular upright form with graceful arching branches, so I want to emulate that. Grows flowers and purple berries during the summer. I've noticed that new branches take a long time to ramify, and branches are quite brittle. This will probably prove to be a much slower to develop tree due to this.
• Last repotting - Late Jan 2025
• Sunlight - Shade/Partial: Seems to prefer shade/partial shade. Developed leaf scorch in full sun during July, moved to shade and began growing berries and flowers again almost immediately.
• Growing season: Begins sprouting in early-mid March if I remember correctly. Need to take note of it more precisely next year.
• Dormant season: I think it went dormant around October last year. Will have to note it more precisely this year.
• Soil and Fertilizer: Currently in the same training mix as other trees. Still not a lot of info on this species, but one of the few pieces of information I've picked up is that apparently the roots "thrive in a cool, moist substrate high in organic matter" so I could also try a more organic soil. Same fertilizer as other deciduous trees for now.

Photo: May 2024

honeysuckle (lonicera japonica)

• Acquired in May 2024 from local bonsai club raffle.
• Styling notes: This one came nicely styled already with a deadwood feature near the base. The leaves and flowers develop naturally into sort of "pom-pom" shapes, so I want to lean into that over time to create a lot of pads.
• Last repotting - Unsure: Repot in spring or fall, every 2-3 years when roots are reaching out near the bottom of the pot.
• Sunlight - Full sun: Seems to enjoy full sun.
• Growing season: Spring through summer. Blooms sort of year-round.
• Dormant season: Evergreen shrub.
• Soil and Fertilizer: Unsure of current soil. Has inorganic matter and moss sprinkled on top. Using osmocote for fertilizer.

nana junipers

• Acquired in Nov 2024 from local nursery.
• Styling notes: These are still quite young, going to try wiring branches into interesting shapes as early as possible but far from envisioning the final shape of the trees.
• Last repotting - Late Jan 2025
• Sunlight - Full sun
• Growing season: Spring through summer.
• Dormant season: Evergreen.
• Soil and Fertilizer: Fish emulsion once per month during growing season, and sprayed as foliar feed.

pyracantha

• Acquired in Nov 2024 from local nursery.
• Styling notes: Not yet started styling, want to use its current trunk shape but need to research more for possible styles.
• Last repotting - Late Jan 2025
• Sunlight - Full sun
• Growing season: Spring through summer.
• Dormant season: Evergreen.
• Soil and Fertilizer: Osmocote pellets during growing season.

japanese maple

• Acquired in Sept or Oct 2024 from bonsai club raffle.
• Styling notes: Cut in half and tried to bend trunk as hard as I could. Need to allow it to recover and grow vigorously, then will probably cut back again to start developing.
• Last repotting - Late Jan 2025
• Sunlight - Shade/Partial: Is vulnerable to full sun during hottest months.
• Growing season: Grows visible buds in the fall and winter which don't push out until the spring.
• Dormant season: Goes dormant around october.
• Soil and Fertilizer: Osmocote pellets during growing season for now.

other notes.

bonsai wishlist/todo:

• Rosemary (propagate from cutting)
• Corkbark jade (have but needs styling)
• Liquid amber/Sweetgum
• Wisteria
• Black pine
• Paperbark tree (grew up around these in southern California, curious about trying to bonsai one)

soil and fertilizer:

• Standard mix for conifers but good for all trees in training: Even mix between large grain pumice, red lava rock, and pinebark. Add akadama to mix and orchid/sphagnum moss on top for trees not in training. Can also increase ratio up to 50% with pinebark/akadama or cactus mix because they hold water better.
• Large grain pumice use 3/16ths size for smaller trees, 3/8ths for larger.
• For trees in training: Good easy fertilizer during growing season is Bioadvanced Osmocote every 3 months. Releases faster with water and heat, so more fertilizer is released from pellets during warm season when the bonsai is also getting more water.
• For conifers: Fish and kelp emulation for fertilizer once a month (recommended Organic Fish and Kelp Liquid Fertilizer by Kellogg Garden Organics). Can also use as a foliar feed diluted in spray bottle.
• For elms: Bioadvanced Rose & Flower Care - Use in October at start of dormancy, leaves come back tiny and more proportional in the spring
• For trees not in training: Blood meal, bone meal, cottonseed meal mix makes for a good organic fertilizer, put in teabags on top of soil and water on top of them to release

watering guide for bonsai-sitters:

• The bonsai in winter dormancy will most likely each need watering every 2-3 days if it hasn't rained. If the soil still seems damp on the second day wait till the 3rd. If it gets hot out (75+ degrees) check to see every day if the soil has dried out faster and water more if needed.
• Standard training mix as outlined above is difficult to over-water because of its excellent drainage. If soil contains akadama, it turns from a dark brown to a light tan when it is starting to dry out so you can check visually. Soak the soil until it's completely wet and water is running out the bottom of the pot.
• In the summer, expect to water every day. If the soil is still damp about an inch deep, you may consider delaying watering for another day or half day. Water in the evening for best retention. Japanese beautyberry may require less watering than elms so watering all trees without checking soil moisture individually is to be avoided.