Monthly Archives: April 2022

Outdoor: All outdoor trees should have been removed from winter protection and placed on their growing benches. The trees should be receiving as much sun as possible. Watering needs will be high, and all trees will need watering at least once a day. Be sure to saturate the soil at each watering thoroughly.  It is good to send a blast of water through the foliage now and then to help dislodge any insects lurking. Keep an eye out for possible insect infestations. The soft new growth on the trees…

My name is Craig Cronquist.  I am the new president of the Society for the next two years. My bonsai journey began with a trip to Chicago Botanic Garden in May 2012 on the weekend, which happened to be the Midwest Bonsai Society’s show.  I asked a couple of questions of a member in an apron walking among the displayed trees, and he told me, “They have bonsai classes here at CBG.”  I signed up, and in August, I started taking classes with Ivan Watters, then the curator of…

by Larry Magee The tree I am working on is a collected Colorado blue spruce. It was wired in a windswept style several years ago and left to grow on in an Anderson flat to improve the roots and recover. I obtained a sizeable natural slab collected by Matt Turner in Colorado. I used a diamond hole cutter to make a nice-sized drainage hole and drilled extra holes for the tie-down wires. When I removed it from the training pot, I was pleased to see plenty of compact and…

Bonsai need a pot for survival. (Not always, I have grown root-bound trees without a pot, after a pot broke). The pot is in the translation of the word Bonsai. Strict translation is ‘tree planted in tray.’ Finally, I like to think of the pot as earth, or ground. The stand would be the frame.To go into Pots, we need to talk ‘art and design.’  Design elements for Bonsai are as follows, Harmony, Rhythm, Balance, Symmetry, Movement, Proportion, Space, Line, Formal, Informal, Masculine, feminine, Compatibility, and Asymmetry.You need to…

Reprinted by permission from the Iowa Bonsai Association Newsletter March 2022, Michael Hagedorn

THINGS TO DO THIS MONTHOutdoor:This is a very busy month for the bonsai grower. The trees can be taken out of winter storage once the temperatures remain above 30 degrees at night (do you remember the last time the temperatures were below 30 degrees at night?). Once the trees leaf out they will need to be watered more often. The rising temperatures will increase the need for water.Fertilization can begin but be careful that it does not contain excessive nitrogen. Too much nitrogen during spring growth can cause the…