Bonsai Articles by Brent Walston and other authors

Quick Index-Click a topic to go directly to that article
OR see the list of articles below with a brief description

New Articles

• Air layering,
• Bareroot seedlings,
• Beginners Page,
• Beginner's First Bonsai
• Black Pine, Training,
• Black Pine, Growing,
• Bonsai tools,
• Botanical plant names,
• Cedars,
• Cotoneaster,
• Copper Wire (annealing),
• Copper and Aluminum Wire (hardening and annealing),
• Crabapple,
• Cuttings,
• Dormancy,
• Dormant evergreens,
• Fall Repotting,
• Fastest growth ,
• Fertilize your bonsai,
• Fungicides,
• Fertilizing too much?,
• Flowering Quince,
• Forest bonsai,
• Freeze damage in woody plants,
• Graft problems,
• Growth principles,
• Indoor bonsai ,
• Japanese Maple,
• Leaf size ,
• Nursery grown plant material,
• Olive for bonsai,
• Pest and diseases,
• Pruning and Pinching,
• Understanding Pruning,
• Pruning bareroot seedlings,
• Red Maple for bonsai,
• Rootballs, intact and rootbound,
• Root damage from heat,
• Root growth, avoiding overpotting,
• Root pruning,
• Rosemary,
• Rules of bonsai,
• Seed,
• Sharpen tools,
• Soils,
• Soil Aging,
• Soil: Why the earth is not like a pot,
• Spider Mites,
• Stainless tools,
• Trunks, developing,
• Watering automatically,
• Watering bonsai,
• Western evolution of bonsai,
• Winter
• Wire, annealing copper,

Bonsai Articles by Brent Walston

• Beginner's Page: What are Bonsai?

  A primer for beginners. This article gives the very basic information for creating and maintaining bonsai. Key words are highlighted so that you can link to a more indepth discussion.

• Propagation of Woody Plants by Cuttings

  A primer on starting plants from cuttings at home.

• Root Pruning Bare Root Seedlings

  A discussion of root pruning field grown bare root seedlings to quickly achieve a strong shallow root system for bonsai.

• How to Germinate Seed

  A primer on starting woody plants from seed.

• Taxonomy: Plant Names Made Easy

  A primer on botanical plant names. Very simple and easy to understand directions for using and understanding the correct names of plants.

• Root Grafts for Bonsai

  Avoiding graft problems in bonsai.

• Nursery Shopping for Bonsai Material

  An article to introduce the beginner to the world of bonsai by providing guidelines for the selection of nursery grown plant material for bonsai.

• Growing and Pruning Black Pine for Bonsai

  A detailed description of how to prune Japanese Black Pine for bonsai.

• Cedars for Bonsai

  A brief look at the use of cedars in bonsai, including the various species, their care, and their use in formal upright and cascade styles.

• How to Reduce the Size of Leaves

  This article discusses the use of growth principles to influence the size of leaves and the length of internodes in bonsai.

• Japanese Maple for Bonsai

  A discussion of seedling and cultivar types of Japanese Maple that are suited for various bonsai styles and sizes.

• Using Principles of Growth to Manipulate Plants for Bonsai

  An introduction to three simple basic growth principles that form the basis for most bonsai growing techniques.

• Flowering Quince for Bonsai

  A short summary of Flowering Quince cultvars and culture for bonsai.

• Crabapples for Bonsai

  Propagation, selection, and training of Crabapple cultivars for use in bonsai.

• Factors that Influence Watering

  A list of the factors that determine how fast container plants will dry out, and using them to create strategies for watering bonsai.

• Soils for Containers and Bonsai

  A basic primer on soils, including the concept of soil collapse.

• Creating a Forest Bonsai

  A brief description of the styling considerations for creating a bonsai forest or group planting.

• Integrated Pest Management for Bonsai

  A look at the use of cultural, biological, and chemical controls for pest and diseases.

• American Bonsai Styles

  An essay on the western evolution of bonsai.

• Cotoneaster for Bonsai

  Some tips on species selection and styling of Cotoneaster for bonsai.

• Developing Large Trunks for Bonsai

  A system for growing the largest trunks in the shortest period of time, and how proper trunk development also includes branch placement.

• Obtaining Maximum Growth in Pre-Bonsai

  An internet discussion between John Powers and Brent Walston on how to obtain the fastest growth for trees in training.

• Sharpening Bonsai Tools

  How to sharpen the most common bonsai tools.

• Growing Bonsai Indoors

  How to grow bonsai indoors.

• The 'Rules' of Bonsai

  A distillation of the conventions of bonsai. Use these rules to create pleasing bonsai.

• Fertilizing Your Bonsai

  A complete discussion of how and when to fertilize your bonsai

• Dormancy and Indoor Bonsai

  The role of dormancy in temperate climate plants and how it affects keeping them indoors.

• Root Pruning

  A discussion of the mechanics and timing of root pruning.

• Over Wintering Bonsai

  How to keep your bonsai alive and happy through the long cold winter.

• Western Sources of Bareroot Seedlings

  Where to find field grown bareroot seedlings at reasonable prices.

• Beginner's First Bonsai

  How does a beginner start practicing bonsai?

• Growing Black Pine for Bonsai

  The growth characteristics of Japanese Black Pine.

• Aging of Container Soils

  A more indepth discussion of the interaction of plant roots and Soil Aging

• Spider Mites!

  Everything you ever wanted wanted to know about Mites

• Pruning and Pinching

  The differences between, and the effects of Pruning and Pinching

• A Drip Mist System for Bonsai

  Creating an Automatic Watering system for bonsai using drip watering parts.

• Why the Earth Is Not Like a Pot

  Why planting in the earth is not like planting in a pot and other soil mysteries explained.

• Fall Repotting

  The advantages and dangers of fall repotting.

• Understanding Pruning

  A physiological approach to Pruning. This is a followup of the article on Pruning.

• Intact Rootball Vs. Rootbound

  A description of the stages of root colonization in containers from an intact rootball to rootbound conditions.
  Edited by Robert Potts

• Overpotting

  A description of the soil physics of overpotting and how to avoid it.
  Edited by Robert Potts

Bonsai Articles by other authors

• Light Requirements for Dormant Evergreens

  A short discussion on some research into the rate of photosynthesis in dormant evergreens, and some strategies for overwintering based on light needs. By Andy Walsh.

• Freeze Damage in Woody Plants

  An excellent in depth article about the mechanism of freezing in plants and the strategies necessary to deal with it. By Andy Walsh.

• Using Fungicides to Control Bonsai Diseases

  A short discussion on the proper use of fungicides on bonsai by Nina Shishkoff.

• Olive for Bonsai

  An excellent description of the genus Olea, Olive, and some practical tips on its use and culture for bonsai. By Marco Favero

• What is Air Layering?

  A short explanation of the physiology of air layering propagation. By Andy Walsh

• The Red Maple as Bonsai

  A discussion of the use of this widespread American species, Acer rubrum for use as bonsai. By Jim Lewis.

• Annealing Copper Wire

  A short discussion of the process and the physics of annealing copper wire for bonsai. By Marty Weiser.

• Copper and Aluminum Wire

  An indepth discussion of the physics of hardening and annealing of wire. By Marty Weiser

• Root Heat in Containers

  Can the sun heat up your bonsai pots to the point of causing root damage? By Andy Walsh.

• The Limits of Fertilization

  How do I know when I am fertilizing too much? By Andy Walsh.

• Stainless Steel Versus Carbon Steel Tools

  A discussion of the merits of these two types of steel to help you decide which kind of bonsai tools to buy. By Marty Weiser.

• Rosemary for Bonsai

  The culture and cultivars of Rosemary, Rosmarinus, for bonsai. By Matthew Ward

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