Tree Tips
September 2021
On September 2nd, we gather to offer and acquire trees at our Silent Auction. There will be some nice trees, so don’t be afraid to bid on what you want. It helps the club and starts you off on some new material.
Once again, there will be no show in 2021. I hope that we will learn how to cooperate with one another to defeat the Coronavirus and celebrate bonsai together.
September is truly a transitional time in bonsai where we can work on conifers, deciduous, and broad-leaf evergreens to guide them from all-out growth and ramification, and to holding and directing the tree’s energy for the big push next spring.
Photo by Jack Christiansen
I will stop pruning back to two leaves in the middle of the month. After that, I will allow the trees time to mature their foliage and build energy over the late fall and winter. In the meantime, continue cutting back and fertilizing, gradually lessen the amount of nitrogen through November. We will be trimming back the winter growth in December and January to the location where you want the ramification to start sprouting in spring.
You can still wire to create movement this fall.
Conifers get most of our attention for styling and wiring in the fall and winter months. Wire to develop short incremental arcs rather than long wavy branches to create natural looking branches over time — create different lengths, different angles, and different directions.
For all of your trees, fall is still a good time to fertilize. The trees are storing energy in the vascular system to over-winter and start spring with a big bang. 🌳
