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Glad you enjoyed it. I plan to update periodically on it's progress.

Thank you!

Thanks for watching. We also had a warm fall here - our first frost seemed to be much later than usual. Close to your house sounds like a good place for overwintering - I suspect the ground near my home stays relatively warmer over winter.

Thanks! And thanks for watching. I also prefer this one to the first - I like how full this one is. Having a larger trunk isn't always better.

Thanks! Yep, that's the plan. I've since styled the third tree (upcoming video). After styling all three and putting them together, I've decided I need to do a forest planting to simulate a grove. I like how all three look together. I'll plant them together this coming spring.

Thank you! At first I was hesitant to do a forest planting. But after styling all three (I style the 3rd tree in an upcoming video), I really want to put them together. It captures that feel of the old growth western redcedar grove near my home really well when I stick them together.

Thanks, much appreciated!

Thank you, I'm flattered, really appreciate your kind words! It's taken me a few years, but I think I'm starting understand the bonsai process better, or at least, I'm more happy with my creations than I was at the outset.

Thanks!

Thanks for the comment, nonetheless.

You should! I just some for sale as Christmas trees outside a big box store this week. Northern white-cedars are tough trees - I recommend them.

Thank you!

You just have to be diligent and visit places regularly...home depot, Lowes are on my regular stops followed by local garden nurseries...👍👍

Greetings from indonesia brother 🙏

Thanks! It was nice to hit video #50, the goal I set for myself shortly after starting. I plan to keep going, although I might slow down a bit over winter, we'll see. Northern white-cedars are very common in landscapes and garden centers around here, so they were quite cheap for the amount of development.

Glad you like them!

Thanks for your kind words, much appreciated. It's a great book, I recommend it. It's much different than the typical beginner bonsai book. Actually, I'd say it's more written for an intermediate bonsai enthusiast.

That'd work - just a little bit of insolation can make a difference. If it gets extremely cold for a long period of time, you might want to provide a bit more.

They don't really need it while dormant

I agree with Avery. For deciduous trees that don't have leaves, they don't need light while dormant - they aren't photosynthesizing and are dormant. For evergreen trees, at the temperatures where I put them in storage, <20 deg F or so, they aren't going to be photosynthesizing much or at all either, so they also don't need much if any light. I also think about evergreen trees in their natural environments over winter - young/short evergreen trees can spend months under snow cover at high elevations. That being said, I try not to keep my evergreen trees in the dark for too long - only during the coldest part of the winter. I get them back out on the benches when temperatures are safe.

Thank you, glad you found it helpful.

@BonsaiNorthwest I also live in the Northwest. Everett, Wa here. I've dabbled in Bonsai for 30 years but only recently become more serious about it.

@@haroldLangseth I've been dabbling for almost 15 years now, but got more serious about 5 years ago. Happy bonsaiing!

Thanks, I enjoyed making this one.

Sounds like a good plan. Simplicity is easy to implement.

I think I could say the same - I get different degrees of scorching every year. This was one of the worst years for my Mikawa Yatsubusa. But at least we are giving our trees as much light as they need!

Make a little cloth tent.... or find shade... with a bench like yours I would take some bamboo shoots and get some Grey or White tshirt fabric and build something light and easy to move

@@averyprice9422 Thanks for the idea - you're actually my second viewer to suggest something like this. I'm planning to do something early next summer in the hopes of reducing the scorch I got this year.

I live where it is colder and windy as well. I set up some kind of frame and nestle the trees in leaves then use tarps around the sides to block wind. I leave the top open for rain. I loose very few.

Sounds like a good plan. Winter protection set ups are as varied as bonsai benches are. I don't worry much about my trees getting too much moisture either, mainly because my winter temps go below freezing and my pots tend to freeze and then get covered in snow. I've heard from other folks about being concerned about too much rain in the winter but sounds like it's not a problem for you - thanks for sharing.

Thanks, really appreciate your kind words. Yeah, knowing one's microclimate/situation is important - some folks need to worry about wind, some don't. Rodents might be a big problem for some, but not others, etc. Wind (besides high wind events) and rodents don't seem to be a big deal for me. But because I'm in Zone 6b, cold temperatures are my biggest concern - last winter we reached -15 deg F for a few days. Those cold snaps, especially during late fall, are what I worry most about.

Good idea - that should work well against wind and rain and provide some temperature protection as well. Thanks for sharing.

Glad you liked it!

Thank you!

Thanks!

Thank you! I'm grateful for your comments, one of which prompted this video.

Thank you, it's got flaws but I love it.

Thanks for the complement and thanks for your comment. Yep, I agree, moss is good for maintaining the moisture/temp in that upper soil stratum. So I did remember correctly - it is vinegar that folks use - thanks for the confirmation. I just repotted this JM in the spring of 2024 into this somewhat oversized and deep pot, so I don't think a repot is needed yet. But who knows. My theory is that a decade in a bonsai pot has reduced it's vigor; I'm considering putting it in an even larger oversized pot for the next repotting cycle (maybe in a couple years), so it is less restricted. Yep, I can confirm firsthand that Irish moss is far from being a tree moss - it's got some pretty aggressive roots and can form a really dense impenetrable mat if not controlled. I'm not surprised that I've heard so many warnings about it in bonsai pots.

​ @BonsaiNorthwest if you repotted and did not see an immediate return to vigor, something else is going on. I have never worked with mikawa yatsabusa, I'm purely going off of your observation that it is not as vigorous as what you experienced earlier from the tree. I don't know if an even larger pot would make a difference...do you use bark in your soil mix? I know bark leeches nitrogen in it's process of composting/breaking down, or Might just be a quirk of the variety(it is a dwarf variety), maybe someone else with solid experience with this variety can help you find out what is going on. the picture you showed of it earlier with the tips burnt, does not make me think it is unhealthy at all, despite the burnt tips. I know some dwarfs genetically slow down after they reach a certain size(shojo hime comes to mind). all the best!

@@cmdrvitsurugi8960 Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, I use undecomposed bark in my mix, which is likely taking up some of that nitrogen. It hasn't reduced too much in vigor since I first got it a decade ago, and it still puts out a good 6-8 sets of leaves each spring. So I'd consider it in fine/decent health, but wonder if I might do more for it's health...I'm not overly concerned. I suspect that it's just entered 'middle age' as a bonsai; I've read that older bonsai start to slow down with age. But I don't know, I really don't have an personal experience with trees that have been in training >10 years.

@@BonsaiNorthwest sounds like dwarf behavior to me. 6-8 sets per branch means it's quite healthy. I have learnt to take development slow on my slower growing varieties. I have maples that has been in bonsai cultivation for 15+ years, my experience is that if you treat it like a tree in development i.e. repot it every 2 years and work the roots really hard, fertilize from the onset of spring and leave them to grow quite a bit before you cut back in hard...they keep behaving like a young vigorous tree. If you treat them like a refined tree i.e. less frequent repottings, only fertilize from late summer/early autumn and only do very light autumn pruning to thin forks to two and remove unwanted downward and inward growing twigs they slow down a lot. but this is for stock standard acer palmatum. Varieties can act completely different, with varieties it's really about assessing it's quirks and treating it accordingly. I do not defoliate or pinch my dwarfs, just because I feel like they already have small leaves and tight internodes. No need to. I'm jealous of the weather zone you are in though, I'm from South Africa and because I love all the temperate weather species used for bonsai, I really have to be on top of my care. I cannot place a maple in full sun, they will be baked to a crisp fairly quickly(have lost quite a bit of maples when I started out and kept away from them for a long time), I have to use heavy shade netting and cool them down twice a day to get them healthy and vigorous enough to be able to apply bonsai techniques to them. Enjoy the ride man! Bonsai is such a wonderful hobby

@cmdrvitsurugi8960 Thanks for the sharing your knowledge and the detailed explanation! I'll keep that in mind about repotting frequency/pruning/fertilizer, very interesting. Yeah, there's absolutely no need to do any pinching on this dwarf variety. Wow, growing JM in South Africa! I of course understand the fascination with the species and why you go through the trouble. Thanks again for the comment and happy growing.

The turntable is great - glad I spent the $10. Thanks for the complement - I love this tree despite its flaws. It's good to hear that I'm not the only one with single flush JMs. I get a weak second flush on my standard JM and seemed to get a second flush on my Katsura that was planted in the ground, but I guess my few JMs are pretty much single flush too. Yeah, I really do hold with what I shared in the video about moss and sounds like you agree: it seems to help make that upper stratum of soil more useful for trees, so I think its actually beneficial to have moss in many ways. I hadn't heard of the Ryan Neil "moss refresh" which you describe, but it makes a lot of sense: by fall it can be a pretty dense fluffy mat, which I often reduce back. But a full refresh is probably a good idea. I try to periodically knock my sedums back as well, but might let them go a little too much, they are definitely competing with the trees to some degree.

@@BonsaiNorthwest Yeah totally! I've been looking for the episode where Ryan Neil puts top dressing on a tree but can't find it. It's a large conifer (I think) with a very thick nebari, and he spends a bunch of time scraping the top layer of fert/moss/soil around the edge, then talks about grinding green/sphagnum moss through a screen. I think it's one of the fall/winter prep episodes, but I'm not sure anymore. Anyway, I tried it this year and it creates a really nice, fine layer of new moss after a month or so. Really controllable and aesthetically pleasing. Of course, living in the Portland area, moss is easy.

@alexbrendan7181 Thanks for the details about the moss treatment, I might try it out. I remember Milton of Bonsai Heirloom describing a similar process of putting ground up moss on as a top layer.

Yes, I've heard the same about moss providing habitat for pests - any other info on what kinds of pests these are? Thanks for your comment.

You aren't the only one, I hear that a lot and have had the same problem. Much of my moss goes semi-dormant and brownish during the hottest parts of summer. But it perks right up quickly as weather cools. When I made the switch to rainwater from my city water, I feel like it helped my moss do better - now it stays at least semi green even during extreme hot/dormancy. But my climate is pretty conducive to moss. For folks in hotter/drier climates than mine, keeping moss looking good might be a continual battle.

@BonsaiNorthwest I've recently learned about preserved reindeer moss. It comes in a lot of weird colors. But green is great, it doesn't need watering, pruning because it's preserved. I kinda like it.

Interesting! Thanks for the bonsai history. And now it's carried over to many hobbyists like me, who don't show their trees, but like the moss aesthetic, maybe because it can give trees a greater sense of age or being established.

Yes, I agree that other plants (not moss so much) compete with the bonsai. So if one wants the best, optimal growth on their bonsai, best to keep it free of competing plants. At the same time, I've been inspired by work of Walter Pall, Dan Robinson, penjing in general, where I see other plants (often succulents) planted with bonsai. I like the aesthetic. As with many things, moderation is good - you certainly want to ensure your bonsai is getting sufficient water and nutrients. So an overabundance of other plants/weeds in your pots isn't great (a couple of my pots fit in this category), but an additional nonagressive plant isn't going to cause great harm IMO (especially if your bonsai is in an oversized pot like many of mine are). Watching the bonsai is maybe the best indicator - if one isn't getting the kind of growth they want/expect and there are are lot of weeds/other plants, then certianly get rid of those weeds.

I fertilize using the unsophicated Dan Robinson/Nigel Saunders method (as I understand it): I put a low dose of Miracle-Gro in my watering can about every other day that I water, from maybe May-Oct. Next growing season I'm considering supplementing this with some kind of organic fertilizer for trees that I want to put a lot of growth on. For this JM, I don't know - I consider it too be in the refinement stage and don't want to encourage long internodes, so I might just keep going with my basic fertilizing method - I'm not trying for lots of growth. But I do of course want the tree to be healthy.

We’re on the same page. I’ve been afraid of using too much dissolvable syn fert. I used organic fert this year, not sure i know that it did anything. We’re using soilless mixes, I don’t think organic fert is really geared for that. I think I’m going to try a little more syn fert dosing next year…

@@thelazybonsai Thanks for the info, maybe I won't bother with organic. I know the pros use organic, hence why I'm considering it. But as with bonsai soil, I think there a likely a lot of good fertilization "recipes" that can work.

I think there are a lot of “age old” processes that can be updated for modern applications. How much nitro is immediately available in the organic fert would be my question. But also, if it aint broke, dont fix it, :) you’ve got 10yrs on that maple, your process is obviously working

@@thelazybonsai Amen, I am a follower of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy. It has admittedly been a rocky ten years for this maple, including the scorched leaves this summer. So I definitely don't have everything figured out. But this maple remains, despite my ineptitude, another reason I love it. Thanks for your thoughts.

Thanks. Ha, yeah, "Mikawa Yatsubusa" is quite a few syllables - I've said it so many times now though that I'm getting pretty good at it (now that I've said that I'm going to fumble saying it in my next video). Neat idea about putting the rocks against the trunk. I'm also a fan of rocks in pots to give that natural "understory" look.

Thanks! I'm pleased with the progress of this little oak.

Thank you, really appreciate the kind words! I'm glad you found one of my videos useful - very gratifying. Sounds like a lot of trees - good problem to have! I hear you about spring - I'm still enjoying doing some late season work and fall colors now, but I definitely get a little antsy for spring in the depths of winter which are fast approaching. Happy bonsaing!

Native yamadori are a great way to do bonsai - 1) you can get an old tree with character for a good price (or free) and 2) they are native and therefore adapted to local climates. I really like Coastal Redwoods too, but they would need some coddling in my USDA Zone 6 climate. Thanks for watching and your comment.

Thanks for the confirmation. Yeah, my Mikawa Yatsubusa is definitely going into partial shade in late spring. My Yuri Hime did so-so with scorch, not terrible, as did my Katsura (planted in the ground). My standard JM did great though, very minimal scorching and excellent fall color, so I will likely treat it the same next season - lots of sun. Hope your move went/is going well.

Moss. 1) The soil isn't as mounded as it appears, a lot of that is moss and 2) the soil is somewhat mounded though - the moss keeps the mounded soil in place. When I first put the moss in place this spring, it wasn't as stable. Now that the moss has established, it's quite stable, I could likely even turn the tree upside down without spilling.

Exciting, glad you're getting into bonsai! If you want your juniper to develop more, then I recommend keeping it in a larger pot (it could be a larger bonsai pot), or even in the ground. That will give you faster growth than putting it in a small bonsai pot. The general rule is: once the trunk is the size or at least nearly the size you want, move it to a bonsai pot. You can of course still develop a tree in a bonsai pot, it will just take longer. I kind of go somewhere in the middle with many of my trees - I keep them in slightly oversized bonsai pots.

Yeah, I'm pretty happy about how well they reduced.

Thanks. Amen, the escape root technique is great. I'm glad it's working for you too. I learned about it from Eric at Bonsaify.

Thank you, that's very gratifying! I'm happy when something I say is useful to someone else. One great thing about small bonsai (as opposed to a larger bonsai) is that you can make something that's kind of neat in only a few years time from a seed/cutting. Both this oak and the elms are only about 3 years from seeds. And they should get better each year, especially using this escape root method for better growth.

@ Yes! Mine are at 3 years from seeds, but I’ve never tried the escape root method, I’ll definitely be trying that! Thank you

@@Bri_l I bet it works well for you. Best of luck.

Thank you! They aren't especially impressive at the moment, but I think these are going to great trees in a few years.

Quince will be ok on the ground under a bench with leaf mulch and pine mulch. Very hardy trees.

Good evening, and thank you as always. I agree with Gary, you should be just fine overwintering a quince outside in your relatively mild climate (USDA Zone 8). In his book "Bonsai Heresy", Michael Hagedorn has a great table showing both top and root cold hardiness temperatures for quite a few common bonsai species; Chaenomeles speciosa is listed as having a root hardiness temperature of 5 deg F, so as Gary says, quince are very hardy. I doubt you get those sorts of temperatures in USDA Zone 8. My general rule for trees in small pots is to not let them go below about 20 deg F. So when outside temps are above 20 deg F, I keep my trees outside or in an unheated garage (to keep them out of the wind). When temperatures drop below 20 deg F, I move most of my trees (except the really hardy ones) into my attached garage, which stays about 20 deg F above outside temperatures. I try not to move them too often, especially not let them freeze/thaw/freeze thaw. The other thing to look out for this time of year is dramatic plunges in temperature. Gradual cooling to cold winter temps is ideal. If there is going to be a sudden cold snap, then I'll move my trees to my garages so they don't experience a sudden chill, which can damage/kill trees. I think I'll stop there now that I've written an essay. Thanks for the video idea! I'll have to make a video about how I overwinter my trees.

@@BonsaiNorthwest I thank you for taking the time to explain this...As you know, I'm new to this and appreciate all the help I can get...I've also recently been told to place all my trees together in a place out of the wind and on the ground and this will also help the potted plants to not freeze roots to what you said 20 deg F. Thanks again...Maybe some day I can come check out your bench and if you are ever on the Olympic Peninsula just let me know...nate

@@n8tyler I appreciate your questions and always happy to share my experience. I agree with the advice you received - the ground is quite a bit warmer than the air in the winter, so keeping bonsai there helps warm roots. Thanks for the invite. Same to you, let me know if you're ever in N ID.

@@BonsaiNorthwest Will do...I need to do some research about rock collecting in ID so I can come gather some large lava rocks for a couple projects I am planning...

Thanks! And thanks for watching.

Thanks! Yes, I considered bringing it in a little bit more. I usually study my trees in the days following, but I haven't taken a good critical look at this tree since this pruning - maybe I'll have a look and take off a bit more. It certainly has enough foliage on its branches for that to be possible without killing branches. As for the multiple branches coming from one spot - you're correct that it is somewhat congested; it is almost a broom, caused by being topped multiple times pre-collection. I've considered taking off some of the primary branches and might ultimately do that, but for now I like the 'full' look of this tree.

Thanks! I agree, it makes the trunk look proportionately larger now that it's shorter.