In this video I talk through all the Essential Bonsai tasks for December / January.  With the temperatures dropping,  what do I REALLY need to do to protect my trees?  I look at the choices I make to protect my valuable bonsai & developing saplings / Pre-Bonsai.  Grantham is Zone 9b so overnight temperatures rarely stay below -5C for longer than a couple of days (if ever).  The biggest issue I have to deal with in my garden nursery is the howling gales that constantly freeze the tips of my ramified bonsai!

So what can you do?  Easy – watch the video and find out.  Or, you can just cast your eye over the headings below and get an idea of what I will be doing before settling down for Christmas Bonsai Carols…

AND…There is so much work to get done before I can finally update my ACCESS Bonsai Management System.

SUBSCRIBERS PHOTOGRAPHS EDITION

This week I am also showcasing more bonsai photographs from Subscribers. Submissions have been sent in from the following people:

Chris, Joe, Susan, Vinnie, Joe G and Dan of The Bonsai Project.

Topics Discussed:

What Bonsai really needs winter protection?
Is Chinese Elm very cold hardy?
What is a safe location for your Bonsai?
A last ‘wire’ check.
Plan for next Springs repots.
Make sure Display Benches and Pots are checked.
Applying my Dormant Spray.
Check stocks of soil, pots, fertilser & bug sprays.
Subscribers Photographs.
A word about my Access Bonsai Management System. (Bonsai App)

God Bless & Happy Bonsaiing
Xavier

Three days ago I uploaded this video to YouTube, and guess what?  I have done nothing from that long list of tasks!  The wind has been howling around the bonsai garden and rain has also made an appearance.  The best thing about it, is that it stopped ‘drill man’ from featuring on my next video soundtrack

Seriously, I did spend all weekend breaking up the rotting benches and also cutting up and clearing away a lot of last years dead branches – left kindly by my very expensive Tree Surgeons (not sure that is the best description).  Then I had the joy of meeting our very well paid ‘Rubbish Disposal Technicians’ who were happy to  watch me struggle with a diverse range of rubbish.  Why do they have to be so rude and unhelpful!

I was actually told, bluntly, that I had to hold my rotting pieces of wood and NOT put them on the ground – whilst waiting for the current load to be compacted.  Now I know I’m not exactly feeble but I did struggle to understand why he was so adament I could not put them on the ground whilst waiting!

I started to become a wee bit uppity and then stopped myself as he suddenly spurted out some **** about ‘Health & Safety’ rules!  These council departments have so much power and the last thing I needed was to be slapped with a Tip Ban for being ‘aggresive or confrontational’…

So of the 5 Things I should be doing now, I can definitely mark myself with a big green tick.  Dry and ignored Dawn Redwoods watered, benches removed, majority of trees are happily dormant AND everything is safely tucked away from the wind.  I even moved my little Forsythia into the coldframe for some additional protection due to unwanted bud swelling.  I suppose I  now need to let you know how I have got on with the 10 Tasks for Winter (or not)…

Deadwood Work.

Do you know how cold it is right now?  I mean, I  did look at a few Bonsai with deadwood but then the rain hit hard and I had to run away inside and comfort myself with a hot chocolate.  By the time the rain had stopped, my enthusiasm had waned. So I reminded myself that there is always summer to do this job.  After all, why do something now when you can enjoy it much more in 6 months time!  A bit like cleaning dirty bonsai pots…

I did plug the dremmel in to a power socket and set my studio up with Andy’s lump of wood.  And I did even look at it for several minutes.  I tutted and mused over different ideas and drew all over it with my HB pencil.  Not sure why, because I have never followed any pre-planned cutting lines in the past.

Having decided where I was going to start channeling out this piece of trunk I realised I needed my safety glasses and gloves.  Although I didnt find the left glove I did manage to find a packet of Doritos instead…perhaps a sign that this job should be done another time too

Clean up your Pine Bonsai.

If you watched the video you will already know that I did my Pine clean up work in Autumn.  I did find a few dead needles and one or two terminal buds to remove but I am happy these can be left for a good few months yet.  The next bit of work will not be till late spring when the candles have elongated.

Bonsai Bench & Garden Clear-up.

I spent all Friday with my serrated saw blade and branch loppers to reduce everything into easy to handle pieces that I could pack into my old ‘skip’ bag.  The benches themselves fell apart as soon as I showed them a picture of my hammer. It appears the only things keeping them standing were the wood louse.  I can happily report that I achieved this momentous task without injury – a definite first for me

As for the Tip run…well, enough said at the beginning of this article.

Create Rock Structures for plantings.

I have the glue ready and the lava rock ready but unfortunately my studio lights have decided to blow their bulbs, making it impossible for me to film. I suppose that means I need to get some more hot chocolate instead…

Building my new Website Pages.

I am loving this task and my biggest fear is it will distract me from my Bonsai Channel too much.  At High School I majored in Journalism and Literature.  I love nothing better than spending a day just creating articles or starting ‘another’ prize winnning novel.  Needless to say, they remain unfinished – like most of my creative projects.  I really do need to learn to commit to something and stop getting bored and distracted.

There is so much work to do to make this website really useful and so many of the pages need lots of work.  The calendar may be the biggest issue with the volume of entries I need to start putting in it.

Update my Bonsai Workflow App.

The day after this video was released 8 people asked to try the app from various parts of the world.  Since then, I have sent out another 7 files.  Lexi and I are absolutely blown away with the interest and pray that there are no major issues using this product.  It has worked so well for me during the last 4 years AND the first group to use it have also reported postive results.

If you have taken advantage of this offer then please provide postive feedback in either the comments here or on the tuition videos uploaded to YouTube.  You are of course more than welcome to send a Gift Donation via Paypal to help me spoil Lexi for her hardwork

Bonsai Soil / Wire & Pots.

You all know that I have 29 bags of Zeolite and Pumice thanks to an order put in by my good friend Alex.  I also still have another 4 bags of Kitty Friend, 100 litres of vermiculite and a little bit of Pine Bark.  So I don’t forsee any issues with repots this spring.  I do need to order in a few rolls of 2.5mm and 3mm aluminum wire but that can wait for a few more weeks.  The price has remained pretty constant at £12.50 for 500g.

I did order over £100 worth of Pond Baskets for my Japanese Maples and last years succesful seedlings.  That is going to take a lot of time and this will be subject of one of my repotting videos.  Everything gets more expensive each year!

Cleaning Pots:

Everay day I step outside and then shudder in fear as I look at the piles of dirty and uncared for bonsai pots.  They litter most areas of my Nursery and have been the biggest thing ignored over the past 4 years.  I think the idea is good – but it is a little too cold right now!!!

Establish Bonsai Repots and Pruning Lists:

This is an ongoing nightmare.  I already have three A4 pages full of URGENT repots and the top of that list involves my Chinese Elms.  Some of these imported bonsai have not seen new soil in over 5 years – might also explain the occasional deaths.  Since starting a YouTube channel I have definitely found it impossible to keep up with this important job and my trees have suffered.  I think someone once accused me of ‘Tree Cruelty’ in one of my early videos.  I may not agree with the tone of the comment but I cannot argue with the sentiment.  I have too many trees to be able to care for them properly.

Managing your winter watering.

In truth, this doesnt present much of an issue.  The Dawn Redwoods missed out because I had stacked bags of bonsai soil on the bench above them – DOH!!!

I have visited the coldframe a couple of times this month and found most of the bonsai are happy and ‘refusing’ free drinks from me right now.

ANYWAY…

I have just spent another 2 hours writing this blog so I shall sign off here with a reminder of my biggest Bonsai fear: False Spring

Every year I wait as long as possible before starting repots on my Trident Maples, knowing that we always get a dramatic return to freezing nights (for about a week).  This has put my Bonsai back over the past two years and my Tridents are without a lot of their branches as a result of this.  Fingers crossed this year will be a mild entry into spring and the dreaded False Spring will stay away for once

God Bless & Happy Bonsaiing

Xavier

Tasks planned for Autumn:

Chinese Elm Bonsai.
Silver Birch Bonsai.
Dawn Redwood Bonsai.
Trident Maple Bonsai.
Japanese Maple Bonsai.
Oak, Larch and Hornbeam – Leave alone.
Any Air Layers?
This years cuttings.
Greenhouse and Winter Planning.
Rafia and wire on Bonsai.
The Beech Bonsai.
Indoor Trees – Ficus & Jade.
Use a Winter Wash.
Dirty Pots and Used Bonsai Soil.
What about missed Bonsai?

Hopefully your task list is a little smaller – I didn’t even finish this list this year!

God Bless & Happy Bonsaiing
Xavier

Don’t forget to check all the Bonsai tasks I have added to the Calendar too

If you have other tasks you have to get done then let me know in the comments – it may save one of my trees!

A lot more detail will be added to this post soon…

God Bless & Happy Bonsaiing
Xavier

I will also mention that 2019 and 2020 were difficult years for both myself and my children.  My wife and Father both struggled with illness throughout these years and recently died at home with us all present (Deo Gratias).  Despite the shock it remains a blessing that we were able to care for them and indeed be present for their deaths.  Both are sorely missed.  My wife however insisted that the business must keep on going – so now it is time for this to happen

This year I will be looking to sell some of my bonsai on Ebay and through private visits to my nursery – by appointment.  Market  sales are very unlikely due to the impact of lockdown regulations but I hope that will change in the near future.  It is definitely worth highlighting that I post a lot of updates on my Facebook pages so I would urge you to have a quick look if you enjoy my ‘style’ of writing.   I will be spending time on reviewing this website over the next few months so please remain patient.

You will see from my Facebook pages that I have been covering a range of bonsai topics with a reasonable degree of explantion and accompanying pictures.  I do intend to include a lot of this information on this website as time allows.

I have been enrolled with Bonsai Mirai for over 2 years and the level of both practical and technical knowledge I have gained has certainly changed my approach.  With this in mind many important updates will be made in relation to specific care routines for trees.  I will be updating the portfolio projects with current images of the various trees in development.  There are definitely some impressive changes to see.

In Nov of 2018 I discovered a wholesale nursery, Aveland Trees, that provides home grown saplings for larger scale projects.  Much of the stock is sourced from seeds recovered in the surrounding countryside.   The owner is really helpful and allows me to recover a large number of unwanted oak ‘rejects’.  Just the sort of thing that bonsai enthusiasts would love!  In the last couple of years I have collected over 60 oaks, hornbeam, cherry and beech.

These are cleaned and root pruned and placed into washing up bowls for a couple of years.  So far I have had great success in keeping them alive and feel very confident that some of these will become future bonsai.

This year will also see the early results of my 2015 Japanese Maple seedlings that I found at a local carboot sale for a few pounds.  They have been left to grow with just minor branch selection taking place but are now ready for entry into the potensai category.

March is going to be very busy with all of this repotting of maples!!

Finally, I just want to thank all of you who have taken the time to comment on some of my blogs.  I do read them and it does encourage me to keep on going.  It is just a pain how many inappropriate bot comments are sent in for me to screen out.  I am also going to try and find a plugin that allows me to notify people of new posts and stuff.

If there is anything you would like to ask me about then feel free to do so.

I pray that this year keeps you all well and happy.

God Bless, Xavier