One For The Books.

You really don’t need a knucklehead like me to tell you the summer, now almost gone, was one for the books. Getting bonsai through that heat, for ill prepared Brit’s more used to summer washouts, presented some significant challenges. We all had our battles in different ways and I sincerely hope ya’ll emerged from beneath the shade netting victorious.

My own year started out in extremely promising fashion. A fairly wet autumn, no frost over winter and an early spring set the stage for what I hoped was going to be a great growing year in the bonsai garden.

April failed to deliver the fabled showers and by May the grass was already lying flat. We had a day of rain in late May then not a single spot, NOT ONE, until a day at the end of August. That was followed by half a day in early September with nothing since.

We did the better part of 120 days with out a single drop falling from the crystal blue skies. My grass is still largely brown. However for me the high temperatures were a whole new experience. I live two miles from the sea which means in general milder winters and cooler summers, they call it marine cooling. Outside temp’s over summer here are normally in the 16 to 22 °C (inside the greenhouse is a whole other world) but this year we got over 30°C. Not so bad compared to just five miles inland where the mercury hit a nomple under 38°C.

The long and the short of that, as everyone in bonsai knows is a great many hours spent watering. Because temp’s here are usually so reasonable I have always been able to keep all my trees in full sun and that bit me in the ass this year.

Once summer got into full swing and it became clear it was going to be a good one the MSM lost their minds. First it was the fires then the water. I then had a dickhead standing on my doorstep with a very threatening tone wagging a piece of paper to do with a water meter which, thank the Lord he was unable to fit. I have shared my views on this before, suffice to say I now have a private water supply because I no longer have faith that the taps will keep flowing and am not prepared to entrust the wellbeing of my life’s bonsai work to the British ‘state’ WTF ever that is. Living in a 400 year old house does have a very few advantages.

And so, as October takes hold everything is returning to normality, except still no rain. The days are shorter and the mornings cool and misty. Watering duty is light and the first significant signs of autumn are just beginning to appear. The battle scars of a brutal summer are all around, many trees just gave up and dropped their leaves early whilst others soldiered on scorched and scarred.

Today at first light i was mucking about with a new camera. Bonsai are looking very tired now though I would guess, based on previous experience, next year should see some explosive growth thanks to this years sunshine providing we don’t have a repeat of this year. Make your own mind up on that one!

As my trees begin to show the very first signs of autumn my fertilising regimen changes. From end of September until just before first frost or mid-December I move to liquid fert’s with my preferred solution being a mix of both these old tried and tested favourites.

Nitrogen Free Bonsai Fertilizer (0-10-10)

Single Nutrient Specialist Liquid Fertilizers For Bonsai – IRON.

Enjoy the clip.

Graham Potter. October 2026