The Kaizen Bonsai Blog by Graham Potter

Just for the record olives have to be one of my favourite trees used for bonsai. That's not because I have some soppy romantic notion of warm scented groves enjoyed on balmy evenings on holiday. I don't get to have holidays. I like olives because they are tough and...

This week we had a delivery of trees which bought us a special little piece. Not so many years ago getting hold of quality Japanese bonsai was a work-a-day thing. However since the recession hit, our currency devalued and the Nazi party took over policing of plant...

I get a million phone calls and emails every day from beginners who are struggling to get their arms around keeping bonsai. Just last week I heard from a guy who told me he had started his bonsai collection, he had planted 70 bonsai seeds :-0 After some discussion he...

I have been around this game a long time now, about half my life in fact. Who knew little trees were so engaging? One thing I know is that, much as in other areas of life, there is a lot of crap out there just sold to get your money. As a practical old fashioned bloke...

Over the years, many would say, I have been lucky to have some pretty nice plants. However nice stuff does not just find me, i have to graft for every last piece. I gave up my job and put my family home on the line. Nothing we have came easy, life just isn't that...

It's a funny old business this bonsai lark. In particular the business of buying yamadori (collected trees) is fickle, extremely risky and entirely unpredictable. Over the years we have been taken to the cleaners and have lost a years profit on a single deal. There...