General

I recently received an email from someone who was very concerned about the size of the leaves on his bonsai trees. The concern was that a change of fertilizer may have become an issue. In thinking about my reply it became obvious there was a little misunderstanding on...

Thought you might like to see the progression of this oak tree. Collected 3 years ago and arrived here in March (first photo). Did the first styling at a recent demo'. This variety (quercus faginea) develops quickly and grows fast. It's early days for this tree as...

Persuading me to leave home isn't easy these days. I like it here and have everything I need. Just the thought of getting on a congested motorway brings me out all maudlin. However a couple of folk have been quite persuasive and there are a couple of trips coming up....

Once you get to my age there are too many days gone by to remember even a small fraction of them. Even the years tend to get lost. However there are always going to be a few that are particularly significant. I suppose they are what we call 'red letter days'. I don't...

Bonsai seems to be influenced by fashion both in terms of style and regards to species that are in demand. However one thing I have noticed is that British native trees remain high on everyone's shopping list. Our best sellers are always hawthorn, blackthorn, scots...

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...