Garlic Succession - An Example of Synergy of Bonsai and Veggie Gardening! + NEW Sale Of The Month

Upcoming bonsai events/announcements in Columbus, OH:

• 8/8 Bonsai and Coffee: Intro to Indoor Bonsai (Wiring Styling Focus) Workshop @ Casa Cacao - reserve your spot while you can!
• 8/16 - Columbus Bonsai Society Meeting at Franklin Park Conservatory (Bring Your Own Tree)
• NEW August '26 Sale of the Month at In Vivo: get a free cherry tomato plant for your late summer and early fall harvesting with the purchase of any tool, indoor or outdoor bonsai tree, workshop, book, pot, and more here in Old North Columbus. I will also extend this offer to online orders where it is legal for me to ship them (excludes a few states and media mail). Anyone who wants to volunteer and work on trees together can also get one.
• I also just listed the tomato plants for sale at Invivobonsai.etsy.com if you want a bulk quantity. I'll try to start adding more live plants there but locals will always get a cheaper deal due to avoiding fees and shipping costs.

          Over the last few years, I have gotten increasingly into vegetable gardening and it's an area I am still experimenting with and learning more about. When I sell bonsai at events, I have always told people that bonsai is easiest if you have other plant experience already as you are halfway there on a lot of fundamental knowledge. Well now I'm going in reverse! In pursuing vegetable growing alongside bonsai, my goals were to save money and eat more fresh healthy food, which is very easy once your plants are happy and producing at a rapid pace. You definitely don't want any food you spent time and effort growing to spoil, so it does force you to eat more veggies than you might have otherwise!). At some point I will make a bigger article on what I am learning in the crossover of these two planty hobbies. Both require specific seasonal steps to be the most successful so there are definite similarities.

Simplified Protocols for Yamadori Collection, Aftercare, and Initial Bonsai Training - A Honeysuckle Raft Case Study.

            In preparation for the 2nd Annual CBS / Columbus Recreation & Parks Department Invasive Honeysuckle Yamadori [Wild Bonsai] Dig event, I wanted to put to words a very simplified protocol for how to take a freshly dug yamadori from the forest and how to begin to train it as a bonsai tree. Obviously, the speed of development varies based on the species and health of the tree and some steps may even occur at seasonally different times especially if you are in a different climate than me here in USDA Hardiness Zone 6, Ohio, USA. Noting that these exceptions are bound to hit you at some point, let this be a starting point and take it for what it's worth. To exemplify that protocol, let's follow the development of my extra large honeysuckle raft yamadori which I rescued from culling in a local Columbus park at last year's first invasive removal collaboration. You can read about our previous experience hosting that event here, and you can see other examples of renowned honeysuckle bonsai here. 

Sections:

1. Event Description - 2nd Annual Columbus Bonsai Society / Columbus Recreation & Parks Invasive Yamadori [Wild Bonsai] Dig
2. General Protocol for Temperate Deciduous Species Yamadori Collection
3. General Protocol for Yamadori Aftercare
4. General Protocol for Initial Bonsai Training - First Repot, Early Pruning, etc.
5. Honeysuckle Raft Case Study
1. Spring 2022 Digging
2. Fall 2022 Pruning
3. Spring 2023 Repotting + Pruning
6. Announcements
1. I officially applied with the state of Ohio to start a nursery. Contact me to enroll in my first workshop on Tanuki! See details here. The second workshop will be on Sunday, 4/23/23 from 12pm-3pm. Contact me if you would like to request an additional date.
2. 4/15/23 - 2nd Annual Invasive Honeysuckle Wild Bonsai Dig with CBS and Columbus Recreation & Parks @ Castro Park. This is a free event. Sign up here.
3. 4/16/223 - Columbus Bonsai Society Meeting - I will be presenting on the ins and outs of digging Yardadori/Yamadori/Wild Bonsai. All are welcome. See event details at www.columbusbonsai.org.
4. Seeds are available here.

My extra-large honeysuckle yamadori raft, now freshly repotted into its first training bonsai pot.

Roberta Walters' Azaleas 101 - A Guide to Seasonal Azalea Care

            Few species of bonsai can compete with the visual intrigue produced by an azalea in full bloom. For that reason, today I have to resist the flowery temptation to write a full on history of their use in bonsai and review manual for Azalea techniques (maybe someday...). Instead, I'll whet your appetite with a more manageable intro to azalea-specific information through long-lost excerpts from one of California's premier azalea expert, Roberta Walters. While the full playlist of Roberta's demonstration is available on the Puget Sound Bonsai Association's Youtube Channel, this article is intended to serve as a guide to how each clip of Roberta's discussions fits into seasonal work that can be done on your azalea bonsai.

 Sections

1. Roberta Walters in Bonsai History

2. Roberta's Azalea Advice

    2A. Skip the Mallsai, Save Time, & Learn Bonsai Faster!

    2B. How to Safely Remove Large Branches on Azalea Bonsai

    2C. Nuances in Bonsai Fertilizer - Organic vs Inorganics & Seasonal Use

    2D. Repotting Basics & Why Grow Moss for Your Azalea Bonsai

    2E. Azalea Flower Management: Space & Timing

    2F. Full Demonstration

3. Blog Announcements

This old azalea by Dan Robinson (collected decades ago by his first student. Frank) is a prime example of their potential spring beauty. Although it is already covered with pink flowers, this tree is still a few days away from peak bloom. At that time it would be so covered in pink that you can't even see the leaves! It's no wonder this tree won the People's Choice Award at the 2017 PSBA Spring Show.