A most majestic pine the Ponderosa

 Hi and welcome once again to my bonsai channel, today I'm going to tell you a little bit about one of the most majestic of all pines, the Ponderosa and we do not need little Joe or Hoss from Bonanza to help us.

 The tree you see here in this picture is roughly 150 years old and by that I mean I have no real way to totally determine the actual age of this tree but however by using an age old theory of age dating trees by counting growth rings from a core sample taken at the base of the trunk one can then count the rings that form around the trunk through out each season and then pretty closely to some degree determine the age of a tree.

 So that is what has been done with this tree. One core sample was taken at the lowest part of the trunk where it was at its widest and most thickest around then the core sample was examined and the growth rings counted to determine a fairly close age for this tree.

  However let me just state for the record here so as to way off any confusion there is truly no way to totally at best determine the real age of most tress, at least not ones growing in the wild. But lets assume that you yourself planted a tree from seed and you yourself grew that tree all your natural life and then it was passed on down to the next generation person say for instance in your own family like many Japanese families have done over the ages, and then yet even once again the same tree is handed down again to the next documented person and they in turn grew the same tree for there natural life time and so on and so on of course all the time keeping accurate records in printed form and most assuredly keeping photo records when and where at all possible then indeed we, or he, she or they could indeed have a pretty accurate recorded of that given tree.

  Then of course there should be no questions in anyone's mind as to the true said age of such a tree.

 This I might add is and was a real practice with the Japanese culture and so most all of there tress are documented as to age. However not so here in the western civilization simply because no one seems to care, I might add of course other than the true collector. However the  average joe or person who buys from there local nursery will almost always not get any real documentation or true age of said purchased trees.

 Also if they were lucky enough or even far enough advanced in the art of bonsai to go out into the forest wilds and collect a Yamadori meaning collected in Japanese they still would not truly know the age of said collected tree, because age at best is something we all can only estimate.

 However let's just try to be as practical as we could be and say let us assume that we are out looking for a tree to collect and we find an area in the forest that looks promising and we spot a small tree and by small I mean a tree say possibly fist sized around or maybe even two fists sizes around you would get pretty excited at least I know I would . So then my next thought is gee I wonder how old it is?

Well like I said there is no real way of knowing with out having a somewhat accurate core sample taken and that is not as easy as it sounds.

 But what to me really remains as the kicker is how did that tree get in its resting place in the first place. Did a seed fall from a mother tree close by or did a bird drop a seed or perhaps some other critter, because lots of forest animals bury seeds only to forget where they hid it and then the seed germinates and pops up and starts growing. So then how long did it grow there in that place you found it. Has it been there a hundred years perhaps two hundred years maybe even more and no one knows for sure.

 Any way the whole idea is astounding at best and truly should be taken into account and well thought out with how ever the tree was age dated estimated or other wise. So I guess what I'm trying to truly say is don't boast or brag or what ever unless you can prove it or have accurate records it will only serve to make you look foolish and not only does it make you sound and look foolish it is very misleading to the viewer and to the public in general.

 I for one being a true avid collector and caretaker myself of bonsai do care and have trees that are as young as only a year or two and some that are upwards of two too three hundred years of age documented of course, simply because a lot of my trees have been handed down in my family for four generations and a lot of the tress I now own were purchased by my family from various parts of the world and some of the older specimen tress were purchased in Japan in the 50s and these tress were already well established and old when they were acquired and bought then now add my young age of only 80 years to the mix and you do the math and then decide.

 One of the other nagging factors with age of tress of course is that of constant climate changes and conditions and these all affect the ring count on trees of course so you only can estimate at best and or guess if you do not have paper work and you might say what is all the fuss about age anyway well its a matter of bragging rights for one thing with some bonsai people I guess and or what ever, but for me it just makes sense to no and of course if you ever plan to sell any or all of your collection it is going to be a really big factor in determining what you get in the way of money out of your collection.

 This tree was an acquired tree from a local Nursery and they had no real information either about the tree. For instance it would have been nice to know where the tree originally came from or even from whom, and that is sad that no one even seems to care to ask or do any kind or research to find out where the original tree came from in the first place and that includes many nursery's at large so buyer beware it is always a good thing to practice in buying bonsai trees ask for as much information as they have.

 Was this tree say collected or was it perhaps started from a seed or even from smaller nursery stock purchased and then grown on to what it is now. The real way that this tree came to be what it is today seems totally amazing to me at best considering its size and stature, but when I first saw it I could not resist having it so I saved and bought it. Now normally I would never undertake purchasing a tree with no history but this tree to me was just to awesome to resist no matter the outcome.

  Of course the ways that it came to be could be many but indeed with a tree of this size and stature you would have thought that someone selling it would have cared enough to ask the person they purchased it from. The tree has been in my collection now for a couple of years and I have been working and continuing to further style and train it since. These pines live to be hundreds of years old even in pots if cared for properly and I for one truly do take care of my plants as bonsai and have for many years.

 The Ponderosa was first collected way back in 1826 in Eastern Washington near what we now no as Spokane, and it is also the state of Montana's state tree and grows predominantly in the western range of the United States and Canada, although it can be seen as far as the plains of Nebraska and of course Nevada where a Television series was created called Bonanza and the ranch they used in the series was called the Ponderosa more than likely because that area of filming had an abundance of these trees.

 These pines can also be found as far south as Texas and on in too Mexico so yes the Ponderosa has been seen growing in a lot of different places and climates but still out side of being a bonsai it does grow predominantly in the Great Northwest.

 These pines have a real tolerance for many conditions to include harsh rains wind and also dry climates where the trees would even say struggle to live and still they survive. I for one do nothing special with any of my trees other than to water as needed and feed throughout the growing season  and then let nature take its course. I do not baby any of them or take any special precautions like some bonsai people do.

 I truly have always believed that if you just let the trees grow on there own and only do your job of watering and feeding and repotting when called for you will have a good healthy tree for many years to come, I know I do.

 When I do loose a tree it is because of my own neglect 90 percent of the time and not the fault of the tree or any other conditions other than me forgetting to water enough or over watering and or not enough sun or too much sun the list of conditions goes on and on but the bottom line here is do your research for each tree you plan to grow and you should be good to go.

 Say for instance one of the deciding factors for Ponderosa is that they need totally full sun or as much as you can provide to really do well in your garden and they can go on the dry side for a bit without harming the tree so like I said again simply do your own home work before deciding.

 The Ponderosa is no different and it is a very good looking pine to add to anyone's collection. These trees have a real stout needle and depending on where the tree is growing in the vast scheme of things it can have any where from two needles too three but the most common are three and that is what I have a three needle Ponderosa.

 The size of these trees if left to grow in the ground can indeed reach some pretty majestic heights one was located in the state of Oregon and was measured out by a top horticulturist to be 268.29 feet tall and close to eight feet in girth and is on record now as the tallest pine known taking over the former record held by a sugar pine.

 The Ponderosa Pine has also been called the bull pine and the western yellow pine and sometimes even the blackjack pine. Although most of these tress do grow in the state of Washington and Oregon they can be seen in many other areas as well and could be collected by an avid bonsai person and then kept in bonsai art form for many years assuming you know what your doing to start with.

 If you do not have the knowledge to collect trees then by all means do not try, as in most cases you will only kill the tress and do no one including yourself any good. So if you want a collected one then by all means either purchase it or take someone along that has knowledge in the field of collected trees to help you.

 Ponderosa Pine makes a very nice tree indeed for bonsai and any younger tree can be wired easily and trained into a very nice desirable shape with a little practice and time and they will survive in a fairly wide rage of climates and tolerate many growing conditions. Younger tress are known for there more blackish bark and are often times called blackjack pine because of this. Often times the older tress will eventually be noted by there orange colored bark and look a whole lot more majestic.

 If wounded by nature the tree will emit a sap like resin we often times call pitch to help in covering over the scar and helping the tree to heal over and bounce back where it was wounded. If a limb or branch is removed in the art of bonsai then it is important to help seal over that area with cut paste used by many bonsai people to cover over areas cut on a tree.

 Well at least I hope that I have sparked your interest in getting your self a Ponderosa for your tree collection if you have not already procured one. In closing happy tree hunting and please have a very nice summer.

 
Thanks, for reading,


Update for this tree it is going to be reworked this spring or possibly fall I'm not sure just yet weather and all permitting. But if you look at the tree closely you will see that it now has three places on the tree that could be considered a top or apex and that is truly not expectable in the world of bonsai so by reworking I mean to correct this and try to restyle the entire tree and this will be a major undertaking for me but it will happen.


By: Harold Yearout ©Copyright 2014 Harold Yearout All Rights Reserved for more information feel free to contact me: h.yearout@gmail.com
 

THE CYPRESS AS BONSAI

 The cypress is a very nice choice for anyone creating a bonsai even if your a seasoned gardener or a beginner. It can be trained into a very wide variety of styles and this makes your choices fun and easy with a little work on your part.

 First you always want a good nebari for your Cypress or really for any bonsai for that matter. You will want to look for good placement of the branches and limbs for your tree.

 I tend to usually start with a good one gallon size nursery stock plant and then work from there to begin a style and I tend to leave it in the one gallon pot for a year or two to just get some growth and then I will take it out in early spring and plant it up into a desired bonsai pot.

 Or if you have plenty of time and are not in a rush you could plant your tree in the ground in your garden and let it grow on for six or eight years and obtain a really nice caliper for your trunk and then did it up and start the process of shaping and creating into a desired bonsai.

 I have started many cypress just from cuttings as they do seem to root well for me easy. I can not say that they would for everyone. I discovered actually by accident one year that the Squirrels around my place like to bury there winter forage into some of my bonsai pots and along with that for some reason they always seemed to deposit a piece cypress leaf or branch  and that begin to grow in my pots along with the other bonsai.

 In fact this happened on several occasions so the next time I trimmed some of the longer branches off my cypress I scraped the ends of the stem to scar it some and then just dipped the ends in some root tone and stuck them down into the bonsai bowl and they actually rooted and begin to grow. 

 So then I deduced that it must be fairly easy to start from just a leaf or branch.. So now every year I stick a few and let them grow on to a size that I can work with. Sometimes this takes an entire season to happen but it does never the less at least for me anyway.

 One thing I have learned about cypress as well as junipers do not trim your plant with scissors as this will turn the ends brown and unsightly. Instead pinch them out with your fingers and its actually easy to do.

 This cypress pictured above is very old around sixty years or more and well developed and the shape and style is very close to a informal upright. I have worked on this tree for many years to obtain what I now have and it won two show awards this year. One for the customers choice and one at yet another show for best in the show.

 I'm very happy with this Cypress. I did screw up a bit on it later this year as I had it sitting near my air conditioner exhaust to the outside of the house and it burnt the top of one of my branches and turned it ugly brown and so now I have to wait till next season for this to grow out and put on some new growth to hopefully fix and cover over the ugly brown ends.

 I use a very granular soil mix for all of my conifers and this Cypress is no exception as with most all conifers they do not like wet feet and so you should always strive to have a good granular mix for these types of plants to increase the flow of water out of the pot. The type of soils I make will actually draw up some of the water and disperse it later out into the pot as the tree begins to dry out and need it.

 I pinch my plant out in the early spring after it has established a considerable amount of new growth.

 Then sometimes I will pinch it out yet again later in the season if it seems to have any branches that are in the way of the viewers eye from front to back. I like my tree to be well podded up and the branches well rounded and this makes for a nice looking bonsai to view.

 Pests are none that I have dealt with and if any at all sometimes some small spiders may try to build there egg laying nests in the tree and I keep a keen eyes out for that and spray right away if I see any.

 Watering is pretty much every day in the hot season and misting a couple times a day if its really hot out. Other than that I water normal every day and I do not do anything special for this tree in the winter I just leave it out where it gets the winter rain and as long as it does not get way down in temperatures below freezing for any long periods then I just leave it out in the garden and it does just fine form season to season.

 As with any plant if the temperature does drop below freezing for any long periods then I will take the plants into a sheltered area of my back store room shed. Over the years my bonsai have withstood the test of the times for sure with rain sleet hail snow and freezing rain and temps well below zero and they still survive simply because I do not baby them. My rule of thumb has always been to let a plant get well acclimated to the out doors and then it seems to do just fine.

If indeed the tree is for your climate region to begin with and I always try to get material that is at least if at all possible two to three climate regions below mine that way I know for sure it can with stand the harsh climate if it gets real bad out. Say for instance your in a climate region of say eight then I would try to get a plant that will survive in region say five or even three..

 The key here is time watching as I like to call it. If the weather changes real rapid to real severe and  bad then I will act but other wise I just let nature take its course of action and only in the spring will you tell if they truly survived or not. Lots of your bonsai as well as mine will go to sleep so to speak in the winter months and not grow at all and in this state of sleep they will use water as they need it and very little nutrients and only begin to bud up again in the spring as the weather becomes gradually warmer.

 Deciduous trees will loose all there leaves in the winter months and be bare and so this is a good time to get rid of some of the unsightly and unwanted branches and kind of restructure your tree if it needs it. I do not get too carried away clipping out limbs just the dead ones or ones that I no for sure need to go to get my desired look and shape.

 Cypress are wonderful trees and make lovely bonsai as they are pretty easy to train and shape and style and I love all of mine and I have several in my garden.

 Feeding should be every other month through out the growing season and then slack off till spring again. Make sure you try to re-pot your Cypress every three to five years depending on your pot size and overall size of the tree of course.. Some will need to be sooner and some of course can wait for another year of later.

 So grab up some cypress of your choice and begin and you will soon have your self a nice looking tree to add to your collection.

Thanks, for reading,
By: Harold Yearout ©Copyright 2014 Harold Yearout All Rights Reserved for more information feel free to contact me: h.yearout@gmail.com
 

Wiltonii Juniper

 Here you will see one of my favorites bonsai in the garden. This Juniper is very old and the trunk on this shrub is the center of attraction for most visitors too my garden. This tree took two awards this year at a recent show.

 This particular type of Juniper makes a very good ground cover in almost any garden and also can very well be trained with time and patients into a stunning bonsai as you can see from the picture here.

 The juniper here is over thirty five years old and is named after a nursery that founded the variety back in the year 1914 in Ct. It is often times more commonly called Blue Rug and will take full sun in most types of soils in your garden if planted as ground cover. But of course if your going to train one into bonsai like the shrub here has been trained then you will want fast draining soil and keep it well watered but not totally wet either.

Typically in very hot weather I will water my bonsai twice a day and mist in between. This means on days above 80 degrees for my garden and yes it does take some time but anything worth doing is worth doing right or just do not bother at all if you do not wish to spend the time to take care of your plants.

 Like most Junipers it will do its best in full sun, however it will also tolerate shaded areas with part sun in the garden.

 Pests are possibly scale and other than that pretty much none known and if any at all then I personally would use my favorite bug spray to get rid of them. Not much pruning on this particular plant once it was well established. I do thin it out a little latter in the year around June in my area.

  As with most all junipers they tend to be slow growers anyway so not really a whole lot of pruning at least as a bonsai that is, but left in the garden as a shrub then you will need to contain it or it will over run an area quick.

 I use my own personal soil mix and you can read about my recommend mix in yet another article on this blog.

 This tree will be worked down into a much smaller pot this next season but for now it is what it is and will remain in this pot. It was too late this season too work into a smaller pot so I left it alone for this year. I simply had other tress in my collection that needed my attention and there were just to many that I had to work on and so this one got skipped this year.

 It does happen sometimes not deliberate of course but sometimes it just can not be worked like you would want because with a large collection like I have you simply run out of time. Any tree like this should never be majorly worked past spring as it just gets too hot for any repotting to take place.

 These junipers are crawlers and creepers if left unattended for any long periods and are truly used in most gardens as ground cover and they have a kind of blue cast in the winter months and they also grow berries and this can add to the interest of the plant.

 You would spend many years getting a trunk like the one here, which by the way has been lime sulfured to create the Shari look and in point of fact even perceives more age than the tree truly is.

 So if you plan to bonsai one then just be patient and take your time to achieve the look you want and not necessarily what you see here either, it can be what ever you like.. It could very well be full cascade or even a half cascade or wind swept or many other styles, maybe even upright just decide on a style and then go for it. 

 This particular shrub now trained to look like a tree was originally growing straight up and then we had a very large amount of snow one year and it bent the main branch back down and in almost a reverse position making the main branch twist backwards back and up over the plant giving the trunk an even more interesting look and style.

  So it was then decided to leave it in that position rather than trying too bring it back straight. So mother nature decided the style of this tree and she did a pretty good job if you ask me.

 You can find this juniper in most nurseries and I hope you find one and start your own as bonsai as they do make a special one for sure. Try too start with at least a one gallon size and work it from there.

Thanks, for reading,
By: Harold Yearout ©Copyright 2014 Harold Yearout All Rights Reserved for more information feel free to contact me: h.yearout@gmail.com
 



 

The great Hornbeam as bonsai.

 Hi everybody sorry there have been no posts but its really been hard for me this spring.  I have been so busy in the garden tending the bonsai and repotting  and trimming and wiring, and then being  out and about to some nurseries and all that I simply have not done my job and posted any new content.

 However I have lots of new stuff coming into its own this year and yet more to come so there will of course be many more articles, pictures and new content and things to look at and ponder.

 One new addition to my garden this year was this  Hornbeam. A simply awesome bonsai really well trained.

 I purchased this bonsai early on in the spring from another persons collection even before it had begun to bud up and so all I could see was the limb structure but that was enough for me to no that I truly wanted this tree for my collection. Normally I do not purchase bonsai I create and grown them my own that is that idea of the hobby in the first place but I simply could not resist this tree.


 Well now it has come into its full leaf and it is absolutely awesome at least to me any way.. This tree is about 35 years old and is doing fine and of course I will need to repot it next year as I did not do any thing with it this year but bring it home and watch it leaf out. As you can see I hope at least from the picture it is a nice sized tree with a really wonderful full nice limb structure also a awesome root system and its rooted in a very shallow pot less than one inch in depth. This tree would also have been a real good subject for a root over the rock style of bonsai, just take a good close look at the root system above the soil level and I think you would agree.

There are three varieties of Hornbeam a Korean Hornbeam Japanese Hornbeam and Common Hornbeam. I'm not sure what variety I have yet but will certainly find out after some more research.

 Hornbeam used out side of bonsai materiel are of course very popular in parks and in major cities around the globe as they do make wonderful trees for city parks and the like and they are short and squat at best and hardly ever mature to be over 30' feet and they make great additions as bonsai also to almost any one's collection. Perhaps if you visit a park or campus of some collage in your area you will find a Hornbeam growing and you could easily take a cutting from a branch with some very new fresh growth and then try and root it to make your self a bonsai.

 They will require a lot of close attention to watering in the hotter summer mounts and try not to let it dry out ever in that time of the year.  Keep it well watered and fed and you should have a nice rewarding tree for many years to come. Common Hornbeam can take the cold but the Japanese and Korean variety will do much better put into a protected area during the winter or housed over in a green house.

 This tree is deciduous and it will loose its leaves in the winter and look a little bare but oh what a show in the spring and right on through till fall. I use a well balanced all around fertilizer granular released on this and many other of my trees it works best for me however there are may varieties on the market and its only a matter of preference as to what you use but do feed all your trees through the regular growing season.

 I personally would find it best if any wiring is to be done on this kind of tree then do it in the winter on these trees as then all the foliage is gone and you can simply see what your doing a whole lot easier and take much less chance of damaging any of the nice finer foliage or limbs also be careful if you can too try and wire around bud nodes as not to damage them for any new growth coming in the next season.

 I would also make real sure you remove any wiring on the limbs before the tree starts to bud up in early spring as that is the most critical time for limbs to be growing and swelling and the wire could sink in and do damage to your limbs and not only that but leave you with unsightly wire marks and scars that would indeed take years to heal over if at all.

 Pests are unknown to me at this time for the hornbeam but if any they would be few and treated just like any other bonsai in mine or your collection. I personally use systemic on all of my bonsai as it seems to drive any bugs and or other pests away completely. Systemic may be found in most garden and nursery stores. Make sure to read the direction on package but if you do not wish to waste a lot of time reading all that tiny print just be sure to dilute it well down with lots of water added to a very small amount of the solution and add to a spray bottle and mist your tree and or plant with it and stand down wind as it really smells bad but does the job.

 I used less than a cap full of the solution and the rest water in my one quart spray bottle and it works just fine driving nearly any bug in the garden totally away and that is the intended job at least for me.  

 Pruning of this tree is done usually in mid summer for me anyway because at that time it has leafed up enough for me to see where I need to trim back and that is done on the ends of the branches making a cut of one or more leaves back too a couple of leaves and then new nodes will appear out from the two remaining leaves to make new leaves appear.

By the way the red looking flowers you see in the picture are not part of the hornbeam it is a climbing rose that is next to my fenced in garden in the front. At some point down the road if I ever get time I need to build a giant light box for taking pictures of the plants. But then I do have some bonsai that are so big that it would take more than just my self even to move them around as they are very heavy indeed, but that's another story. LOL.

 Anyway I hope you find the picture to your liking and I hope you will try a hornbeam if you have not already.

Thanks, for reading,
By: Harold Yearout ©Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved for more information feel free to contact me: h.yearout@gmail.com
 

       







 

Making your own bonsai soil

 I have to totally apologize to my readers as I had written a nice article on making up your own bonsai soil even including pictures of the products and where to get them only to have found out that yes indeed they were available last season but then when I went out yesterday in search of the same products they were not being sold any more at either of the main locations where I had purchased them before and so after some more research I found that I needed to indeed find new materials in general and just try too forget any specific brand names as company's do come and go any more so fast it seems a waste of my time looking for certain brand names.

 Bearing in mind of course that not all of us are living around big city's and sometimes its real hard for us too find what we need and want so to try and make it fairly simple I have put together a pretty basic bonsai mix and you should be able to find all these materials nearly anywhere in the world if you do a little home work and look for them.

 So with that in mind it was back to the drawing board searching out some basic material in my city with out any specific brand names. I did find what I wanted and I'm still going to pass on too you what I consider to be a very basic mix for 90% of all bonsai.

 Now to start with we have what we call Inorganic and there are organic mixes for bonsai . So what is the difference you may ask, good question so here is the answer. An all inorganic mix will consist of only rock like materials such as lava rock, crushed granite, course sands,  or pumice, of course the list can go on and on so the bottom line here is that if you wish to have an all inorganic mix then you do not wish to have any other material in the mix other than a stone or clay based substance and with no organic materials involved at all.

 While yet on the other hand an organic mix will have perhaps some peat, pine park fines, and or some other types of general compost mixed in the mix to help stimulate the plant, acting as sort of a food for the plant. Although your plants truly need none of the later if you fertilize the plants regular during the growing season and you should be doing that anyway.

 What were really trying to do here is create a mix that is fast draining and yet I do not want to sound  contradictory you also need a mix that will retain some of the water and release it later. So a good choice for an Inorganic mix is as follows.

 1: Pumice, or Red lava rock, or Decomposed granite and possibly some course sand if you like or you may in point of fact use all three of the above rock based products as I do and forget the sand.

 Now for an organic mix we will use the same as above and add some sort of pine bark or some people use Orchid bark or other type of compost material but Orchid bark is rather expensive and most people like too keep the cost down and yet still obtain a good result.

  So most other medium grade compost materials will work but bear in mind all of this material should be screened to obtain a uniform size and also to help eliminate the fines and to clean it. Now both mixes organic or inorganic will work for most all of your plants but your conifers will do better in the inorganic mix and your deciduous trees will do better in the organic mix. So then there could be argument as to why we would need both or even use both and to that I will simply say its a matter of choice rather than any necessity.

   I believe that the main thing most of us miss here is that it will depend on where you live and the climate where you live that is going to dictate what you should be using as a mix for your plants. I live in the Great Northwest in the state of Oregon and trust me here in the winter months mother nature is our constant garden hose so the key here is to get all that water out quick so the plants roots can breathe and not rot and so it makes perfect sense that water will pass through a medium based rock substance rather than be left behind in a bunch of organic bark based compost products that will retain a lot of water and stay wet for days or even weeks at a time.

 I personally use for all my tress and plants the inorganic mix and simply fertilize my bonsai on more of a regular regime and for get about the organic materials altogether.

  Now as I stated above you will want to wash all of this material to get out any dusty dirt and or other materials that are not wanted in the mix and then screen it all so you can obtain a good uniform  particle size for your finished mix. I use five gallon buckets and put all my products one in each bucket and then as I dip out each along the way and wash it screen it too get a finished material.

 I save the screened finished material in yet another bucket and what is left over is most often too fine and so it is saved and set aside for later use as a base starter mix for cuttings or seeds.

 Here is a basic set of sifting screens that I use and they consist of three sizes of screens and range from a large screen then medium and then of course a small and I always strive for the finished material to be of a medium size or about the size of a normal pencil eraser or half that size will also be alright in your mix but anything smaller should be passed on to the final screen or have totally passed through and is not wanted in the bonsai mix.

 Once you have all three of your materials in one final bucket then of course mix them all together well and your finished. So once again Inorganic mix is as follows.

 1: Pumice
 2: Red Lava Rock
 3: Decomposed Granite
 4: Optional of course is Small pencil eraser sized crushed rock of any brand or kind and or coarse sand. The mix should be not too large and not totally small either a good gauge is to lay an ordinary penny in or near the mix and the materials used should be about 1/4th the size of the coin. Here below would be what a mix should look like when finished.

  Most all conifers will need to be re-potted about every three to five years depending on the age of the plant younger trees will need to be re-potted more often while yet older trees less often.

 Deciduous trees such as maples flowering and or fruit tress will need to be re-potted every year and or every other year.

 I do not endorse or recommend any pactiular product here and only offer the items that I have wrote about as my choice of material used for my bonsai. Your products can or may be totally different, the choice and final dession is always yours to make as too what you may wish to use for your own bonsai.

 If your unsure or question if the mix is safe or good then I recommend that you only plant a very inexpensive small tree or shrub in the mix first and then follow its progress for at least one entire season and then if your satisfied that your plant survived and is doing well than it would be safe to assume that this mix is safe and can be used on a nearly any bonsai. We would further assume that now our job is done and we need not not use any other materials or search for any other, this is true too some extent however there are other alternatives and or products too research and experiment with and who knows but with time and extermination you may find or stumble on too yet another good bonsai soil mix..

 All of these products should be solid and not deteriorate or break down to any muddy substance and if for some reason they do then you have not washed it proper or purchased something other than what I have mentioned here.

Your end result is to put together a fast draining soil and still have one that will be absorbent enough to retain some of the water being passed through and not totally dry out in at least a day and if it does because temperatures are too hot and your material is drying out too fast then you will need to water more often even perhaps twice in a day in the hotter summer mounts.

Watering bonsai is a very critical factor in there survival or death so if your not sure then feel the soil and if its damp too the touch at the top of your pot then you should be alright and if not then watering may be advised. It never hurts to get your fingers dirty and scratch around a little in the soil the feel will tell you if your doing your job right, dry is a warning sign, moist is good, while mushy or soggy is a sign of too much water so just practice you will get the hang of it.

Thanks, for reading,
By: Harold Yearout ©Copyright 2014 Harold Yearout All Rights Reserved for more information feel free to contact me: h.yearout@gmail.com