An “owner’s manual” for starter bonsai that we sell at our Annual Shows

An overview of what happens to your bonsai and tasks you need to perform over the course of a year

Bonsai has undergone a long evolution since its beginnings in China. This article gives a detailed account of how bonsai has changed over the centuries.

Bonsai have styles? Yes, they do and what all that means can be confusing when you are just starting out in bonsai. Learning about these styles is a good starting point for understanding what a bonsai style is and what it represents.

Finding bonsai material can be one of the most difficult and frustrating aspects of bonsai for beginners.

Identifying Suitable Material For Bonsai

Thoughts On Shopping For Bonsai

There are many different soil mixtures used to plant bonsai.

Bonsai Soil Basics
What Potting Soil to use

Watering is the most important task you do to care for your bonsai. It seems easy - just pour some water on top of the plant or immerse it in a pail of water and you're done, right? Unfortunately it's a bit more complicated,

There's a lot of opinions about fertilizer. Our goal is to give basic information and guidance that will help your bonsai thrive. This article won't debate whether "organic" is better than "inorganic" or the pros and cons of different brands.

Bonsai trees are susceptible to both insects and fungus.

Most people new to bonsai don't know about Mycorrhiza and the important role they play in a tree's ability to feed itself.

Nitrogen Transformations in Soil, Water, and Air

The container that a bonsai lives in is an integral part of both its artistic appeal and its horticultural health. It is the restricted size of the container that keeps the tree small.

Selecting The Right Pot
Pots For Trees In Development
Securing The Tree In The Pot

Repotting is the process of periodically pruning the roots of the bonsai and refreshing the soil. When and how to repot will depend on many factors, but the core procedure is the same.

Basic steps
Timing of repotting
Care after repotting

Deciduous and broadleaf evergreen bonsai must be repotted at the correct season.

One of the first things people attending their first bonsai demonstration notice is that we seem to use a LOT of tools. If you're interested in bonsai as a hobby you might might be concerned about needing to buy a lot of expensive tools - and which tools. Let us put your mind at ease. You don't need a lot of tools to begin in bonsai.

Read about wiring to add movement to your tree.

The advantage of air-layering is to reduce the length of a trunk, to grow a better nebari (surface root), to create a large tree quickly, to create a new plant that has exact characteristics of the parent plant.

Most cuttings are pretty easy with the proper environmental conditions.