Italian Stone Pine (pinus pinea) - UPDATE

 This excerpt is from the Photo/History page for Italian Stone Pine; click to see full history of this little tree.

I have been remiss on keeping this page up to date; part of the problem is that this pine makes very little demand for attention. He handled the summer well, tolerating 100+ temps without complaint & becoming a permanent fixture on my front wall. Leading up to the re-pot, "Stoner" has exhibited none of the problems associated with the soil compaction encountered in some other specimens.

This tree has very shallow roots & he hasn't had time to establish much in the way of a rootball yet, so I've introduced a large rock to help stabilize him until his roots grow a little more. Since the repot, he has exhibited a small grow th spurt, buds swelling, more branches developing candles & back-budding on several branches.

ADDENDUM: I wired my first tree today & it was much easier than I thought. You must use wire that is
suitable & compatible with your goal, however, as it is just as easy to damage a young tree as not. And, you will only be wiring young trees, whose branches are pliable & have not hardened yet.

I have watched enough YouTube videos to know the general technique..what surprised me was how flexible & easy to apply it was. In the space of a morning, I defined an overall shape & style that this tree will have for the rest of his life, if I leave the wire in place long enough for his branches to mature. The trick is to wrap the wire tightly enough, but not so tightly that it will cut into the bark as the tree grows and to monitor that no damage is being done, as time goes on.

I am thinking that this wire will need to stay on the tree for about 6 weeks..by that time, the spindly branches will have thickened & hopefully permanently assumed the configuration I imposed on them.

Dwarf Pomegranate (Punica Granatum 'Nana') - UPDATE

 This is an exerpt from the Photo/History for the Dwarf Pomengranate; click to read

I purposefully left the Pomegranate until last, or next to  last, to repot with Bonsai soil. Yesterday, I pulled him out of his pot & was amazed at the root growth..he was not root bound, but he had feeder roots extended to the full length & width of the tray. Unlike most of the other trees, his soil was not compacted.

I've been routinely cleaning-up & trimming roots on all of the other plants, as the repot progressed, so I didn't hesitate to do the same for the Pomegranate. The bottom line, he didn't like it. I did prune him harder than I intended & I remembered, after the fact, that this tree is still very young. After repotting with fresh Bonsai soil, I watered him & within 15 minutes, saw the consequences of my actions. His foliage went limp, the mature leaves hanging down, the new growth collapsed, the color of his previously orange pod turned brown..I think I might have killed him.   

Thursday, November 12, 2026

HE LIVES! It was nip-&-tuck there for a couple of days, but I think the Pomegranate's going to be OK. I pruned dead foliage yesterday evening, but I don't think that had anything to do with his recovery. This morning, I could see from his general demeanor that he is starting to stand straighter, leaves are less droopy & he became visibly more erect as the sun warmed him. 

Formosa Azalea (Rhododendron × ‘Formosa’) - UPDATE

 This is an exerpt from the Photo/History page for the Formosa Azalea Click to read.

The Formosa produced 2 flowers, larger than I expected & has been happily blooming since the repot. He seems healthy & happy under the trees, getting some full sun in the morning & dappled shade the rest of the day.

I am still torn between cutting the dual trunks & creating two trees, which would be sparsely foliated, but could be grown & developed, over time.

I will continue fertilizing the Formosa as long as he shows new growth & until his fall bloom is spent. I don't know how to account for the vigor this little tree shows, but I'm not complaining.

Japanese Maple (Acer Palmatum) 'Monrovia' 2.0 - UPDATE

 This excerpt is from the latest entry to the Photo/History page for JM 'Monrovia' 2.0; follow link to see full history for this little tree.

I had resolved not to touch the Japanese Maple until it was dormant, this winter. Then I watched a YouTube video, by a professional grower, on overwintering for Acers & it changed my mind on the subject. The advice given was NOT to wait until the tree is dormant to prune &/or re-pot, as was my plan for the 'Monrovia'.

 It makes sense..given that the tree is basically asleep, it will have no natural defenses to protect it from bacteria in the soil infecting & retarding the regrowth of feeder roots or larger roots that might be pruned or completely removed. He also surmised that the trauma could interfere with the plants natural circadian rhythms, "waking it up" prematurely to respond to any intervention..his advice was to re-pot in fall or wait until next spring, in keeping with the cultivar's natural growth pattern.

The 'Monrovia' was overdue for a look-see,underground, at how the tree had fared over the last several months, since the "chop" & complete re-invigoration & rebirth of this specimen & coupled with the need to re-pot nearly every tree in my collection, I went ahead & "did the deed", yesterday. 

The pruning & repot went smoothly; like many of the trees I've repotted over the last month, the new root growth was sparse (due to soil compaction), but I did some major surgery on a couple of large roots & removed what was left of the tap root, which is no longer needed. 

The pruning allowed me to fit him into a bonsai training tray, where he will remain now for the foreseeable future & I hope continue to amaze me with his super-powers of rejuvenation & restoration.

Leyland Cypress (Cupressus × leylandii) - UPDATE

 This exerpt is the latest entry to the Photo/History page for the Leyland Cypress; follow link to access full history of this little tree.

If you look back at the earlier photos of the Leylandii, you will see that after the initial pruning to expose the trunk & branches, the primary features of this tree were the 'S' shape & 'dual plumes' topping the tree.

After several months & a lot of argument with myself, I realized that they had to go, as well as the inner-trunk that had originally been the main trunk line. Sometimes, you have to just close your eyes & cut & that was the case when I shortened it overall by roughly 50%.

The result is not just a shorter tree, but a tree that is more open & airy..gone are the 'plumes'..gone is the 'S' shape, but, in spite of my fears, a new tree has emerged that to my eye is more approachable. 

I have never considered a Cypress in the same context as one might consider pines, or other conifers that tower majestically. My minds' eye sees Cypress as sprawling, rather than towering, with luxurious branching that shades the adjacent spaces gracefully.

The eye is drawn down to take notice of the lower trunk  & branching, but most of all, to the luxurious bark that is possibly the most attractive feature of this tree.

The real beauty of trees, in my opinion, is not necessarily the leaves or canopy..foliage comes & goes & can be pruned to almost any shape one wishes. I want to see the "bones"..the structure & the way it flows should be complimentary, then the color & consistency of the bark, base & branches.