Practical Art of Bonsai by John Hanby

Author:John Hanby
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Crowood Press

I currently use Naruko from Japan. Larger food pellets are placed under baskets anchored to the soil.

In my early bonsai years I used traditional chemical plant foods from the local garden centre, basically because this was all I had access to. Now, you will find that there are numerous products specifically formulated for feeding bonsai available from the specialist nurseries or online. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions with regard to the amount of food given and the frequency of the applications. For many years now my feeding regime has been based on a monthly application of a slow-release, balanced, granular fertilizer. Nitrogen will be fairly quickly washed out of the soil with intense watering, so it is important that we replenish it on a regular basis. Feeding on the first day of every month is an easy routine to adopt and to remember. I would supplement this around the middle of the month with a liquid-based, foliar feed.

Problems, Pests and Diseases

Keeping your tree strong and healthy will help it to avoid attracting problems in the first place and, if it does succumb to a pest or disease, it will be in a much better position to fight it off and survive. Bonsai trees are prone to all the normal pests and diseases that you are likely to encounter both in your garden and in the wild. Unlike garden and wild plants, they have a diligent servant keeping a regular watchful eye over their general wellbeing, which should ensure that any problems are detected quickly and dealt with before they can pose a serious threat.

Aphids

Greenfly, blackfly and whitefly are more prevalent during the spring and the summer months. Sometimes in spring, fresh young shoots take on the guise of thick, black stems engulfed in blackfly. They often occur on hidden low and internal branches, especially under a dense canopy, making them harder to spot until the infestation is well established. Maples seem to be particularly vulnerable. They often leave behind a sticky honeydew excretion on leaves and needles, which sometimes can also take on a black sooty appearance, especially in damp conditions. It is often this stickiness on the upper surface of leaves that actually alerts you to the attack in the first place. White, fluffy, woolly aphids can often form dense groups on the underside of beech leaves. Woolly aphid-like infestations can also be found on pines and larch.

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