Tree Tips
February 2026
Have you finished repotting?
Continue to transplant your trees. Do it now! It’s been really warm recently and we may have an early Spring.
Healthy deciduous trees that have a good base in which healthy radial roots occupy the inner core do not need to be bare-rooted. Just remove the exterior edges and long, gangly roots and the circling mass on the bottom. Weak deciduous trees can be partially bare-rooted, removing the field soil on ½ or 1/3 of the rootball, replacing it with fresh soil, and leaving the rest of the root ball intact. You can get the rest cleaned out when you transplant in a year or two. Conifers should not be totally bare-rooted, but at least one section of old field soil should be cleaned out if any still remains - just like in the weak deciduous trees above.
See “Tree Tips” from January 2026 for a refresher :)
winter rains & soil saturation
This December we had a steady stream of soaking rain but very little since. Reservoirs are close to capacity but I read that the snow pack in the mountain water sheds is receding which may create a problem later in the year. I hope there is more on the way in February and March. Water quality for our trees is better when there is an abundant source and the water company doesn’t have to pump from more compromised sources.
When we have a rain storm, the soil becomes completely saturated and doesn’t need to be watered every day. When it’s dry and we water with a hose many times, it does not get saturated and will need to be watered more often. When the akadama on the surface turns light brown, it’s time to water. If there is too much rain, put a block under one side to tilt and drain the pot to ensure you don’t drown your trees.
Of course, winter rains mean… WEEDS! WEEDS!! WEEDS!!!
My yard looks like a yellow-flowered oxalis field. If anyone has some goats or sheep to lend me I might be able to keep up with the weeds. Next to squirrels…#*&! And my bonsai pots have some too. Put a reminder on your cell phone to check for weeds and other needs every week.
grafting
Grafting time is here for pines, junipers, and other species. This is the perfect time to graft. Keep some shoots toward the side of the tree to use as scions. But don’t use the very tip of a vigorously growing shoot as this can be too strong a scion for the graft to take. Plan out where you will be putting these grafts. If you will be grafting deciduous trees, cut some scions and put them in damp paper towels and in the crisper of your refrigerator. When the tree buds start moving, bring them out and use them for your grafts. Remember that you will have better success if the under stock’s sap is moving before the scions do.
branch cutting
When you cut back on branches this month, leave just a tiny stub for dieback. If you cut an entire branch, do not cut into the branch collar, which is that swollen area where the branch attaches to the trunk. Remember that the tree is getting active and will soon generate new growth to heal over the cuts.
pine needle removal
Now that the pine needles have matured and hardened, if you haven’t already removed them, it is time to take off most of the old needles and some of the newer needles on the plump and healthy shoots. This opens up the interior of the tree to the sun and airflow that is necessary to generate back budding. Remember to leave more needles on lower branches and interior buds; and if weak, don’t touch at all. Watch out for those that have already started new tiny buds. It would be a shame to accidentally pluck out those tiny buds you try so hard to generate.
dormant spray
Remember to use dormant spray again around Valentine’s Day. It is best to do it on a day that the temperature will not get above 55º, or you could burn the foliage.
Try copper spray or lime-sulfur, except on Ume, spruce, azaleas, and tropical trees, to protect deciduous, fruiting, and flowering species. You can also apply Cleary’s 3336 to help with fungal control. This will head off big problems later on.
refining your bonsai skills and collection
Remember the project we talked about five or six years ago when we were to work on trees at different stages of refinement? Start on a couple of trees now, develop last year’s starters, and refine a couple of last year’s developed trees as well as the six you refined a number of years ago. When you get multiples of nicely refined trees, keep the best and trade the extras for better and better trees. The key is to keep only the best of these for your own collection and really concentrate on them. Lose the rest. Don’t start working on another one until you have completed as much work as you can on one for this year.
Develop your techniques. Learn from what you did last year. Practice whenever you can, and you will succeed. Practice on workshop nights. Practice at home. Practice in your sleep.
Yamadori
Plan to collect some trees this year. Whether it is a neighbor’s pyracantha hedge or an oak dig or a trip to the mountains or desert for junipers, don’t pass up this great way to find super material. It also gives you a chance to observe the branching and twigging patterns of your favorite trees as they grow in nature. Collect interesting mosses and lichen in flats for use at show time. The best accent plants for a bonsai are those that are growing up alongside the tree in the wild.
kokufu-ten
Lastly, some of us will be going to Japan to attend the 100th anniversary of the Kokufu-Ten Bonsai exhibition. Hope they get great pictures of that and the sales area to share with us when they get back. Have fun, everyone!.🌳
