Tree Tips

May 2026

some kudos & thanks

The Cherry Blossom Festival was terrific. Lots of members participated both Saturday and again on Sunday. I want to thank everyone who contributed their time, trees and enthusiasm to the festival. I worked on three boxwoods and talked to a lot of interested potential bonsai enthusiasts.

I want to also thank Ray Stagner for picking up and returning the backdrops to Drew Tucker’s warehouse in Salinas.

spring, shaping, & wiring

The days are longer and will be getting warmer. The sun angle has also been sneaking up on us, so we need to get into watering mode now, in earnest, as the growing season is in full swing. My shade cloth is up and operating!

May is a big time in bonsai. For all except the refined trees, we want to wire the first few inches of the new shoots once they have hardened off. This is the area that we will cut back to in the fall. This is the beginning or continuation of ramification for the branches, and will pay big dividends later on if we do the work now. Don’t cut back and pinch these shoots now. (The exception is, if the longest shoots reach out past where you want, pinch the terminal shoot but not the inside shoots behind it. We need those to fill our branch with secondary and tertiary branches and twigs.) This will help to thicken and set the movement of the branch. Watch the wire so it doesn’t cut in. You may need to remove the wire and rewire with a larger size to keep the shape. If you didn’t cut back to where you need the branch to start, do so now and then when a new shoot appears and then hardens, wire it and follow the above procedure.

On trees that have the shape you want, let the shoot extend to four or five leaves and then cut back to about two. Or when there are shoots extended, cut back beyond the beginning of the shoot and into the woody branch, and wire any new shoots that pop from there into the new branch tips. Many times we need to do this to get the taper back under control.

On developing trees that need thickening of trunk or branches, loosely wire and shape the beginning of the branch and let the tips run wild. This should give you a section of branch that you can cut back later that will have shape and girth. But watch out for the wire digging in. It may only take a matter of a few weeks while it sets.

tree specific tips

Black pine: Juan will be doing a program at the first Thursday meeting discussing black pine care and shaping. Should be an eye-opening program. Don’t worry about overly long candles. We will cut the candles from the end of this month through June depending on when the needles come about half an inch out and pull away from their sheaths. Feed up to the time you candle cut.

White pine: Pinch off all but 4 sets of needles on succulent healthy candles and none on weaker ones. We will not be cutting the candles entirely off as in black pines.

Spruces, cedars, redwoods and the like: Pinch off 2/3 of the succulent new shoot as it emerges with the fleshy parts of your finger tips (not the nails).

Azaleas: if you wish to enjoy the flowers, wait until about 3/4 of the blooms have finished before stripping all the buds off and cutting back to two shoots and two leaves. 🌳