Pruning Up Some Small Trees, The Bonsai Zone, Feb 2022

I'm pruning up the remaining small trees in the greenhouse before spring.
I prune my Cotoneaster, Zelkova, Black Pine, Beauty Berry and my Virginia Creeper.
I have big dreams for my small trees!
To see the Black Pine repotting, click on the video here...
• Japanese Black Pine
#TheBonsaiZone

[@arnoldmmbb]

You are the best Nigel!!

[@brennan353]

Always fascinating to watch the father of the Canadian school of bonsai art at work 😉

[@marysoldeeley2218]

I love when you do a little trim and all that's left is a stub. Makes me more brave to do cuts that make me sweat... Always learning!

[@rebel4466]

"little trim" -> tree gone lol

[@jiancailim234]

Getting used to it

[@Stettafire]

21:15 A very good idea to wear safety glasses. This summer I pruned a rose bush and a shard of branch flung up and hit me in the eye. Thankfully after a few weeks it healed up ok but could've been nasty. I consider that a warning shot and now any pruning and I wear my safety glasses

[@johnlindell5024]

So here I go🔥

[@basicallybonsai2532]

My partner and I now have a game of where we try to guess which branches Nigel's going to take off before he makes the cuts lol It feels very exciting when I get it right!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Sounds like a good drinking game?!!

[@marklennonquiamco2091]

I love this channel!

[@redzepplin7397]

Up and at em!!!!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Ficus Friday coming soon, I should get the video up in about 2 hours!

[@danutashayler34]

Cotoneaster is not the easiest of perennial shrubs to work with as Bonsai. So this is very interesting and your first cuts look really good. That Virginia Creeper will be interesting in its growing considering the natural way it grows. And 17 below is pretty chilly. Lovely spending time in your class.

[@Yurup]

Cotoneaster = instant like

[@danbehrens1621]

I’m happy that the big Royal oak gets to live on with you. It’s kinds sad when big old trees die.

[@donmurky]

Thanks for another lovely video, Nigel!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Glad you enjoyed it Donya!

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

Great pruning tutorial with the great surgical skills of Dr. Saunders.

[@Tulus330]

I LOVE BONSAI indonesai🇮🇩

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

Brrrrrr! Now that is cold. Hot tea to take the chill out of the bones is in order for the good doctor.

[@Denkar11]

I saw you had a new video out, and it reminded me that I hadn't checked the seeds in my fridge last weekend. I checked them all out and got 5 out of 7 apple seeds sprouted! I quickly put them in a pot (same kind as your Japanese elm), and can't wait to see if anything comes up! The japanese cherry and the maple seeds are still not sprouted, but here's crossing my fingers.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Wonderful!

[@sbragaglia]

What a great way to start the weekend! Thank you, Nigel!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@BlueSkyBonsai]

Hi Nigel, I really enjoy these pruning videos 👍🏻

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks Dave, it's Ficus Friday here, so another video is coming "tonight" (for me)!

[@BlueSkyBonsai]

@@TheBonsaiZone looking forward to it tomorrow!

[@dabblingwithbonsai]

My hands are itchy to get some pruning done on my hardy trees, but I'll have to wait, since the weather is a fiddling between - 20 - +2C still. And we have another blizzard at the moment ❤️

[@TheBonsaiZone]

It's hard not to be thinking of spring, a blizzard takes you back to reality!!

[@LetsDoBonsai]

Some more really good pruning to more little trees really looking forward to how they respond, need to get mine pruned up now!!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

It's nice getting the little trees on track, hopefully by the end of summer, they'll be looking even better!

[@LetsDoBonsai]

@@TheBonsaiZone Ive been shopping today i will do a quick video in a minute to introduce my new trees to the channel

[@TheBonsaiZone]

@@LetsDoBonsai I'm looking forward to it Scott!

[@empret7704]

Good luck with the cold 🥶

[@baldyeti]

“The Freezing Zone” vs “The Bonsai Zone” The struggle is real!

[@BostonBonsaiIdiot]

This is going to sound weird, but I don’t remember that cottoneaster. Will have to go check out the archives. Looking good!

[@BlueSkyBonsai]

Hey Colin! Cotoneaster is another species on my long list of "when I've got more time/space" .. only 10 yrs till retirement 😂 ps. pretty sure the spanish authorities confiscated the DRW... major bummer.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I think it has two video's, I should have defoliated it when I pruned it the last two times!

[@BostonBonsaiIdiot]

@@BlueSkyBonsai it’s on my “why is it always so expensive when I see it in the store” list! Those bastards…don’t they appreciate a fine bonsai addiction??

[@paulschaefer5241]

You refer to it as being a little gnarly at the base of the trunk. That's not necessarily bad. the small bumps on the trunk look something like burls. these are often seen on older trees.

[@TeamFishweights]

Snip snip! I bought a little cotoneaster mallsai about 9 months ago, and now I've decided I need to rebuild the whole thing basically from scratch. Im leaving the red berries on for now and will give it a restyling in winter like you've done. I hope im making the right choice 😕

[@connor4069]

Glad to see the coralberry (symphoricarpos orbiculatus) doing well. It is actually a coralberry not beautyberry, I think they are closely related though. Shame the main trunk died back, you live and learn lol. The one on the side is connected to the main trunk, they send out lateral suckers underneath the soil, similiar to an aspen. Could definitely use a repot to center the new main tree :)

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks Connor, good to know! I'll have to try and make a deadwood composition with the trees!

[@BONSAICERIACHANNEL]

Hadirrr bos

[@leszekrybak5067]

Kind of strange about the Mother Royal Oak not doing well... Oaks are one of the longest living trees, probably the longest living deciduous tress. Around and some above 1,000 years... This one is not 100 years old yet... wondering what is happening to it... I think I planted at least 50 acorns from it as well.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

It may be the road construction, they dug up the street close to it or some natural die back from insects or weather? They did have to prune some larger dead branches off it last year. Hopefully it will recover, it's the last one in the city. I heard there were 3 planted originally!

[@kevinrandell5189]

Foist 55!🧧

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Nice!

[@igorgulco6608]

Hello, Nigel! Have you thought about having a plastic layer inside the glass greenhouse for insulation in winter time. Kind of like double glass windows work: having air in between two glasses. That might help to keep the temperature a bit higher and/or decrease electricity costs for heating. Thanks for your videos! PS: gathered a bag of acorns this autumn for propagation in spring :)

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Yes, I'll get a system going for the next winter!!

[@stefanraresmindirigiu1724]

Nigel, you could use some of the oak seedlings to make an oak forest. I have started one last fall because i thought there are not that many oak bonsai forests out there...

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I'll be sure to start a forest! I hope to have a lot of seedlings in spring!!

[@truptigaming5850]

I also go

[@johnrb9397]

Why dont you leave the lower branches on the pine to thicken the trunk?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I prefer a more slim trunk, I'm not one for the exaggerated tapered trunks!

[@nickolasburns8788]

Don’t know if you’ll see this, but I just bought a deciduous Magnolia tree and wanted to know if you had any tips for transforming it into a bonsai?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I've seen some beautiful Magnolia bonsai, but I have no experience with them. I'd see if there is anything online!

[@dubsydabster]

Foist

[@TheBonsaiGarden]

Foirth

[@dubsydabster]

Hey I like it!

[@komorebibonsaigarden6324]

This isn’t how you prune a Japanese Black Pine folks. Nigel I do love your work and I’ve never commented on your videos but this is definitely not how you prune a Japanese Black Pine. I really hope it makes it and for those that don’t know anything about Japanese Black Pines don’t do what Nigel did lol. I would study more with this particular species good sir 🤪. Come and see me in Saint Augustine, Florida when my Bonsai garden is open which should be open in a few months.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

What did I do wrong?

[@kevinrandell5189]

You could never do anything wrong. because you are always willing to learn

[@kevinrandell5189]

This user posted a comment about your Brazilian raintree 7 months ago. 🤔🧐

[@komorebibonsaigarden6324]

@@TheBonsaiZone hey Nigel I don’t want you to think I’m bashing you or anything I watch your channel every morning lol. Have been for years now and I absolutely love how you video your journeys and your style and flair when it comes to Bonsai. With Japanese Black Pines we don’t make big branch cuts until late summer to early Autumn. The reason has to do with Sap flow. During that time the trees sap flow is starting to slow down allowing us to make larger cuts without sacrificing energy loss to other parts of the tree. Early spring the tree is working on waking up and getting that sap flowing through the tree allowing it to disperse energy evenly. Making a big cut like that now could result in the trees loss of sap out of that particular area you cut back hard which then in turn doesn’t allow the sap to get enough energy to the top of the tree. When working with people who train under Ryan Neil or Boon you get some great insight on these magnificent trees. Keep up the great work. I hope to some day make a visit to Canada to see all your trees 🤗. My favorite is still your Larch Forest I think lol.

[@komorebibonsaigarden6324]

@@kevinrandell5189 ya caught me 😉 soooo I may have commented once in the past lol. I might know a thing or 2 about Pithecellobium Tortums.

[@Zatarain21]

bro all your trees are "small trees" lmao

[@TheBonsaiZone]

True!