Today At The Tunnel. 31 August 2023

It is that time of year when certain things need to be done to take advantage of the behaviour of some tree species.

Many trees are putting out good fresh root growth after summer and can be moved to slightly larger pots if care is taken.

Air layers can be separated if they have enough roots to support the new plant on it's own. I use a 100% Akadama or a 4:1 mix with grit to pot the air layers up. The open texture of the soil ensure rapid root growth at this time of year so there will be plenty of root to get the tree through winter. A little protection is recommended for the first year until they are more established.

August is a good month for taking cuttings from juniper species.

I always use a rooting gel for junipers and Hinoki cypress cuttings. I make my own rooting gel but I have used Clonex and had good results too.

Sekka Hinoki are getting very popular in the UK now so I have been propagating as many as I can from the few mother stock plants I have. They will be ready soon. I like to make sure they have a good set of roots on them before selling them.

I have approached a couple of bonsai tool manufactures and asked if they can make this new design of bonsai tweezer I thought up. It combines the strength, length and grip of the classic pine tweezer with the sharp pointed dexterity that comes from a swan neck tweezer. So far one has said yes if he can get about 300 people to show an interest. Time will tell.

COMING SOON.

I have been trying out these small wire cutters to see how they perform and I have to say I am very impressed. In my humble opinion I think they are a better buy than any similar brand currentlyavailable in the UK.

Designed to be kept in the hand while you do your wiring work so you dont have to keep putting them down and picking them up all the time.

They look like the original Masakuni brand which now cost around £100+ but they are a lot cheaper.

I have seen these being sold for £40+ but I expect to retail them at £24 and in my opinion they are a great value for money and a good alternative for the Masakuni. They are made from a very similar high quality stainless steel hardened to HRC55. Very easy and comfortable to use.

A word of caution when buying what appears to be bargain bonsai online.

I got caught out with 5 Japanese Black Pines recently. They looked good in the advertising photo but when they arrived and the clingfilm was removed from the pots, they just fell out of their pots to reveal the truth. They had only recently been put in those pots and were not secured into them. They had very few active roots growing and were as dry as a bone.

One has died within a week of getting it and time will tell if my efforts to save the other four pays off. A very disappointing purchase all told.