The Daily Chores I do at Herons Bonsai Nursery
I just show you all sorts of daily the chores I do at Herons Bonsai Nursery nursery. I don’t. Do just one video all about watering. I will just do videos about the sort of chores i’m doing so you can see that i’m watering, the nursery this is the back greenhouse and now that we are well into the third week in april, we have to Water, these trees virtually every day, sometimes twice a day and this this process – or this chore, goes on right up to october or november and, of course, being a closed greenhouse.
It’s, not exposed to the elements it doesn’t get the rain, so i have to water it right through into winter as well. So this is how i water nothing special. I put my thumb over the hose pipe don’t, get the camera wet and i let it fall gently on the trees.
The way i do it, i make the water go in an arc like this and fall. I don’t jet. The tree like that. I’ve. Seen some people jetted you mustn’t. Do that i just let it fall very gently on the trees coming in an arc and then falling down and, as you can see, everything is looking beautiful, nice and green.
I’m, going to talk about the trees in a minute when i put this post pipe down. So this is what i’m, going to do right through the nursery watering. This greenhouse takes usually about maybe 15 minutes to do everything and i make sure every pot gets its fair share of water.
It’s, not just efficient to water. The leaves and call it a day you’ve, got to make sure every pot gets a fair soaking of water. So this is how we water the trees. Okay, i’ll move on to something else now.
With my bonsai made easy ritual I always think that spring is perhaps the most exciting time of the year by the way. Although i’m wearing this hawaiian shirt, i’m cheating in a way because, underneath her hawaiian shirt, i’ve got my sweatshirt and i ‘ve got my woolly fleece, because in england the temperature is not as warm as you think it to be. Although it’s bright and sunny, the outside temperature is only like 10 degrees and it may rise to about 12 degrees.
But it looks warm and sunny, but in the greenhouse. The temperature in here is probably about more, like 17 to 20 degrees and because of that, the trees grow very fast and they have like a two month head start over everything.
So if i can just show you each of the trees in turn and explain to you what’s going on this was an air layering of a horn beam. This was severed last september and i potted the thing into a bigger pot and you can see the growth in the last two weeks.
It has made this much growth. Two four six leaves all. This is new growth, since i would say march. So this all what we call soft growth same with the maples. This is another alien air layering of arakawa, and you can see the flowers that are growing on it and i will also point out i had done a video about aphids on these trees.
So you keep getting aphids and i did spray a few days back and because i sprayed these aphids are now dead. You see all these black spots, they are dead insects, so i’ve sprayed them, so they should not be active, but they do come back again and if they come back again, i spray again.
I will now take you through each of these different trees, just to show the states of these trees. You can see these beautiful flowers. These are the crab apples and because they’re in the greenhouse, they’ve, been flowering about two or three weeks earlier than the crab apples out in the open.
I will show you something else which i like to show, and this is what happened when i put this tree out in the frost. Last week we had frost. In fact, every morning we still have frost. The temperature goes down to minus two minus three and i forgot to bring it back into the greenhouse, because this emerged in the greenhouse, and this is what we call frost damage.
So what you do when you get a tree that is damaged by frost. So all i do is i cut these leaves in fact i can cut all the leaves off and it will produce a new crop. If you don’t remove these damaged leaves, these leaves are in fact dead.
You will not get new leaves coming from that point, so you have to remove it if you are to get new leaves, so it is an early leaf pruning. In effect, you see that the frost only damaged certain parts.
This part must have been sheltered by something else. So in fact, i’m, going to remove every single leaf and hopefully in about three weeks time. I will get completely new leaves on this tree. So don’t worry when you get frost damage to the leaves of maples.
It is quite common for it to happen, but you just got to accept it and deal with it. Okay, now let’s. Look at some more trees, which are very interesting here by the way you notice that i have three tools with me: these are the standard pruning, shears or scissors.
The japanese call it satsukishias. This design of shears is called satsuki shears. These are really for root pruning, but i like the handle i like holding the handle like that, so i do most of my pruning with this and then, of course, the trusted falco number two secateurs i use as well.
So i carry these three tools around with me. Now let’s. Look at another tree. Look at this tree! Look at the growth that has happened. You must be wondering what’s happened. It’s gone crazy. Now all these shoots from here to there have been produced in the last four or five weeks, just shows how vigorous maples can be all in the last four or five weeks.
These shoots have grown now. Why am i growing them like this? I’m growing it because i want to make the tree strong, but if i wanted to make more refinement – because this is a very nice bonsai – really look at the trunk on that one.
And if i didn’t want it to get stronger. I will show you what i will do to this tree. I will just cut it back and this is how we produce ramification. A lot of people say. Can you show a video about ramification? Ramification is not rocket science.
All we are doing is pruning the ends of the trees and by pruning the ends. I cause more uh development. That means every shoot i prune it produces two new shoots at the end of that. Now this top, i’m, not going to cut out, because i wanted to be the new leader.
So i’m going to grow this tall, pull it up and hopefully it’ll make a thick strong leader. So this is how i would deal with this tree but, as i said, i can also leave it completely to just strengthen the tree.
So you don’t have to do anything to that and while we’re looking at the maples to show you how strong these maples now look at all that growth, this 30 centimeters or 12 inches has all grown in the last Two weeks, all this is soft growth, so maples are exceedingly strong trees same with these look at that all these shoots here are new shoots and they’ve all been produced in the last two weeks.
This is a deshojo and the deshojo has turned from that bright red color and is turning slightly green, and while we are here, these are root cuttings from the field maple or is it elm? I’m, not sure. So these are root cuttings, that we’ve made, and these are seedlings that i planted.
So there is a mixture of cotoneaster seedlings, and this is, i can’t remember what plant this is. Uh lovely heart-shaped plant, which i use for accent, plantings, and then this is another. Ah, this this tree has finished.
This is a chinese. Japanese, quince, the flowers are finished. Now this one is the golden or full moon maple. This is a acer japonicum and it is just coming out into leaf so different maples leaf at different times, and if we look at this little tree, this is a english field.
Maple and if i’m, not mistaken, this was produced from a root cutting. That means i took a root. This was the root and the rest of it grew from there. So it can show you just how simple it is to make plants from root cuttings, and if i keep pruning the ends, i get more ramification and this is how we get trees virtually for free.
I think i can spend hours just hanging around here because there’s, so much to show you, okay, there’s. Another old tree this one this another case in point. Look at that one. This is arakawa or rough park maple, and i’m just showing you because we grew it in sphagnum moss.
This is growing in sphagnum moss and look at the vigor of this tree. All these shoots. This is about 70 centimeter long has grown. Since i would say the summer of last year and the new shoots are these about 30 centimeters, these were grown.
This much was grown in the last two weeks and all this has grown since last september and you can see how thick this arakawa is, and i’m growing a new leader and hence i’m keeping this long. I’m growing all the branches, because i want to strengthen the tree so this how we change the shapes of trees and alter the shapes of trees just by making them grow long and also using the peter chan most trick where i grow things In moss and when i grow it in moss, i make sure they are fed as well.
I’ve, just passed by another plant, which is very interesting. Look at this. This 60 centimeters all this year’s growth. All this from here to there is this year’s growth. These are maples growing. Ah, i’ve discovered another treasure in case people.
Don’t know what this tree is. This is called elyagnus eliagnus and the japanese call it gumi, lovely, yellow flowers, beautifully scented, they smell like jasmine, and they carry little fruit, and those fruit, i believe, are edible.
So that is iliacness, which you don’t, often see as bonsai. It’s used a lot in in japan. Now, while i’m passing by this, is an old san jose that i’ve cut back hard and i’m regrowing it. The purpose of showing you this is.
These are all the new shoots that are coming. These are new shoots. You see the difference between the old shoots and new shoots, so this is a sign that is recovering fast, so we could spend hours in here if we just turn our backs around now.
This is japanese. You and look at the beautiful new shoots that are coming on this view. This was apparently a 200 year old tree that i imported from japan many many years ago. Well, some of my stuff forgot to water this tree, so minus marks for them see there’s such a big place that they don ‘t, see everything okay, so this is an old tree. You can see the trunk and because it was suffering, i put it in a large flower pot in just ordinary peat, a peat type, soil and bark, and i’m regrowing the tree.
So can you see the vigor all these long shoots have grown? I would say in the last two weeks, but what do i do at this stage? I’ve got the vigor back, but i don’t want to cut them off straight away. I wanted to grow more because i wanted to pull the sap strengthen the branches and trees and maybe in about two months time i’m going to do this.
I’m, going to prune these shoots back so that it buds back further into the branch. So this is what i’m going to do later on. I won’t. Do it just yet, because i want to strengthen the tree so this tree, you can look at the overall tree there’s, so much new growth on it.
There’s, so much new growth, beautiful new growth, so that is that tree. Some of these trees – these were grafted red hawthorn and, of course the top has died. You don’t, always get everything hundred percent and because the top has died, it’s done me, a favor and i ‘
Ve got a small, beautiful little bonsai there, red hawthorn. I have another red horse on here and you can see the beautiful, far flowers which are coming on this, so we grow these here for fun uh. This was a casualty i like to show you my casualties as well.
For some reason this may have got neglected and not watered so we do get some mistakes on the nursery. What am i doing here? These are cuttings. I don’t waste. Anything these are san jose cuttings in water and cryptomeria cuttings, which i brought back from my plants at wesley.
So i’m going to make cuttings with these, so i ‘ Ve got my work cut out, as they say, this was an air layering which we put in a pot. So that is the transition from the moss ball. Then it was planted in moss and now growing there.
This is mulberry, being regrown zelkova new shoots again about 35 40 centimeters of new shoots in the last two weeks. This is a very beautiful maple. I can’t, remember the name it could be possibly kihachijou.
Look at the beautiful leaves on this. This is just a general tour of the nursery look at the delicate leaves, so you can understand why i love maples because there’s such a wealth of plants, so many different varieties now behind me here people who come onto my nursery, they sometimes Think i’m, either mad or doing stupid things, but there’s, meth method.
In my madness. Why am i growing these tried maples long like this? You see the plant is here. These are seedlings. They’re about maybe 12 year old seedlings could be more and i grow these long shoots because should i want to in arch a plant into another tried maple? I just take that tray and in arch it and like graft it there and when it’s taken, i cut it off, so i leave these long shoots for a very specific purpose, so i sometimes get a bit cross because my staff go around.
You think oh, this should have been pruned, but they don’t realize what i have in mind to do. They all have a purpose. This is another case in point. If you look at these trident maples here now, these were wired into that s.
Shape now, why am i growing 70 80 centimeter long like that? It’s ludicrous! I’m growing it because i’m developing tape. I want to make more taper and then i can either use it for cuttings or whatever.
So what you see is not necessarily uh, you know just neglect or something else. It is all done with the purpose in mind. I will also show you some my ficuses. I keep it in this greenhouse, although it’s, not that warm, it still grows better than in the living room.
Unfortunately, those of you who grow ficus in the home, the living room conditions cannot be as humid as you would get here. So do be warned you know when you grow things in a warm unheated conservatory with lots of humidity, you get better growth.
While we’re passing by let’s. Look at some of these, our air layerings. These are chinese juniper, air layerings. We have some huge chinese junipers which grow in our field, and these were air links which we took last year and you can see they are planted in moss and they’re well on their way.
They’re all about over a meter tall with thick trunks about two three inches thick and they layered and they’re just waiting to be transferred now into ordinary soil. This is some more heirlooming. This is crepe myrtle, crepe myrtle.
I’ll, show you the parent plant from which is taken, so these were air layings, which have rooted very small air layings. These haven’t started budding. I hope they’re, not dead, but these are air layerings, but i will perhaps take you to the mother plant and show you where the mother plant came from uh.
While i’m talking, i did a video about a week ago showing how to deal with aphids, where i spray all these maples, because they were infested with green fly and black fly. So there are still some more green flower black fry coming, but i did spray it completely and got rid of it.
So, even if you do spray your plants, it’s, largely clear. They do come back and infest the trees. So in early spring early summer you got to keep a close eye on maples because they’re very prone to infestation of aphids.
That means green fly and black fly. This tree was also covered, but i’m happy to say that i don’t see any signs of aphid on this another tree, which we had a lot of. If it was this airline, this massive airlaying of deshojo was completely covered with aphid, but i think we ‘
Ve got rid of the aphid now and talking of earrings there’s. Another massive air layering of european horn beam. We select the shapes and then pot it up, and now this is going to be put in a bonsai pot.
If we had grown this in the field in the ground, it would have had some very thick roots. In fact, let me just see if the roots may be stuck at the bottom line. You have to cut it off yeah. I see. Look there’s, so much root there.
I have to cut that off to get it out of the pot. So this is ready to be put in a bonsai pot, so these were produced in literally just six months. Let me show you the crepe myrtle from which this tree was taken.
While we are passing look at that beautiful, asahi zuru. I love this tree, but during the summer it’s. Nothing only the spring color is interesting, so this is the crepe myrtle. This crepe myrtle, i’ve had for years and years, but it has never flowed.
Maybe i don’t have warm enough climate for it. So this is the airline i took from these branches. There’s, another one which hasn’t rooted. So i didn’t. Take it off so crepe myrtle is very easy to let’s, see where i cut them off.
You see what a lot of new shoots are coming. This tree is much too long in branch, so i’m, going to cut them off, but this is used as a parent plant for making air. So that is why we leave it like that.
See. Look at that’s, a new shoot about 70 centimeter long, all produced in the last two weeks, so you can see how vigorous the trees are absolutely vigorous. Ah, this is a japanese holly. I, like sirata, it has red berries, but it’s deciduous.
I will go over there and show you the flowers of chinese quince, cydonia sinensis, because not many people see it in flower. They’re, mainly imported from japan. Look at it beautiful flower and they have these large pear-shaped, fruit and this tree is being grown in a pot because i want it to grow, bigger and stronger.
And what can i show you? This unfortunately died years and years ago, but i think the base is still alive. I hope it’ll sucker from the base that was chinese quince as well. So sometimes you get failures, but it’s, not a complete failure.
There’s still some hope in it uh. While i’m passing by these, are the oak trees. You remember the video bonsai for free. I dig these little seedlings up from the garden, and this is how we make the bonsai from these little oaks and they’re cut down hard to make into small bonsai let’s, have a little quick run around the nursery these Trees are being regrown so that they become strong.
These are satsuki azaleas. They’re grown in here, because we want to change the shapes of these trees. That is a great big maple that we air lid laid in 2019 september 2019. It was seventh, so it’s been here for now 12 for 16 months and it’s raring to go.
I need to take it out of the greenhouse, and this is the large airline. Hopefully it’s growing. Well. Larch is very difficult to earlier, but i was successful with this one, so i’m very pleased with that.
Oh now, this is the famous tree, the one that had no hope a lot of people asked what happened to this tree. Did it live or did it die, and this is the one i don’t want to return to the customer until i’m completely satisfied that it is growing well and if we look at this carefully so which was the front Even i can’t remember, which was the front.
I think the front was like this isn’t it okay, so this is how it was planted and the signs of growth are here. If you come here, you see these are flowers in fact, so it’s producing flowers, but the color is not perfect.
I still want to keep it much longer to make sure it is absolutely spot on before it is returned to the customer. So this is a tree which we did in that video and it has more than i think, four hundred thousand or five hundred thousand views on that particular project.
This is unusual tree. This is a chinese celtus sinensis, it’s, not a particularly pretty tree, but we grow it for novelty, and these are projects we did last week, customers trees that we worked on, and you see many maples around here – and these are the double double Chai uh, japanese quince, with these beautiful flowers.
These are not for sale, but we keep them here because we propagate from it. We make cuttings both shoot cuttings and what we call root cuttings from those trees. So this is just a quick tour of the nursery look at those horn beams growing so well.
They’re all in leaf and on the left there that’s a chinese quince, but that one is very shy to flower. For some reason, but it’s got a beautiful trunk and this is my famous windswept lodge, which is now like a semi cascade.
This was made in 1974 and it has appeared in all my books. It’s such an old tree, that it is really struggling to survive, but it’s still alive. I have to make gins out of some of these dead branches, so this tree will evolve.
These are the tanuki’s. We did lots of new growth and that big one as well, so these are projects ongoing projects, and this is the tree, the other half of the tree that i split with the chinese cleaver.
This is the small thin portion and it’s become a short tree. The big big half is out on the nursery. I’ve shown it many times before when a san jose juniper is growing strong. It should look like this, so i’m, going to make sure that that no hope a tree will become like this before i return it to the customer.
Ah, this was also these lots of youtube videos. I’m sure you will recognize so this is just a little quick tour of what i do in the spring and i hope you ‘ve enjoyed
