by George Buehler

This is the time of year when I always get anxious. I'm ready to start transplanting, wiring, etc., but I know that it is too early. I start watching my trees carefully to see if they are beginning to sprout. I know that when they do, I have to start transplanting them - even if it is earlier than 'normal'. Read the tips on page 10 to see what else you should be doing in February.

I have been looking at my trees stored in the garage and deciding which ones need wiring. Several were put on the list when I put them to bed for the winter, several more were added in the last couple months. Aghast, I have even started wiring several - not the delicate branchlet wiring, but the larger branches that needed some movement added. For me it is easier to "see" the tree when there are no leaves on the tree to block the view. I take the tree into the basement where it is warm, set the tree on a turntable under good lighting, and study it to make sure I know what I think needs to be done before I start. I try to wire more loosely than normal, since when warm weather does arrive, the trunks and large branches will swell quickly and there could be wire cutting if the wire was wrapped tightly. I know it is early, but I see no problem getting started. I will do the more delicate wiring prior to the trees being repotted and re-introduced to the outside.

I started making my soil last month, or at least started sifting. This year I am going to make Lee Squires'/Tom McCurry's basic mix and use their ratios for some of my trees. I have always used commercially prepared mixes in the past, but, as stated in the soil article, these commercially prepared soils are by design general mixes suited for a wide variety of tree types. I wanted to try to tailor my mixes for specific trees. Hopefully, they will flourish with this technique.

Another thing I am going to try this growing season is Superfeeding some of my trees. This is a technique developed by Michael Persiano where a very intensive regiment of adding fertilizer is employed during the growing season. It is designed to promote phenomenal root growth and subsequently massive trunk and top growth. We will see how it goes.

Last year I ran across a fertilizer formula that claimed to promote lush foliage as well as rapid trunk growth. As I read the information, it sounded too good to be true; but, since I had all of the ingredients in the house (Epsom salts, ammonia, beer!), I decided to give it a try. I didn't follow the schedule as listed but the results seemed promising. This summer, I plan on following the schedule and will report on the results next fall.

For Christmas, Santa brought me Bonsai Today Masters' series 'Pines'. For those of you interested in pines, it is an excellent reference. It is a series of articles by various authors on the upkeep, training, and styling of both white and black pines. Each article has various photos illustrating the techniques being described in the article. It also has a magnificent gallery of photos on both white and black pines. I would recommend it for some good reading.