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Autumn is the most important season for the Bonsai grower. True perhaps, however, you could also say this about winter, spring and summer! Confusing?

No!

It simply means that every time of the year is of equal importance to your tree. What you do today will have a direct bearing on the health of your tree tomorrow and the action you take in autumn will have a bearing on the health of your tree next spring.
As always, each tree is unique as is the environment it lives in. To try and give ‘instructions’ for each type of Bonsai tree is simply not possible. What we can do however is look at a more simple set of guidelines to help you prepare your tree/s for winter. However, as highlighted in a previous blog the single most important and your number one ‘rule of thumb’ should be to ‘listen’ to your tree and let it be your guide to health and future growth.

Some general tips for Autumn Bonsai.

1/ Carry out your final pruning and wiring ready for winter and give your tree/s a general ‘tidy up’. A selection of useful tools for this purpose will be found at 

2/ Adjust your feeding and watering schedules. As your tree starts to do into its winter ‘sleep’ slow down and stop the feeding.

3/ Check the drainage from your pots and make sure they are draining freely

4/ Make sure your trees have plenty of light

5/ Now is the time to start bringing inside trees which do not tolerate cold and frosty conditions such as:

• Chinese Elm
• Chinese Privet
• Fig
• Ficus
• Dwarf Umbrella Tree
• Dwarf Jade
• Azalea
• Fukien Tea

BONSAI: A LARGE TREE IN A SMALL POT!