August makes me start to think about wire cutting into the soft wood of the new branches of deciduous trees and causes me to wince. Why didn’t I look at that wire last month? Wire marks are not easy to erase on new growth regardless of what kind of tree it is. Evergreens can get heavy bark and disguise the marks later on, but poor maples have had it once the marks are deep. I have seen some trees in shows that look like the poor branch was strangled out of meanness by the owner. I have to wonder why did this happen? If you take bonsai seriously at all, this should alarm you. One thing about this lesson is that if the wire marks are uneven-that is, deep at the beginning of the branch, and light in the middle, then deep again at the tip, you are wiring improperly or using too heavy a wire. Both faults can be corrected easily be looking at whar you are doing. Beautifully shaped trees can catch your eye, and the wire marks tell the tale for all to see.

Sometimes wire must be removed in three months or less, and if the branch or trunk has not lignified, it will not stay in place and must be re-done at once before you lose the shape you want. Remember, some trees need to be shaped by wire for three years or more to hold the shape that you want. Many trees will do this, and it is not a matter of doing anything wrong. You must still apply the wire correctly or you cannot get the exact placement you need. Putting the wire on loosely is a waste of time, and you cannot place the branch or trunk the way it should be. This is the lazy way of applying wire, and it shows up when you may think the tree is shaped. I think this is the reason for many poor looking trees. We do not wire properly, so that we don’t have to watch so carefully for wire scars. The old adage of a thing worth doing is worth doing well, is especially true in bonsai where every little mistake shows up.

There are sometimes ways to help hide the wire marks. This is especially true with the evergreens, but also often on the deciduous trees. But I am not going to tell you how. I would rather you avoided the marks to begin with.

Pine buds should be well out by now and can take a light feeding about the middle of the month. Seems the cutting of the candles was a bit later this year dued to the weather. This is something we must always pay attention to. There is no physical calendar for bonsai. Mother Nature dictates what is what and when you better listen with your eyes.

Late wiring may as well be put off until next working season which is late fall. Then we can do some real pruning, too. Do watch for insect damage by beetles, borers, red spider mites, scale and other so-called hard bugs. Soft bugs like aphids are mostly gone except wooly aphids on black pine in the bark and roots.

Start to think about the repotting you might do this fall. Get the pots cleaned up or purchased. Fit them with screen and make sure you have soil handy. Start repotting with quinces in September, then a bit later the crabs and other fruiting and flowering trees. Speaking of crab apples, cut off fruit unless you are showing them some place. The excess apples really weaken the tree. This holds true for cotoneaster, hawthorn and so on.

Thin out junipers that have grown lushly during the summer or you will get die back in the interior of the branch. You’ll also find little caches of insects or nests full of eggs just waiting to hatch and devour your hard work. Be sure to remove the crotch growth as this will weaken and perhaps kill the branch it is growing on. Keep the tips pinched to prevent long and loose growth. You will find, if you do not keep the junipers pinched, the new growth will become coarse and loose.

If you have not put lime sulfur on the jin and shari yet this year, don’t wait, do it now. If it comes out too light or white for you, put some India ink in it to tone it down to grey or brown ink to make a bit tan. Or you can mix the two for a natural or neutral shade. You will find that different shades will work better on different trees. Remember trees go black on the exposed wood on such trees as olives. To have a white scar looks unnatural, so add lots of ink to the lime sulfur application. Some people like to wash off the lime treatment after applying it to make a more natural look. If you go into the Sierra, you will see that the overall look of “driftwood” is more silver grey than down south where it is more white. This has more to do with climate or rainfall, so I think our trees should reflect that.

August is the time in San Francisco to cut, not pull, the needles of the white pine. If you pull them off, thr tree may bleed to death, so cut them off just beyond the sheath that is at the base of the needle cluster.

At the end of this month, you can give a last light feeding to the deciduous trees. There will be another growth spurt in the fall.

So enjoy your trees, watch for insects and give them a spin (and I don’t mean a ride.)

By John Boyce. Reprinted from “Fog City Bonsai” August 1995, 1996 and 2002.

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