If you really want your bonsai to be great you will have to do one thing: work.  Bonsai takes time, not just waiting time, but working time.  When a tree puts on new growth it is time to get out the wire and scissors and harness that growth to further your artistic goals.

Work comes in many forms where bonsai is concerned: repotting, pinching, trimming, wiring, unwiring, styling, bending, cleaning, fertilizing, watering, transporting and probably ten more things.  One of the most frequently asked questions is when to do what.  While getting into a routine is a good idea, proper timing of work depends on the growth and health of your trees.  Here are a few things that can help your bonsai improve as quickly and logically as possible:

Water by hand - yeah, it sounds like a pain, but watering by hand every day (well at least as needed) forces you to actually look at each tree that you own.  Using watering systems is convenient but with weeks between each time you look at your tree you may well miss a critical chance to improve your tree.  Watering by hand also allows you to apply water when needed instead of on a predetermined schedule.

Wire- well, it’s that simple.  Just do it.  Wiring can be a long process on a large tree, but the results of wiring and bending will do more to improve a tree than almost anything else.  Really, I stare at a tree sometimes thinking that I don’t want to put another piece of wire on….but then I realize that the tree will look better, and I will enjoy it more, if I finish wiring the whole thing.  Make the tree harmonious by making complimentary bends in branches and sub-branches, move an element that is jutting beyond the silhouette to fill in a void.

Repotting - This really is the single most important thing that you do during the year to ensure that your tree grows well and remains healthy.  Using the proper soil mix will mean that your tree flourishes.  Repotting can seem complicated, but the most important thing is that when you acquire a tree you repot it at the earliest opportunity so that it is in a soil that you are familiar with and which has properties the same as that of all the soil you use.  This will make it so that you know exactly when a tree needs to be watered and when it does not.

Pinching, pruning, trimming - this is the thing that most people latch onto.  Cut off the part of your tree that you dont want.  But recognizing that each bit of growth is like a bit of paint on a brush, you must use as much of it as possible to complete the vision that you have for a tree.   Cutting it off is sometimes the right thing to do, but in many cases wiring is actually the better option.  Because afterall, don’t you want more branches?

Fertilizing - this is something that once told, most people will do.  You will see the difference - no fertilizer no growth.  But what to do with that growth….remember, it’s like paint on a brush, use as much as you can.  Cut off the parts that you can’t.
All these things are work, if you miss the opportunity to fertilize your tree that is time lost waiting for it to grow, if you don’t wire a branch when it is young it will never have fluid movement, that is time lost.  If you dont repot your tree may become sick, more time lost.  Doing the work when it needs to be done is critical to transforming a tree from rough stock to refined bonsai.  Look at your trees daily, work on them when they need it, every week if needed.  Just do the work and you will see the improvements.

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