from the blog

A Yellow Cedar Gets Potted And Reset

A Yellow Cedar Gets Potted And Reset

April 10, 2026

This collected Yellow Cedar, Callitropsis nootkatensis, came from Vancouver Island, BC. We designed it six years ago, and in the following photo essay we transfer it from a box to a pot, and adjust the branches. Patch and Masaki removed the Yellow Cedar from the box and began exploring the root mass. We hoped it […]

A Brief Tutorial in Pinching Japanese Maples

A Brief Tutorial in Pinching Japanese Maples

April 3, 2026

This 20-year old Japanese Maple has never been pinched. Freely grown, a maple will have a coarse shoot structure, but this early period of no pinching develops the trunk and branches and roots. Pinching a maple when young stunts development. This Japanese Maple might be pinched this year. The branching is past tertiary and has […]

Repotting Situations, With Notes

Repotting Situations, With Notes

March 27, 2026

This week, an assortment of puzzlers from this spring’s repots, with comments.  A Japanese Beech with an unfortunate root system. Chunks of roots have died, identified by being black, unlike the living ones, which are light brown. Spraying with water helps see which is which. Then cut away the black areas until you see healthy […]

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