Michael Hagedorn

It would seem the perfect solution. Water softeners are often used in homes to prevent white scale buildup from hard water. Why not use it to prevent the hard water that can weaken our bonsai? Trouble is, water softeners introduce sodium to our water. It’s only a small amount, and plants do use very small […]

Longtime blog readers may know that two of my hobbies are birding and tree watching. Out on a hike I’m open to both, and depending on the day, one goes better than the other. On a recent vacation to the coast the tree watching had the better of it. I took one hike that snaked […]

Given the spate of fires in North America and Europe this summer, those growing bonsai may wonder if wildfire smoke affects plants. And it does—in both positive and negative ways. Wildfire smoke has a lot in it. There are gases, like carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and ammonia. Then there are the particulates, […]

Rocky Mountain Junipers are grown for their magnificent trunks. Junipers in general are known for their dynamism, but Rockies are exceptionally sinuous and exciting. The foliage of Rocky has a great genetic variability. The color ranges from green to blue to gray to yellowish. And the structure also varies, from the rare trees with fine […]