In this second installment of a three‑part series, bonsai master Harry Harrington documents the ongoing development of a commissioned larch bonsai that began in late 2023. After an initial winter styling—height reduction, pruning, wiring, and repotting into a mica training pot—Harry fed the tree a blend of seaweed, fish emulsion, liquid silicone, slow‑release fertilizer and Danobacteria, resulting in uniform, vigorous extension growth by May. He stresses the importance of allowing the tree to recover after intensive work before proceeding further. Mid‑summer pruning is performed to trim new shoots to one or two leaves, encouraging ramification and balanced taper across primary branches. Apprentice Toby Wilson demonstrates a careful de‑wiring method, removing only coils that are beginning to indent the bark to avoid premature loss of shape. Harry then explains partial defoliation (late May–June) once spring shoots have lignified, a technique that stimulates new bud formation and simplifies wiring of fresh growth. After defoliation the tree is placed in full sun, fed heavily, and the new shoots are wired with fine 0.8 mm copper wire to echo the earlier primary and secondary branch layout. The work must be completed by the end of June to allow a final growth flush before autumn, after which the tree will enter a recovery phase before the concluding deadwood and refinement stage in part three.
Chapters
This larch bonsai came to me as a commission in late 2023, and the first part of the work on the tree was carried out a couple of months later. The tree was reduced in height, it was pruned, wired, and the branches positioned. Following this styling, I repotted the larch into a mica training pot, as January is by far the safest time of the year to repot what can be a very fussy species. The tree responded to the work remarkably well and by May had not only come into leaf but had put out many new extension shoots throughout the branch structure. Fed well with a combination of seaweed, fish emulsion, liquid silicone, and a slow-release fertilizer, it showed great color and vibrancy. Note that the new extensions across the tree are very uniform And there's no sign of apical tendency. That is, there are no individual coarse shoots dominating the others across the tree. This has meant that each branch has received equal energy and strength. This uniformity is very much thanks to the Danobacteria applied during repotting. It is important to measure the strength of a bonsai in the months after it has been subjected to a lot of work. Particularly when it also includes repotting. If any of the branches had failed to grow or the foliage looked a poor color, more time for self-healing would have been required before any further insults could be hurled at this tree. Keeping a focus on the overall health of a bonsai and allowing time for recovery is of great importance in bonsai, not just to ensure that the tree is not lost, but also to ensure that its development does not stall for months or even years due to overeager work. As with my deciduous broadleaf trees at midsummer, today I'm pruning back the new growth on this larch. Having been allowed to extend to strengthen and invigorate the tree, pruning back now will keep the shape of the bonsai and provoke a response of new shoots where I prune, increasing ramification. This is normally an important jobs to do at midsummer to ensure that the tree remains balanced across the whole branch structure, but in this case the Danny bacteria has done that for me. Pruning involves cutting back new shoots at the tips of the branches we had in January to just one or two new leaves. Branches that emerge from further inside the branch structure are pruned back to the same length as those on the tips. So they keep more of their new leaves. This is an important way to prune your deciduous trees as well as larch, as it encourages better taper in the primary branches as well as thickening of the growth emerging from the primaries. The following segment illustrates how best to start to dewire the tree, removing wire that was used to shape the branches in the winter that has now begun to cut into the branches.
I think many people who've been doing bonsai for any amount of time know how to de-wire and remove the wire just as it starts to indent against the branch. You know that the branch is held into position, but what I would really urge people to do is to not then strip the rest of the wire off your tree because the wire is cutting in one place doesn't mean it's going to be cutting in already to come off over the rest of the tree. So what I urge people to do working in my garden is to remove individual coils of wire that are starting to cut in and create that little indentation, but not any other wire across the branch. This ensures that you're taking the wire off before it really embeds and cuts in and leaves a permanent mark, but you're not taking off the wire where the branch hasn't completely set. Taking the wire off too early just means that you're required to rewire again in the future to make sure that that design is absolutely 100%. So just be careful, keep monitoring how the wire is working on the branches, and And just sit on your hands. Don't take it off too early. It'll save you a lot of time in the long run.
It may come as a surprise to some, but healthy larch bonsai can be partially defoliated through late May and the whole of June once the new spring shoots have lignified or hardened off. This is a great way to improve ramification and allows for much easier wiring of the new growth.
Make sure that the shoots have turned from their green spring color or you will damage them. They should be brown in color. Individual leaves can be plucked away by hand, leaving half a dozen or so at the tip of each shoot to prevent any dieback.
This loss of foliage throughout the tree will prompt it to issue new growth by issuing new shoots from along the length of the existing branches.
Expect to see some new buds emerge within 2 to 3 weeks and new extensions within 6 weeks. This mature larch bonsai has grown incredibly well through the spring But it is impossible to wire it and at all implement a design unless partial defoliation is carried out first. It will now pop many new shoots to increase ramification.
Following partial defoliation, the tree is placed in full sunlight to stimulate the new buds and shoots and is fed very well. The newest growth that has extended in the spring can then be wired so it can also be placed This will add a further layer of tertiary branches that echo the overall design implemented in January. Here Toby Wilson, my apprentice, spends his weekly session with me applying the very fine 0.8mm copper wire to the new growth. If the young needles are easily knocked off and keep falling away, wait another 2 weeks until they are set more firmly on the new growth. The partial defoliation makes it easy to apply the wire cleanly without trapping any of the needles. Once the new growth on the tree is wired, I place the branches.
Looks like the wire's the hardest bit.
Each new shoot is placed so that it echoes and continues that of the primary and secondary branches placed in the winter. All of this work must be completed by the end of June in most climates. This allows the tree enough time to respond with another flush of growth that can harden before the onset of autumn. After another intensive session on the larch bonsai, it is left to recover and invigorate itself prior to the final stages of this commission. After another intensive session on the larch bonsai, it is left to recover and invigorate itself, allowing it to come back into leaf and grow new extensions. In the final part of this 3-part video on this larch commission styling, we'll show you the The deadwood. Work on the deadwood and the final refinement of the tree.
