So, despite the fact we are absolutely inundated with orders from all you lovely folk I managed to find a few hours to do a slap up job on my field maple. We are currently shifting about 3/4 of a ton of goods every single day and both Richard and myself are suffering under the weight of it all but, the show must go on. I would rather drop dead of exhaustion than boredom.
My oldest and best mate Stu’ was on hand to lend a hand which made for a very pleasant few hours and a nice break. Here’s a quick video of the work. I know a great many of our customers love deciduous bonsai. Getting a good foundation laid early on is so important, I thought ya’ll might like to Take a Sneaky Peek at This!
It’s a beautiful early spring day and the sun is shining here at Kaizen Bonsai world headquarters. Just finished watering my trees for the first time this year and the garden is ablaze with the beautiful and welcome sight of spring flowers everywhere. For the first time in months I find it a joy to be alive. It’s been a very long hard winter and I for one am pleased it’s all over (for now at least).
This is the first morning of 2026 that I have had a minute to relax and think about anything other than getting boxes out of the door. Richard can handle todays workload so I thought I would pen a quick note to let ya’ll know i’m still here beavering away. From our first day back in January we have been buried alive with orders for which we are all very grateful. The support of our lovely loyal customers keeps our little family afloat and we are eternally grateful to every one of you!
When I say we have been busy I mean it. On average we have shifted about 5 tons of goods a week (and up to 6 on a couple of occasions, that’s a 5 day week. For an old bloke like me that’s a lot. 60 to 100 boxes a day, every day. All we seem to do is lug huge volumes of materials and goods from daylight to dark. It’s back breaking work for all of us, even Catherine moves several tons a day whilst labelling all your orders.
This year has been unusually difficult, particularly in relation to keeping soil products flowing. As Britain continues to crumble before our eyes just the simple task of ordering new raw materials has become a living nightmare. Not a single supplier, transport company or freight agent can be trusted to do what they promise any more. Suppliers and manufacturers do not hold stock and they increasingly push us to take entire trailer loads of material rather than the few pallets we prefer. The stress of all this has made me question wether I even want to continue with these products and when we add up the ever increasing cost of warehousing etc’ my motivation to quit increases by the day. However my dad didn’t raise a quitter and so much to the chagrin of my good lady I just press on regardless.
Before I move on there’s something I have to get off my chest, a topical note if you will. Turn on any media in this country today and the only “story” in town is that of oil prices. SO all this chatter about energy prices. I notice on the news broadcast on NHK Japan this morning that their pump fuel is now 190yen per litre so about £0.90p and their government is about to reduce this by a good bit. So why are we taking it up the a** at approaching £2 quid. All the government needs to do is get out of the fucking way and stop stealing our hard earned cash under the auspices of a lie perpetrated by the “media”.
A neighbour up the road was moaning about the price he had to pay for heating oil and apparently this is a bit of a national emergency….they say. So our esteemed leaders have come up with a plan to give these folk millions of OUR pounds to help. Now here’s an idea, rather than spending more of our money why not just cut the taxes on that oil, it makes for grateful and happy (ish) consumers and costs nothing. This relentless need to take all our cash and then expect us to feel grateful for their measly handouts of paltry amounts in ‘personal aid’ makes me feel like some sort of Oliver Twist style begging peasant.
Oil has been up around $140 a barrel in the recent past so currently trading at about $100, i think we will survive but seeing as how half what we pay is tax it strikes me we have been bent over that barrel for quite some time now. Enjoy!
So, moving on what’s been happening other than humping boxes? Excitingly in January we received our first shipment of some very special bonsai pots by Chinese master Shi Ming Zhu. I’m sure this is a name means little to a lot of you but Master Zhu is considered to be the best bonsai pot maker in all of China and there is a great deal of competition for that moniker. I bought these to sell but once they arrived I was so impressed I decided to keep most of the shipment. About time my trees got some good pots I think.
There are a couple of these beautiful pots available on our web site. Bonsai pots by Master Shi Ming Zhu. I know these look expensive but do bear in mind that since January this year the factory gate prices of these stunning pots has literally doubled. The days of cheap bonsai pots are entirely behind us now.
Here is one example I have donated to be raffled off at Bonsai-Fest this weekend.
So, getting back to where I started, 1 Day A Year Bonsai Trees. It strikes me that a lot of folk expect their bonsai trees to be pristine all the time. Go to any show these days and the standard of exhibits is going to be pretty high. However that’s not how bonsai works every day of the week. At an exhibition a tree has likely had anything up to two years of preparation to reach a pinnacle of refinement and is displayed trussed up in it’s Sunday best. Not many folk put their trees up in workday Monday morning garb. Bonsai trees are just that, trees and for their wellbeing they need to be allowed to be trees and once in a while perhaps we can elevate their appearance to an artistic level.
That being the case I find myself happy with trees that do not look their refined best all of the time. Some species particularly do not look amazing very often. Those with big leaves for instance. Broadleaf evergreens are another type of tree that, mostly one either loves or hates. One particular favourite of mine is this elaeagnus. Not common in the UK, this tree came in from Japan a few years ago and I have been messing with it for a while now. It’s an absolute thug, grows like a weed and throughout summer is all but impossible to restrain. However come early spring it needs to be defoliated, this takes typically four hours of intense work. Last night I braved the cold and finished it about midnight and so today it looks good, a true 1 Day A Year Bonsai Tree.
Anyone else got any 1 Day A Year Bonsai Trees?
Graham Potter – March 2026
Elaeagnus prior to leaf pruning.
4 hours later and this beautiful craggy tree is looking it’s best.
Here I am at first light Monday morning with a bleary outlook and a thick head whilst my ears are ringing. 9 hours after getting back from my big weekend out at Bonsai-Fest I have a very great deal to cogitate. Whilst I am doing that I thought I would let you see what I bought home.
Before I get to that I would like to say to everyone who took the trouble to ‘have a word‘ that it has always been and will continue to be an absolute privilege to serve ya’ll in whatever way I can wether that be through Kaizen Bonsai or sharing what I have learned in written word, video or face to face.
I will be eternally grateful for the support given to myself and our little family. Folk, taking the time to express your own appreciation for what we do means way more than the words alone. It spurs me on to do more than ever seeing as it is appreciated so much by so many of you.
I was infinitely amused by the notion that Kevin Willson (my good companion for the weekend) and I are being looked upon (by some) as the grandfathers of modern British bonsai. We are both grandfathers of course but, and I speak personally here, regarding bonsai, after 40 years of absolute dedication to the ‘art’ I feel i am only just getting started so buckle up young’uns!
As I was mooching around the bewildering array of trade stalls someone asked me what it was I was looking for. My response was ‘age‘. What I mean by that is the magic that age brings to bonsai. Age that is genuine, trees that have been in bonsai pots for decades have a presence that is absolutely impossible to fake and it’s very hard to find. Perhaps I can explain that in more detail another time but those of you who know, know.
First up I grabbed this hawthorn. Thorns are definitely not a favourite of mine for reasons i don’t have the energy to go into at this time but as a passionate yamadori guy I figured this would make a good project and the price was very fair. Expect to see this one in a future video.
Not my favourite species but how could I refuse ?
My other purchase was this big privet. I spotted it early on but did not recognise it until I met the vendor who I have been friendly with for over thirty years. During my very first excursions into bonsai club life the guys at our local club were poring over this photo and i got a glimpse over a shoulder and was both awe struck and jealous all at once. At that time I had no clue what I was up to and material like this was just a pipe dream.
Mid-1990’s, recently lifted from an allotment I believe and structural pruning completed.
Fast forward a few years and I had done just that and in the very early 2000s I had the privilege of being able to spend a weekend with the owner where we begun the hollowing process and completed some branch work too.
Over the intervening years I caught a glimpse of the tree from time to time but when I spotted it across a crowded Fest it had changed so much I did not recognise it. Being able to buy this for a very fair sum absolutely made my weekend. To be able to walk out with a great example of bonsai skillage and a little bit of my own history is wonderful. I would like to thank GB for allowing me to buy this tree. You will be seeing a lot more of this one in the future as I refine it’s craggy old appearance. That’s ‘age‘ and just what I was looking for! Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.
Graham Potter – March 2026
First day with my new bonsai 🙂
This picture was taken 20+ years ago just after first carving and some branch work.
I spent yesterday on the road in process of buying and moving a collection of trees and a ton of pots. I don’t get out of Norfolk much, thank the Lord and I’m glad to be back home. To be honest i’m a horrified at what they are doing to our country, it’s quite shocking what’s going on out there. I had a long day and so find myself being a little Extra Grumpy Today!
I had planned to spend this morning writing a full on opinionated blog post about something or other that’s bothering me. At my age pretty much everything bothers me, things I used to take for granted often desert me. Increasingly I find the world a hostile and baffling place. Thank goodness I worked hard when I could which means that nowadays I have the luxury of passing stuff off to my minions (family). That frees me up to do what I really want, namely ride big bikes and tend bonsai trees.
So, I decided to keep my opinions to myself today. I turned on the news early this morning and it was saturated with politicians, experts and commentators farting in my face whilst telling me that’s how roses are supposed to smell. I shut it off and took the dog out and when I returned who was standing on my doorstep? A couple of pink haired JWs, hallelujah, that’s made my day (not theirs however).
Not long after that a guy called trying to sell me a phone system. If you know me well you will know how utterly absurd that is, like persuading me to set myself on fire. If he followed my advice I would guess he’s currently in A&E getting plastic components removed from is waste pipe. If hell froze over and I decided to add more phones to my life I’m sure i could manage that on my own.
At my age all I want is to entirely disappear and be left alone, I no longer need to be ‘influenced‘. Thank you for your concern, don’t say a word just go away or this will get ugly. I’m an absurd grumpy old git with outdated views, a cruel streak and an intolerance of ……………….im thinking…………………….Well………………………..pretty much everything really. It’s amazing how quiet it gets when one turns off the tech’. That’s where I want to live out my days.
But, i can knock out a half decent bonsai on a good day apparently and thanks to you lovely people supporting our little business I have been able to do a lot more of that than I once could. Our little family are infinitely grateful to y’all for that and here’s another video I have managed to squeeze into a busy week. Enjoy 😉
A Cautionary Tale About Yew Tree Bonsai & Scale Insects
I’m sitting here on a sweltering hot Friday afternoon with two choices before me.
#1 Sit here for the next three hours putting together an informative article detailing what I know about the pernicious scale insect in relation to yew trees and bonsai.
#2 Shut this all down and go ride my beautiful Harley in the sunshine…………
What would you do?
After the week I have had i’m off, we’ll get back to this next week.
Have a great weekend everybody. Enjoy the sunshine if you have it 😉
Today I wanted to share a recent experience. A cautionary tale that just goes to show we never stop learning. Even after all these years of diligent bonsai work and study I got caught out. I like to think I run a pretty tight ship here but I got caught napping on the job. I survived and so did the trees. The scale insects did not and I now have a 5-7 year project to restore a yew tree that I begun 35 years ago.
Before I get into the gory details I feel it’s wise to make one thing clear. Trees and plants suffer all manner of pest and disease (P&D). However in most cases involving infestations of chewing and sucking insects plants can very easily keep them at bay through various means. In bonsai it’s very highly likely an infestation is secondary not causative and indicative of an underlying and more significant problem, most likely down to something WE have done, or not done. Insects mostly do not CAUSE the problem they just exploit a weakened host.
These nasty little critters don’t just show up and rip into a healthy happy and well cultivated bonsai tree. Somehow pests sniff out weak and sickly, plants that for whatever reason are under par. In Bonsai that can be as a result of poor cultivation, situation, or intervention (the work we do). As a result the trees defences are weakened making the insects job a whole lot easier. If the feeding is good and the weather is warm these insects can proliferate at a staggering rate and within just a couple of days a tree can be absolutely inundated.
So I’m going to be looking at scale insects. I’m not going to show you loads of gory pictures, just Google ‘Yew scale insect‘,. look under images for a real treat! Had I been more vigilant and considerate I would not need to be dealing with this. I just turned away for a moment, let my guard down. That and some other unusual circumstances conspired to wreck my tree for the foreseeable future. I’m pissed because I know this stuff, it’s not my first rodeo.
What Are Scale Insects?
Scale insects are small, sap-sucking plant pests of the order Hemiptera. Named for the protective, waxy, shell-like covers on their backs, they feed on plant sap. Adult females are wingless and immobile, while the newly hatched “crawlers” are active. They can significantly weaken plants and excrete sticky honeydew.
The horror! A whole community of scale insects on the underside of a yew branch.
The Two Main Types
Scale insects are generally categorised into two distinct groups, which determines the type of damage they cause and how they are managed.
Armored (Hard) Scale: These insects secrete a stiff, wax-like shell that is not physically attached to their bodies. Once they settle, they remain permanently in one spot, feeding on the contents of individual plant cells. They do not excrete honeydew.
Soft Scale: These have a leathery or pliable wax covering that stays attached to their bodies. They feed on the sap within the plant’s vascular tissues and excrete a sticky, sugar-rich liquid waste commonly called “honeydew”.
Hard and soft scale insects. It’s a full house 🙁
Common Signs of an Infestation
Because scale insects do not look like traditional bugs and often blend in perfectly with tree bark or stems, you might not notice them until the plant is already struggling. Key symptoms to look for include…
Unusual bumps: Small, immobile, limpet-like bumps (1mm to 10mm in size) clustered along stems, branches, or the undersides of leaves.
Sticky leaves (Honeydew): A sticky residue on the leaves or the floor beneath the plant.
Sooty mould: A dark, powdery black fungus that grows on top of the excreted honeydew.
Plant decline: Yellowing leaves, premature leaf drop, stunting, or branch dieback. Often spring growth will be weak, late or non existent.
Yew Scale
Yew scale is a sap-sucking insect (Parthenolecanium pomeranicum or Pulvinaria floccifera) that targets yew trees. It presents as small, convex, dark brown “shells” (3–6 mm long) on the underside of leaves and stems as shown in the image above.
Yew scale is similar in appearance to brown scale however, brown scale is found on a wide range of plants but not Taxus. Yew scale produces one generation a year and in early summer the adult insects can be seen on the leaves and stems. The eggs hatch in late June and July and the young scale nymphs then disperse and feed during the summer by sucking sap from the leaves. It is not unusual to find light populations of this scale on healthy yew plants.
Damage: While mild populations are harmless to naturally growing trees, heavy infestations cause yellowing leaves and reduced vigour.
Honeydew: As they feed, they excrete a sticky residue called honeydew, often leading to unsightly black sooty mould on the foliage.
Lifecycle: Adult females lay eggs in early summer, which hatch into young nymphs (crawlers) that disperse to feed.
A Long & Sorry Tale
Many of the trees in my garden these days come from other folks collections. Sometimes these arrive in less than ideal condition and require a carefully considered programme of actions in order to facilitate their recovery and restoration. It’s tough dealing with a very weak and compromised tree. Whilst some like Acers can be bought back to full vigour in two or three years others can take MUCH longer. Conifers in particular can take a long time to rebuild their strength. I have another yew tree here that has taken me nearly ten years to fully restore it’s vigour and full heath.
This tale has been ongoing for about three or four weeks over late spring (May) here in the UK but it has taken a considerable number of years to arrive at this critical juncture. The first yew pictured below is an untrained tree I acquired as a six foot high rootball. This had it’s foliage mass reduced by about 90%, was bare rooted and planted in the pot shown two years previous. The year after the work it recovered and started making new growth right out of the gate. However last year we had some extremely odd weather here which resulted in very little growth virtually across the board. Only pines did well, everything else either did very little or no growing at all. This yew was one such, hardly growing all year.
Previously a root-balled hedging plant. Cut back hard with foundations laid for a future as bonsai. Previous years growth was poor and this spring, at a casual glance all looks well…..it’s not!
The second tree is a yew some of you may have seen here from time to time. It’s a tree I collected way back when I started bonsai. It was quickly added to the collection of my good friend Stu’ and over the years between us it did pretty well. It came back to me about 3-4 years ago now. It was in need of a very hard prune and a repot both of which I failed to do, assuming I could push my luck a bit and do it later. So last year I did do the repot, the first in many years, but didn’t do the cut back. Repotting a very weak yew can always be a bit risky but then we had all the wrong types of weather and so the tree suffered all last summer before a little rally at the end of the season.
Today, following treatment, recovery begins. Half this trees foliage (the right hand side) and branch structure hangs in the balance.
This spring I was hopeful of a full recovery following the previous seasons poor growth. Spring comes late to the east coast and taxus rarely do anything before early May. This year was bright but the cold has been cutting. Following a mild wet winter I was not surprised both these trees were late to show signs of life. I kept a casual eye on them and by the third week of May nothing was happening so I moved the little one into direct sun and the big one went into the poly-tunnel where I expected the increased temperature to kick it into life. Taxus can suffer root rot over winter in wet mild conditions. Keeping the soil dry and warm will normally effect a full recovery. Not this time!
I knew the little tree was weak. It also had some sooty mould from the previous season. A sure sign of previous scale activity. The black sooty deposits don’t easily go away and can be on the leaves for a very long time. Sooty mould lives on the honeydew excretions of scale, not on the actual plant but it sticks like the proverbial to foliage preventing photosynthesis so effected leaves tend to yellow and then drop eventually. Moving it into an exposed situation with plenty of space and sun exposure gives the plant the best chance to recover once the scale is treated.
Sooty mould, a secondary infection, is a dead give-away scale is active, there’s one just peeking out from beneath the leaves.
Following 7-10 days in the greenhouse the yew was showing very slightly better progress with weak but noticeable bud activity. One evening I was in there going about my regular tasks when I noticed my taxus had turned a funny colour, more of an odd tint than a full on colour change and a dulling of the leaves previously subdued shine. Healthy Taxus foliage almost sparkles in the sunshine, this looked like it was covered in a very fine coat of cement powder. Dead yew looks just like that, they can remain ‘green’ for weeks or even months just living on stored energy before eventually drying out and going brown in the second half of summer. I must admit I panicked a bit.
Yew foliage devastated by scale insect infestation. 10 days prior this it looked just fine at a glance.
Nothing a big glug of JD’ can’t fix but what about the tree? Upon closer inspection and feeling the foliage in my hands told me everything I needed to know. Early evening and the foliage is both warm and slightly sticky, both extremely bad omens. The sticky bit was honeydew obviously, fresh wet and sticky. Peering tentatively beneath the foliage my worst fears were confirmed, the undersides of every branch twig and leaf were ABSOLUTELY COVERED with scale insects, huge fat females, crawlers, infants, juveniles, tens of thousands literally.
My thinking up until then, based on previous experience was to give the tree a little warm, allow the rootball to dry out a bit and kickstart it’s season protected from our up and down weather. When the tree went inside I did not see any scale to be concerned about. Most taxus host a few with no problem, just a small part of a heathy eco’ system. However I underestimated the poorly state of the tree which had nothing to fight back with after the previous years troubles. What I inadvertently managed to do was create the perfect conditions for scale to proliferate which they did…… and then some.
Without action, and I have seen this previously, this tree would have been dead in less than a month. Swift treatment has saved the day and both trees are now alive and beginning to grow but there’s a long road ahead which is both good and less good. A combination of factors, some within my control and some not, plus a lack of vigilance on my part led me here so, how to get back.
How To Treat Yew Tree Scale Infecting Bonsai Trees
First action involves getting rid of the pernicious scale. Hard but far from impossible though what’s required may appear a bit heavy handed. Try a ‘gentle touch‘ approach with these critters and they’ll just carry on regardless. Once the tree begins to show improvement it’s a rush to improve it’s health, build a root system and develop a healthy mass of properly functioning leaves before the fleeting summer gives way to cooler conditions. This isn’t just a case of a splash and dash.
Scale insect will flare up again and again with perpetual fortitude. Improving the trees health and vigour via good cultivation, situation and soil management is paramount and will typically take 2-5 years. I have a head start with this old tree because I already dealt with the repotting previously but it lost a lot of root over the wet winter and that’s really thrown a spanner in the works and the clang is still ringing in my ears. What a pillock!
So, here’s what we need to treat scale insect infestation of bonsai trees. This will work on every plant variety I have seen infected with scale over many decades. With care, it’s safe, effective and cheap. Here’s what we need……
Lime sulphur, rainwater, Castile soap and a sprayer. Just what we need to get rid of pesky scale insects.
Mix Magic
I use a spray to control scale insects of all types and it’s proven over many years. Lime Sulphur is a remarkable product, often mis-understood and greatly feared in some circles. Used correctly Lime Sulphur is ENTIRELY plant safe at all times of year above and beneath the soil surface.
When using Lime Sulphur take precautions and wear appropriate safety equipment suitable for the spraying of chemical solutions, don’t breath spray or fumes, don’t get it in your eyes etc’.
For treating scale insects of all sorts I mix the following……
Use 20ml Lime sulphur per litre. This can be increased up to 40ml per litre where needed.
Add the soap to the water and mix until it begins to foam. The add the Lime Sulphur to the mix and pour into your sprayer, seal and shake the living daylights out of it to combine. Spray the tree from above and especially underneath the leaves. I like to get my hands in there, lift the foliage and ensure every surface is literally dripping, spray the soil surface too. Spraying needs to be done immediately the solution is made, don’t let it sit. Lime sulphur solution loses it’s effectiveness when stored.
Thoroughly soak every part of the plant with the Lime Sulphur solution.
Thoroughly soak the entire tree including the bark and soil surface.
Spray until lime sulphur runs off every part of the tree.
Get RIGHT in there and absolutely soak everything. Those critters will be everywhere.
Spraying should be completed early in the morning before sunrise or in the evening after the sun is passed. It’s best if the tree is placed out of the wind and must be protected from rain obviously. Allowing the solution to dry slowly increases it’s effectiveness and seeing as Lime Sulphur largely works as a fumigant working in a sheltered and calm spot is a must.
Prior to spraying do bear in mind that Lime Sulphur can stain some surfaces. It’s rarely permanent but worth considering. Pots should be cleaned with a slightly wet cloth before the overspray dries. To remove dried residue from pots use vinegar, seems to work well.
Where a tree, like mine, is covered in honeydew this solution will help wash it away and will completely neutralise any sooty mould that may have formed though it will not physically remove the mould residue.
After 24 hours inspect the undersides of the trees branches and foliage. It may appear the insects are still there, most of the juveniles and crawlers will be gone after a single application but those pesky brown shelled females may still be present, possibly they’re dead but normally a few remain stubbornly hanging on. Where they are obvious or particularly dense scrub them away with a toothbrush dipped in more of the above solution.
After 48 hours repeat the application again. Personally I have found, in very bad cases like the one I have been dealing with, four applications should wipe out everything in sight. Bear in mind there may be eggs still hidden away in there somewhere so spraying every couple of days for a week will catch the critters at different phases of their development. When the tree is dry agitate the foliage with your hand vigorously and you should see dead scale falling out. These can fall into the soil where they will break down and provide a little justice for the plant as they become fertiliser.
And Finally
As mentioned scale insect is hard to eradicate. Following treatment keep an eagle eye out for renewed activity. The best form of defence is a healthy tree but this can take time to accomplish and whilst recovery takes place it’s always possible scale could flare up again. Don’t end up at square one again, be vigilant.
Where a tree has survived a significant scale insect attack, even if it’s clean I always apply a winter wash as a precautionary measure in late winter or early spring before new growth starts. In that case I make the solution as above but include 50ml of Lime Sulphur and spray in the same way as detailed above.
After spraying, especially with stronger solutions it’s possible the tree will be a bit pasty looking thanks to the lime residue. This will very quickly disappear and is of no concern.
P&D are ALL best avoided, treatment is the second best option. However, as illustrated here circumstances can go against us and just aggravate a fairly benign situation very quickly. My advice with scale insect, particularly Yew scale, is just don’t F’ about. At first sign of trouble hit it and hit it hard and keep going until it’s gone. Then after it’s gone stay focused and ready to jump in as required. Meanwhile endeavour to maintain your trees health at the highest level possible so the infestations never happen in the first place, not easy I know but defence is the best form of protection because when this sort of thing starts it’s hard to stop.
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