Here at the nursery we offer repotting, styling, and general maintenance of clients bonsai. Supplies and a per hour fee ($45) apply.
I will also visit your home for the same offerings for your collection.
The cost is $60 an hour plus travel and expenses (steak dinners, all you can eat lobster, etc…)
My cost for a demonstration or workshop for bonsai clubs and organizations is $300 plus travel/expenses. Sessions up to 4 hours or so (The fee is negotiable depending on if I like you, or you provide my favorite beer. Tequila works too)
I do have many specimen trees available for demonstrations should you require one as well as workshop quantity and quality trees.
My main specialties are shohin/chuhin size trees as well deadwood carving.
I can and have used a chainsaw if so required (it makes for a captivating and suspense filled demo!)
I am familiar with temperate as well as most tropical (duh…Florida!) trees and my teaching and styling rely heavily on sound horticultural practices.
Email (adamaskwhy@yahoo.com) or give me a call (407)399-1224 to check for availability.
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I’m not your average bonsai demonstrator. The jokes are often and exceedingly bad.

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Me at a carving workshop at Wigert’s Bonsai…..seems that whenever I wear black I have a slight dandruff problem

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I always know what I’m doing….except when I can’t find my concaves

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I can provide for a slight musical interlude during snack time…..Rock On my friends, see you around!

41 thoughts

  1. A question from the north…from someone who is not even a beginner.

    I had a Punica granatum germinated from a seed this spring. That in Québec City,Canada. This means zone C3b or 4a. As fall rolls in, the leaves begin to turn yellow and look like they are going to fall. Since it is a deciduous tree, it is not surprising. But what next? How do I keep it alive, leafless, during our long winter? Should I let it sleep for a month and then increase the hours of artificial “sunlight” to get the leaves growing again?

    Gilles Burns,

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    1. I would let it stay dormant at least until the end of February. A deciduous tree that’s not allowed to rest will slowly die. I know this because I can’t grow Japanese maples in Orlando for that reason.
      Good luck!

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  2. I’m fairly new to this hobby (about 2 years) no classes just online research and uh we’ll call it trial and error…I got a fukien tea from my fiance in the typical “s” shape with branches 90 degrees out from the trunk, very weird looking any way I would like it to be semi cascade ideally but just not as curvy would help at this point, I just don’t like it. The tree has a nice trunk (about 2 inches around) and a great root system. How would you recommend I go about starting to change the shape? I know its going to be a lengthy process 🙂

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      1. <The front as of now <The back <Le top <Pretty roots/trunkThere you have it and all its glory 🙂 the green around the base is stain from the dyed moss it came with :/ Has had no pruning of any kind in the past year and flowered last in spring. Thank you so much for getting back to me so fast, it means a lot to me. I generally can't even get people that work with bonsai to reply for some reason.

        Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 12:35:21 +0000 To: steverzrox13@hotmail.com

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  3. I know this is off the subject, I have two ficus that are in trouble. one is a green island and the other a tiger bark. They are very nice trees and I am going on my third winter with them. last two winters they did fine in the house and out side in the summer. Last year and the year before I would check the pot for dryness with my fingers and ended up watering about once a week. I have use the same approach this winter but every time I water the tree looses about a fourth of its leaves. I am loosing branch after branch and afraid of loosing both trees. Should I repot or what. Please email me your thoughts.

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    1. The question is, have you never repotted? With ficus in bonsai pots you should be repotting every year.
      But dont repot now in winter, you do it in the late spring/ early summer. The best you can do is to give them more light and warmth, watch the dryness and hope for the best.

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  4. Hi,

    I’m a newbie in Yuma, AZ (think a few miles east of Death Valley) and I’m having problems with my Mastic Tree (Pistacia Lentiscus). I tried searching for any posts you may have made on that species, but alas…

    Anyway, I’ve had the tree for a little over a year, and it’s been growing just fine. It’s a little lanky, but it’s in its early stages. The tree started putting out flowers a few days ago, and then all the leaves just up and dried. Nothing has changed. The watering has stayed consistent, the temps have been in the mid-high 50’s at night and low-mid 80’s during the day for the last month or so. Nothing drastic has happened, yet the little bugger’s leaves all turned crunchy and dropped.

    Unfortunately, I keep reading conflicting information on the species. Some sites mention that it’s mostly an indoor tree that loves moisture, while others mention that the tree loves dry, hot weather.

    I apologize for the wall of text, but any help would be appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Alfredo

    PS – Your posts on dwarf jades have really helped me out. My wife got me a cork bark dwarf a few years ago. I unfortunately killed it, but not before getting a handful of cuttings. I have a dozen jades at this point that I absolutely love!

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    1. Hi Alfredo
      In my research it says that the tree is native to the Mediterranean, where it is hot, dry, and very sunny.
      I would not take the advice of the sites that say it is an indoor tree. Anything that lives near the equator needs bright sunlight to thrive.
      As an aside, every tree does better outside.
      The sites I visited say it doesn’t have to be an arid plant, so, if it’s in coarse bonsai soil, you can keep it uniformly moist.
      As far as the leaves falling off, I don’t know. Watch the moisture, until the leaves come back.
      Wish I had more info for you.
      Thanks

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      1. Thank you very much for your reply. I’ve moved it onto a porch where it will get morning sun, and I’ll watch the moisture. Thing is there’s hot dry and sunny, then there’s Yuma. The soil is about 20% organic, which helps hold moisture when it hits the 115’s in the summer. The lava rock and gravel were sifted to about 5mm-6mm, but I’ll make sure it’s not getting too much water right now. Here’s hoping it makes it!

        Thanks again!

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  5. Hey Adam, I was wading through some of your older posts and came across a mention of and Adam Art and Bonsai t-shirt. Do you have any for sale?

    Jacob

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    1. I will have some, it’s just a matter of building that part of the website. With my convalescence, I haven’t had the energy to do it. I’ll announce it when I go live with the store

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  6. Hi Adam I love your blog and am always looking for new insights. I had a quick question for you, I’m looking to do some grafting on a black olive for the first time. I want to use a branch thats already from the tree and move it. I know there is thread grafting but can i just cut the branch off drill a hole and take off the outer layer so that the cambrian on the branch and drilled hole touch? I’m not sure really how to go about doing this! Thanks for your help and greetings from Miami!

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    1. You could try that. It’s a little more iffy than a thread graft or approach graft where the scion still has its own roots to keep it alive. What you are describing is being called a peg graft. It’s a modified form of cleft or wedge grafting. Look up the different techniques that have been used. Grafting is one of the oldest forms of horticultural techniques around.

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  7. Hey man. My name is Rich. I spoke with you the other day about collecting spruce pine. I finally got in touch with Jason schley. He confirmed that what it was. Anywho. I was wondering. Do you sell pumice? Or know where I can source It? I really would like to follow your soil ingredients.

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  8. Do you sell and ship shohin sized specimen? I recently found your blog and then youtube channel and I love your work. I would love to have a gnarly little tree that you shaped yourself. I ask if you can ship if I can pay whatever the cost, because I know I could never pick it up by hand due to distance. It’s okay if you don’t. Thanks!

    ~Forest B.A.

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      1. Jefferson County in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia.That’s okay if you don’t do shipping. I can just enjoy your work with my eyes.

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  10. Hi Adam, I gave found your blog few years ago when I just got my first dwarf jade. The blog was the only sensible piece of information on how to maintain the tree well. So my tree got quite nice since then, even though I was not giving it the best care, but today I have made a mistake. I have repotted it from a large pot with regular soil to a smaller and nicer pot with very coarse soil for succulents. Looks good, but I habe watered it. Not sure why, probably because I forgot about it while repotting other plants. Here is my question – would it make sense to repot it tomorrow morning again into a dry soil, or everything is ruined already and I just need to sit and wait for the treeto die?

    Best,
    Arturs

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      2. Hi Adam! I have almost the identical question as Arturs above. HELP!! Have a dwarf Portulacaria Afra (it’s probably 12-15 yrs old; was given to me), repotted it once about 8 years ago in some kind of cactus soil & decided to make it a weeping bonsai, which means I never pruned it. I lived in south FL for the last 17 years with it outside and just moved to Washington state three months ago. I left the bonsai in FL but I had my friend ship it to me (she did a wonderful packing job) & it arrived in great condition except it needed more soil. It’s inside now in bright light but it needed repotting so I started my research. To tell you the truth, I was quite nervous about repotting & pruning it.

        So I did extensive research on Google, watched tons of Utube videos on Bonsai repotting, pruning, etc. for last two months. Your site never came up until last night (along with Jim’s name 2x)…. AFTER I finally had the courage to repot with Bonsai soil (akadama, pumice, lava, charcoal & Haydite mix I purchased) & soft pruned, then WATERED.

        All these videos on dwarf jade bonsai show watering after cutting roots & repotting. I am so upset. I see you told Arturs not to water it again & it would be OK. My instinct is to pull it out and put it in new dry medium. And I see you don’t repot & prune at the same time. Now I’m really nervous. Wish I had come across your site sooner. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me. I was going to call, but it’s Sunday, hope you’re at the beach!
        Warm regards, Denise

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      3. I think it’ll be ok if you can get it in the sun and don’t water it until you see more growth. You can pull it out if you want to, it won’t hurt as you just repotted it

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      4. Hi guys,

        So the quick update on mine – it got the root rot and died. I guess repotting it in dry soil asap can be beneficial, in my case it was quite humid time, so probably the soil did not dry out soon enough.

        Arturs

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      5. Hi Adam, I did what you said & left the plant unwatered & in the sun for three days. It seemed to have survived. The new leaf growth was bigger and saw some new growth happening. Yeah! Then on Day 4 I noticed the leaves were starting to wrinkle. I felt the medium all the way down and it was dry so I watered it a little yesterday am. I came home and found some of the leaves were turning yellow & brown, some were thin like paper & are falling off. Haven’t watered it since, it’s in the sunlight. What do I make of this? Wrinkled leaves indicate it needs water, doesn’t it? Was the medium too dry. New growth is growing. What do I do? Wait? Don’t water again? I gave it a little, I didn’t water it until it ran out. Was it too dry & this was just a reaction to a little watering? HELP, Denise

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      6. It’ll be ok, those yellowing leaves are the trees way of dealing with the repot stress. When you see new growth, start watering fully. That means it’s pushing new roots.

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  11. I was sent to you by Appalachian bonsai. I have a satsuki azalea with black spots on leaves. Some other leaves have brown tips. Came like that from nursery. Started treating with neem oil. Help.

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    1. Well, photos might be best to diagnose but I’ll try. If the spots are within the leaf bodies, it’s probably black spot fungus. Neem has been shown to help with some fungus but I like to use a product called Tebuconazole. It has a systemic action, meaning the plant takes it into its tissues and controls fungus longer than just a topical spray.
      When you water, avoid hitting the foliage, and allowing the tree to stay wet over night.
      You can remove all the affected leaves as they won’t get better and it’ll stimulate new growth.

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  12. Adam, great site.
    I just moved to Orlando from Northern Illinois. I brought with me two Maple trees. A Trident and Amur. I did not research, prior to the move, Maples in Florida. Now, I have read conflicting information about dormancy. Some have suggested that I can simulate a winter environment in a refrigerator. Others will say it may work for the first year but will ultimately fail and the trees will not survive.
    My question: Is it possible to keep a Trident and/or Amur Maple alive and healthy in Orlando FL? Or should I return the trees to Illinois and hope my brother will have enough interest to keep them alive?
    Thank you for your help
    I hope to attend some of your classes soon.

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    1. I’ve grown tridents here very successfully so don’t worry about them. But give them a year or two of rest to get acclimated to the weather.
      The Amur, I’m not so sure of. It’s zones are from 3-8 and orlando is 9a/b.
      It doesn’t like high heat or humidity and that’s what we have here in the summer, and it doesn’t get all that cold to keep it in dormancy.
      If it’s a good specimen it might be best to send it up north.

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      1. Thanks so much Adam. I am happy to hear that the Trident will be ok as I do favor Maple. The Amur is already looking very ill and I am afraid it will not make it thru the end of the year. It really wasn’t a good specimen anyway.
        I look forward to trying my hand at a few tropical species.
        Do you have a shop here in Orlando?

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  15. What’s up Adam! I have a big old Yaupon that needs chopping and a MAJOR root reduction. Do you advise doing that this time of year? I’m assuming the answer is yes. What is the most root you would take off at one time? I’m in 9b, Sarasota. Member of Sho Fu. Thanks man….

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