Yew bonsai pinching season

Spring means growth. Lots of growth. Especially with this seasons warm weather blessing us with sun and heat. It is about being on time with pinching, so especially shohin do not outgrow themselves, unless you need strength and extending branch length.

My old shohin bonsai European Yew, Taxus baccata, is in a phase where it is matured at 80 percent of the foliage mass. At this stage it need steady tight pinching to keep it from outgrowing the present form. But I also need to develop some lover and outer parts, letting them extend in a controlled manner so they are not too thin, and still expanding. I therefore let them grow a bit more than the upper part, slowly and steady increasing the volume. With time and with less pinching I will achieve my goal – hopefully in a future not too far away.

New buds do not develop at once all over the tree, so it is necessary to overlook the tree more times a week, to do the maintenance work periodically until all the new growth is matured.